It would be fair to say that plenty was expected of Gervinho following his £11m move from Lille last summer and while there have been glimpses of the spectacular; the 25-year-old has been one of the more frustrating players at the Emirates Stadium at times. Following on from his debut season, the Ivory Coast international now claims that he wants to improve for the forthcoming campaign and has set his sights on becoming a club legend like Robert Pires.
Despite paying a large fee by Arsene Wenger standards for the player, some Gunners fans were disappointed that Gervinho only managed to contribute five goals in the thirty seven appearances he made at domestic level last term. Admittedly, his pace and trickery did cause some teams various problems, but there’s no doubt that his goal scoring record needs to improve – especially now the club can’t rely on goals from Robin Van Persie.
This is something Gervinho seems to acknowledge and he has said that he’ll have to mix up certain parts of his game if he is to become a success at the Emirates Stadium. Speaking to Arsenal Player, the former Le Mans forward said, “I have learnt lots of things, coming to a new club, being new to the Premier League. I have learnt to adapt on the pitch and, when I think back, also in front of goal. I may have to change the way I play, mix up my game a bit. I hope to emulate Robert Pires in my second season, hopefully do even better, but I hope to carve out my own niche of course.”
The player at least seems to have made a promising start to the new campaign and while he could not force a goal for the Gunners against Sunderland last weekend, he still put in a very impressive performance.