Arsene Wenger has hailed Gervinho’s performance after his two goal salvo against Southampton today, and said that the idea of playing him through the middle came during this summer’s Asian tour.
The Ivorian scored his first goals of 2012 and Wenger joked, “You know we transform all wingers into central strikers and all the strikers into wingers!
“I decided that during our tour of Asia when I tried to play Gervinho there against Man City in that position. I liked what he did and it was in the back of my mind.
“It is interesting because he is such a great mover and he is so quick so when he is central, once he gets ahead of the central defender it is difficult to catch him back.”
The boss was also quick to praise Santi Cazorla, with the Spaniard again outstanding in Arsenal’s midfield.
“Cazorla is a player who is just a pleasure to watch. You want him to have the ball. He typifies what Spain’s midfielders are today – he is technically perfect, he has great vision and a great team attitude.”
And Wenger was a manager enthused by the display of his team, citing ‘positive energy’ when discussing upcoming games in Europe and domestically against Man City and Chelsea.
“We have a big week coming up because we go on Tuesday now to Montpellier. On Sunday we play at Man City and we have two interesting weeks coming up because we play Chelsea as well. We will know more about our team then but there is a positive energy in this team, a desire to play well together, and real team play.
“It is very exciting.”
Difficult to pick a man of the match. Even with Sczcesny’s error, he made a decent save with his leg.
Honestly Szcz had a shocker. Even though I’m a big fan of Chezzers, I’d drop him for the Montpellier game.
Needs to know that he has to improve, and cannot just walk into the team after a performance like that.
Agree with the sentiment but I think dropping him after one poor game sends the wrong message entirely.
Agree,I think vito should of started today after two clean sheets and good performances and let szez fight for his position not just walk back in again, kos was proberly our best defender last season and he has to wait his chance because of our big german
Actually Szcz has been out of form since March. It’s not only this game, but he’s had poor moments in many matches towards the end of last season.
We have decent competition for him now in the form of Vito. Just think we must exploit this friendly competition for the GK spot to bring the best out of our Chezzers.
its a tough one this, szcz is the established no 1 so should really walk straight into the team as he was out due to being injured – not droppped.
on the other hand vito deserved to start cus he looks like hes the in form keeper. but then one (two in this case) swallow doesnt make a summer and all that.
up to the manager at the end of the day, you dont know what the keepers gonna do until the games over so one of those things.
You can’t drop players because of one poor game, especially if they’re coming back from an absence, and especially if they’re a goalkeeper. That’s a guaranteed way to ruin their confidence, and ruined confidence = ruined player.
Wenger has done the right thing here. He won’t drop Scezsney (or any player) on the basis of one poor performance , nor should he. Give the guy some time, a few clean sheets, and he’ll be back to a high standard. And if not, then we’ll see mannone again.
Szcz was out of form at the end of last season because he played the last like 6 (?) weeks semi-injured. He’s now just come back from injury and has made one mistake – you don’t drop your no. 1 after one bad game. And although Mannone did keep 3 clean sheets (credit due to the team’s defending too) and have solid games he looked very dodgy in the air, especially against Liverpool. Perspective is called for, all credit to Mannone where it’s due, but it’s not like he pulled off match-winning performances and was the sole reason for the… Read more »
Well done today boys .. I hope this restores Gervinhos confidence. He has been lets say “non-prolific” since Robin van paymore yelled at him for shooting instead of passing him. Gibbs -excellent , And the whole midfield Cazorla is fucking amazing.
Gervinho has been looking more and more confident this season and maybe the switch to the middle is a good option for him and the team – great movement followed by a cracking finish for his first. Had to laugh when Cazorla patted him on his forehead (after his 2nd?).
And mostly great stuff from the rest of the team… Arsenal, it’s fuckin excellent!
Arteta it was:-)
Here here! Who needs Robert van whatsit eh?
So who didn’t notice gervinho nice step over on the wing there.
He did exceptionally well in the preseason and i’m hoping he replicates that for the whole season. Also he can shoot, could only be a plus.COYG!
That second goal by gervinho I bet van persie being the little boy that he’s now would have fluffed it.
Remember the Ac milan when one on one with abbiati?. Now forget that, with this one he would have chipped just a tad over the bar. Impossible?……but trust me he’d have managed it
I really doubt RvP would’ve been in that position to score in the first place. If he had been he probably would’ve scored come on…
Some of the movement from the whole team in the first half was the best I’ve seen in years.
Much better teams than Southampton are going to find it very tough to live with this team when they play like that.
Cazorla, if a 16 million quid player can be a bargain then this man is it.
£12m mate………..but even £20m+ would still be a bargain.
Chamberlain was something else today.
Clearly playing against your old clubs motivates you even more. You could see he really wanted a goal. He didn’t get one but he was really a thorn in that shaky soton defence.
We play montpellier next, I want giroud to show that same determination too. COYG!
I’ll get a tattoo of Gerv’s forehead on my left butt cheek if he scores against the Chavs and celebrates by headbutting John Terry in the face.
you must have a very big butt….big black butt
Haha made me laugh
I’ll get a tattoo of Gervinho on my forehead if we win the league and he cripples Van Persie.
We score when we want
We score when we waaaant
Arsenal FC
We score when we want
(and we don’t need no dutch cunt)
Don’t need no Dutch cunt
Don’t need no Dutch cuuuunt
Arsenal FC
Don’t need no Dutch cunt
(and Andre Santos scores when he wants – just ask the Anfield faithful)
I’m dutch and I feel offended..
@Big D. Don’t think too much of it.
U might be Dutch but u ain’t no CUNT.
Only a cunt would be offended Big D. John Terry is so offended he’s falling over Cashleys wife.
And by the way. God is dutch.
If god were dutch, he couldn’t have made the world in six days. It would have taken longer than that for all the bits he needed to make it to come up cheap on marktplaats…..
DB10
Great performance, good passing, maybe weak opposition, but nontheless a joy to watch. And back in touch with the top spot.
Beauty from Poldi and nice movement from Gervinho for his first goal, just brilliant!!!
COYG!!!
if gerv can flourish as a false nine, then surely we have the best set of attackers?
Mannone > Szczesny.
naaah
Nahh Indeed
“It is interesting because he is such a great mover and he is so quick so when he is central, once he gets ahead of the central defender it is difficult to catch him back.”
This description reminds me to Carlos Vela perfectly. I’m wondering why we let him go if we want to have a striker of that type.
Because unlike Gervinho or Podolski he is incapable of providing seamless transition between the wings and a central position?
Because unlike Gervinho or Podolski he does not have the strength and power to beat big premiership defenders?
And most importantly, unlike those two, he did not have the required mentality or desire to play for the Arsenal?
Take your pick.
I disagree with all though. I watched some games of him last season when he was loaned to some mid-table Spanish side and although he played in central striker role, he was also moved out to the wing quite often. About strength and power, I don’t think Gervinho is more of a physical presence than Vela (although yes, Podolski is definitely stronger than both, but the point of my opinion is a Gervinho – Vela comparison). On mentality and desire, he was very patient for quite a while and I always feeled he would’ve deserved a chance based on the… Read more »
A False 9 or indeed a striker in this 4-2-3-1 formation needs good movement,pace,technique,strength and stamina. Gerv ticks all the boxes,however whether he can replicate it on the daily basis remains the question. Vela to me fails to cope with the EPL rigours. He will do well in Spain and even then he has been predominantly on the wings for Sociedad.
Maybe we should all saunter over to Carlos Vela News and have a look at… nah. The git couldn’t even find his passport for a CL match! But then this is the kind of match he would have scored in, he was ace at getting that fourth or fifth goal…
Gervinho is LANS
I think I am in a dreamland.. We have an awesome set of goalies, watertight defence and blistering attacking options.. and we are about to get sagna, wilshere and diaby back.. May this is the year we have been waiting for…
Easy there fella, i fucking love arsenal but lets smash Man Shitty and the chinless wonder first, and then i’ll really start believing…
GHANAGOONER
September 16, 2012 at 1:48 pm
I dont understand why folks keep thinking if we beat city and Chelsea then we can win something. Our problem in my view has been turning for the so called smaller game names and expecting to win whilst putting in good performances for the big boys.
If we can continue to be ruthless with the smaller teams like we were with soton and keep our big game performances up we should have a good season.
Lolcott must be well jealous of Gervinho getting a striker role!
Thomas Vermaelen won all his tackles, aerial duels and ground duels v Southampton.
Captain’s performance.
TV’s run at the end was magic. only reason the ball fell to theo. its like we have another striker sometimes. we were on a rampage today, i remember at one point it was – vermaelen to gibbs, crosses in to mertesacker to try to score.. hang on.. wheres our strikers lol.
That run by Vermaelen was beautiful. I was watching in a low-res stream and the first touch and finish were so skillful I was left wondering if it was Ramsey again (because to be fair Ramsey was awesome for our 5th goal), never thought a defender could do that until I saw the replay!
been reading arseblog for abt 3 years now, decided to make my first post, should’ve bought some booze, anyways, i’m mixing gin, kahlua and milk….and it tastes like shit…but what the hell, the season looks good, i’m happy and i need to get high…. btw, gibbs looks way better than cashley ever was (potentially)!!!
…and i got the 27th post, which happens to be my birth date, and the number i always get on my kits and gervinho (today’s MOM)’s number….. ooh to, ooh to be, ooh to be a???
Maybe wait 3 more years till you post again.
thank u for the warm welcome!!
Heh
Sarcasm i think frog, or rather i hope.
But you wouldn’t get it, you’re only a frog after all.
Go get some vodka and enjoy the brilliance of a White Russian, even if he didn’t get on the pitch today.
u r the dude
Been reading blogs for 3 years and you still write “u r the dude”…….ever been to comment policy section?, doubt it, read that then come back here after 3 years.
Im kiddin guy ….or am I?
Well I think his abbreviated words really tie the sentence together.
Come to think of it, I didn’t read the comment policy section before this, I have now.
This is what happens. This is what happens when you start making Lebowski references.
no….I’M THE DUDE….
Gervinho is an excellent mover and trickster. I am so glad he scored today. Some more work on finishing and one on one situations and we will have a truly world class player. It’s great that we can play both Podolski or Gervinho upfront now as well as Giroud. Gibbs had an excellent game. With Sagna and Wilshere coming back, we are a force to be reckoned with.
Hope Wenger keeps to his word we are so much more balanced with podolski on the left. We have plenty of wingers but podolski links so much better fro deeper and Wider with his powerful runs and one twos with cazorla. With willshere coming back this season looks exciting. I liked the look of gervino as a winger he flatters to deceive maybe as a forward he will get tht forwards instinct and confidence that scoring brings he really is worth a go up to break his game down he has the attributes just needs confidence he could be the… Read more »
I must say, I’ve always had the impression that Gervinho is useless. He would do the hard part of dribbling past defenders, but couldn’t finish at all, and his defensive work left much to be desired.
Though I’m happy to be proven wrong today. He looked very sharp in attacking play, and although I felt Ramsey should have scored the 5th goal, it was great positional awareness by Gervinho to net it through.
Congrats to him, and another here is another welcome selection dilemma for Arsene.
No hard feelings towards him, but the idea of gervinho getting played in the middle when Walcott had wanted to for ssoooo long is somewhat entertaining.
Can’t help but think that part of the reason Wenger looked at Gervinho up front, was to hint to Walcott that, up front as a false 9, pace is all well and good, but you need to be able to keep the ball when an opposition player comes within a yard of you. You don’t get as much space there as on the wings! 😉
Just watched the Irish MOTD and seen cashley( wanker) cole been his classy self by hocking up a spit after Ferdinand did’ent shake his hand he’s a proper cunt
for the first time in many years, i feel there is competition for every place in arsenal team, from the goalkeepers to midfield to strikers and every body wants to show what he worth and deserve to be a starter, even ramsey he is much more motivated then last year, after diaby rosiskey Wilshire Sagna comes back we will have outstanding team and they will give big selection headache for arsgne Wenger, iam really glad, very happy to see jenkinson and Gibbs performance they were outstanding.
All in all we won and everyone on the contributed which why am so glad.
We now have a team to look forward to for success, because “they score when they want”
COYG!!!
TV5 led from the back. He should stay for another 3-4 years. He owes Wenger a lot. A better team without ‘RVwho’. He’ll probably end up like Berbatov.
Well atleast bervatov got away from united.
This other cunt joined it. What a cunt.
Arsene: I like to move it move it, he (Gervinho) like to…
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I think the most relieved part of the interview is this one:
on Diaby’s fitness…
Diaby should be fit for Montpellier. He could even have played today, he had a good training session but we didn’t want to take a risk.
Thank god for that. Diaby deserves more than injuries.
Anyways, once we have Jack,Rosicky and even Frimpong back, that midfield is stack with talent. It’s an almighty competition for places. Even the bench(mannone,Kos,santos,walcott,OG,ramsey,arshavin) against Southampton look brilliant. Good depth and a real fight for places to start.
Gervinho should remain at the flanks and practice his shooting after those mazy run of his. Would be a deadlier asset.
So many great performances, so many goals! I’ve defended Gervinho since he arrived so really glad he got that brace. It’ll do him the world of good. God only knows what Theo must think, personally I think he’ll be the next player to leave the Emirates. I actually thought we were a couple of players light coming into this season, but if players maintain their form and Wenger rotates effectively, I’m not so sure we are. Look at the bench against Southampton! Cannot wait to see this amazing new Arsenal tested against Chelski & Shitteh. I fancy us to take… Read more »
So Arsene does it again…..Just when everyone thought we are short in the strikers department (Chamakh is our back up….!!!) – he turns another winger into a striker. And after yesterday’s performance it is hard to disagree with that. Gervinho’s dribbling ability and his pace makes him deadly indeed anywhere near the box. As everyone has mentioned – improvement in his finishing will turn him into a genuinely dangerous striker down the middle. One can’t help but feel that this guy will win us a whole lot of penalties with his dribbling and pace, also free kicks in dangerous areas.… Read more »
Gervinho at centre of the pack would be ideal watch out for the next Drogba.Bring it on mancity n chelsea
I dont understand why folks keep thinking if we beat city and Chelsea then we can win something. Our problem in my view has been turning for the so called smaller game names and expecting to win whilst putting in good performances for the big boys.
If we can continue to be ruthless with the smaller teams like we were with soton and keep our big game performances up we should have a good season.
Gerv looked very good. He frustrated me shitlesss last season tho.
Whilst one swallow doesn’t a summer make, if he can put another half dozen or so performances like yesterdays – in the same role – I will start to believe!