At his press conference in Kuala Lumpur this morning, Arsene Wenger confirmed Arsenal’s first major signing of the summer: Lille’s Ivorian attacker Gervais Yao Kouassi – more commonly known as Gervinho.
If it’s felt like this transfer has been a long time coming, that’s because it has. And I’m not just talking about the past few weeks of negotiations. The seeds of this signing were sewn long ago.
Gervinho is, like Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue before him, a graduate of the ASEC Mimosas academy in Abidjan. Like Eboue and Kolo’s brother Yaya, his first stop out of Africa was Belgian club Beveren.
Gervinho first came to my attention in late 2004, when Arsenal were pursuing the permanent signing of trialist Eboue. Being the curious type that I was, I hopped on to a Beveren Fans Forum to enquire about the potential addition to the Arsenal ranks. The Beveren fans delivered a portentous warning, suggesting Eboue’s attitude might not be up to the rigours of the Premier League. They were surprised he’d been singled out above other players – particularly an emerging youngster who’d stepped up from the youth team and shown glimpses of real potential: Gervinho.
Gervinho earnt his exotic name from a Brazilian academy coach. He’s blessed with an unusual combination of gifts: tall and athletic, with that characteristic Ivorian upper-body power, he has a South American-influenced dribbling style, using his close control and intuition to weave his way between defenders and scoot in on goal.
Arsene Wenger has watched him all the way. From Beveren to Le Mans, and on to Lille, where Gervinho blossomed in to the player he is now. In last season’s title-winning campaign, Gervinho was the only player in Ligue 1 to reach double figures for both goals and assists. To put that in context, only Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney matched the feat in the Premier League. Samir Nasri, who netted a comparable amount of goals, managed just 1 league assist.
Not that Gervinho has been bought to replace Nasri. Far from it. Arsene wants to keep his fellow Frenchman because he sees Gervinho as an ideal compliment. Arsene’s plan for last season was to use Nasri and Arshavin as his wingers in a 4-3-3; the former all grace and guile, the latter erratic but explosive.
However, Arshavin’s poor form forced Arsene to look elsewhere. He needed a player who wasn’t just a keep-ball merchant, but was willing or extrovert enough to take risks, make things happen, and score goals. Gervinho wasn’t always first choice,
For a few years Arsene has had his eyes on a versatile Ivorian attacker who dribbles and score goals. One far closer to home: Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou. Several inquiries have been made in recent years, all without success. With Gervinho becoming available, and off the back of such an excellent season, that put the kibosh on Kalou.
Gervinho will now play from the right of our 4-3-3, replicating his role at Lille last season. On the left, Samir Nasri will cut in as Hazard did back at Lille. Our system should be home from home for Gervinho.
In a way, it feels like Arsene’s transfer policy has finally come home too. After a few years of signing diminutive Latin or Eastern European playmakers, he’s returned to the tried and tested formula of African genes and French schooling that gave us Vieira, Henry, Toure and more.
Gervinho won’t be expected to live up to those names. It’d be enough if he could live up to his own, as the African warrior with samba skills. No pressure, then.
Further reading:
Jeremy Wilson for The Telegraph
Ben Lyttleton for Sabotage Times
Ben Lyttleton for Sports Illustrated
4-3-3 and he ‘s on the right? Don’t forget Walcott.
I mean seriously, what kind of nonsense is this? Typically African upper-body power? If I wanted to racial stereotypes I’d go off and read an old-school-tie broadsheet like the Times or Telegraph.
Incidentally, Thierry Henry *may* have “African genes” (I didn’t realise that genetics was continent-based) but since his family’s been rooted in Martinique for many generations, you have to ask yourself what those contributed to his footballing ability.
Why sully your insights with some 19th century anthropological prejudices?
pls have samba come asrenal?
Gervinho you are welcome to Arsenal for the new session, please we need your full performance the club
I think it’s more likely that we’ll see Gervinho on the left and Walcott on the right, with Nasri shipped out. If Nasri stays and Cesc goes, he’ll be in the Cesc role.
If both go, hopefully Juan Mata can be brought in. But I’d also be interested to see Arshavin playing behind the striker, it is his natural position after all, so we may actually see the best of him.
But so many ifs around Arsenal at the moment.
Proops- fair point on Henry.
I stand by my other points, which are admittedly generalisations. There’s a reason Arsene continues to return to certain parts of the world to recruit footballers, and it definitely stems from genetics. He said so himself.
lol proops, why you go and mix racism into this? Nothing to do with that, so please shag something and be happy.
The reports of Gervinho being particularly powerful are a bit exaggerated. While he keeps on his feet and tries to drive and dribble past opponents, he’s ~ 180 cm and less than 150 lbs. Not knocking him as I’m an admirer, but one needs to keep things in perspective. Also, at Lille, he and Hazard swapped wings constantly throughout matches, so he can just as easily play on the left, particularly since his being right-footed doesn’t make much difference as he very rarely attempts to cross the ball.
7. Miyaichi | July 11th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
lol proops, why you go and mix racism into this? Nothing to do with that, so please shag something and be happy.
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your jus too blinded to see the racist innuendo’s – it’s what typical (not necessarily racist) white people do…make derogatory statements whitout realising it! how you gonna assume a typical african has upper body power…it’s like saying europeans are dictators, conquerors and treat every other nation (except usa) like they’re below them or inferior..but we know thats not true…right lol
The racial generalization is a difficult line to walk. I can remember Wenger saying that Alex Song had a “strong body” as many of his countrymen did and went on to say that Cameroonians are called the “Germans of Africa.” Was Arsene being racially insensitive there? Maybe – maybe to Germans too. He meant it as a compliment and didn’t descend into saying something akin to “all Africans are _____” Of course, the history is such that Africans or those of African descent were considered physically more robust, while weaker in intellectual areas. Thus, if you allow for people say one group is stronger than another, than you can just as easily say that the other group is more intelligent. And there, in lies, the rub. Thus, its best to avoid commenting on powerful “African genes”, but if one strong African – or Scandinavian or whatever – reminds you of another strong African(s), than it is best to compare them directly than using a general label.
should be a very good signing,,,he seems to be very direct in his dribbling and finishing,,, something that we have lacked in recent seasons,,,what number will he be? number 9 seems to always be available when we sign players,,, but that number is cursed at arsenal as far as im concerned,,,our number 9 in last 15 years never stays very long,,,lets hope gervinho takes that number and makes it his own
Gervinho, am so looking forward to seeing you in action man.
if Arshavin loves to play behind the striker,then why blame him for inconsistency when he’s deployed on the wings? Henry enjoyed wing play because he started out as a winger. Welcome Gervinho to the greatest club in the world,finally we have our hustling attacker in the Arsenal,Expect more goals next season.
Great signing…. although Arsene will probably play him at left back haha
oh please.
africans are generally strong. i live in africa. this is a general fact. i look around me and the africans here are mostly all extremely well built naturally. even though most live in poverty and are poorly nourished. i am a white african. i am well nourished, and healthy, but skinny as a rake. yes, it’s a generalization, but jumping from well built to comparing intelligence levels is absurd.
people from different parts of the world are all known for specific things… if generalizing like that makes one racist, then jesus, i’m a racist, because well, you know, people from stoke are Neanderthals (excluding slash and lemmy), and well, the french love to surrender first and make friends next.
p-l-e-a-s-e.
The former Arsenal hero Gervinho ought to be compared to is Wiltord! A versatile forward/winger that can both assist and score goals. But the most important quality I hope he has is the ability to threaten behind the defenders. Only Theo has had that ability up ’til now.
Crikey. Apparently you can’t even make compliments without someone getting ‘offended’. Since when has ‘African upper body power’ been derogatory? Or racist? They do. We’ve got over it so maybe you should too. Jeez. BTW I listened to some rap music the other day and liked it but was very offended by the constant use of the N word. Not that I EVER hear any black people complaining when a black person uses it. Only when a white person does. Racist or not? What say you ‘Proops’. Or should I call you poops?
@ Robert Darvell
I’m trying to respond to your comment without sounding condescending, but I really don’t understand how you just don’t get it.
I didn’t say that referring to African upper body power’ was derogatory; I said that it was based on racial stereotyping.
And allow me to educate you about why rap musicians use the N word. It’s because they know that white people can’t say it, so it’s a badge to say it’s “us against them”. Personally, I don’t like it.
I don’t really see who you mean when you say “we’ve got over it so maybe you should too”. Who do these kinds of generalisations help? And by the way, I’m not happy when Wenger does it either.
@mike
Where do you live in Africa? Do you see lots of well-built Africans in Langa, or Dar-es-Salaam or Tunis?
Let’s look for footballers who combine the skills, temperament and mentality we need, irrespective of skin colour. Otherwise we could just do genetic tests on kids in utero and sign them up on that basis…
I dont think he’ll be a guaranteed starter for Arsenal, more as a backup to Theo, who imo had an excellent season last year and is really starting to come good. It is a good move from Arsenal though as he typically picks up alot of injuries throughtout the season and without Walcott the team looks to have little pace, Gervinho should sort this problem if he adapts to the PL.
Im more concerned about the left back situation though, having Gibbs and Traore as our only left backs scares the hell outta me!
@proops, whats your problem with Africans, do you feel intimidated? Or is the likes of Drogba not good examples. About intellectual, Drogba is superb. Geovinho is welcome, and if You dont like him being in Arsenal, quit supportin Arsenal. As for me, Geovinho is welcome to play any position.
Yeah Gibbs and Traore at left back, very risky. I know its payed off in the past, but Traore doesn’t look like a great (or good) player, and Gibbs is notoriously injury prone, *gulp*. Oh, and what’s with all the fury over ‘racial stereotyping’? That African players tend to be physically stronger is based on the countless Africans that have played in Europe over the past 15-20 years, and who tended to be physicly stronger. If we bought Mata and Gilbertosilver said that he was technically strong, as Spaniards tend to be, would that be racist? Of course not. It would be based on evidence going back decades that Spanish players, quite often, have quite good technique.
@Gwaro: I think you’ve misunderstood what proops is saying.
@Proops: I see what you’re saying to Mike about the distinctions between different types of Africans, however that a mistake that is restricted to white people. As someone of black, sub-Saharan African descent I frequently hear others of my background speak about “Africans” as if they are all one homogeneous, black, sub-Saharan group. African strength is one of the stereotypes that we often bestow on ourselves. Unless it’s said with negative connotations I think it’s quite harmless, really.
great news about gervinho, africa is huge, I live in south africa which is 7 times bigger than the uk our biggest nature park kruger is the size of wales, people actually vary in size within 1 country but its well known in africa that west africans are big people and southern africans are smaller. Africa is a contintent lets not forget that
“He’s blessed with an unusual combination of gifts: tall and athletic”
Hes 5ft 10. I’d call that average
While I understand where gilberto is coming from, I think stereotyping a whole continent is a bit much. Its funny, pualo talks about mata n says spaniards, someone else ralks about german, another scandanavians, notice a trend? None is continental! D diversity of africa is the issue. that european football looks for strong africans doesn’t mean every african is hulk! Indeed d same league has africans like osaze! And to be precise, it wld be nice to be country specific rather dan generalize a people at least twice d size, population and diversity of europe!
That’s the heart of the problem.
Not to undermine what is obviously a very important debate on whom can use what metaphor to compare which person to what, and the obvious inefficiency of creating a typology of African physique by tribe and geographic region, I thought that this is a football site? IMO Gervinho is a fantastic signing in terms of potential. In the footage I’ve seen he seems to be extremely fast and adept at dribbling past defenders, something we’ve missed since Thierry! I could see him on the right, with possible Theo on the left, and Arsharvin in behind. If Cesc and Nasri stay then the signing just offers so much in terms of being able to change things when they aren’t working. I have concerns about LB but I think Gibbs has earned his chance, and I think CB should be OK now that Vermaelan is fit.
While I understand where gilberto is coming from, I think stereotyping a whole continent is a bit much
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He wasn’t – he was quite clearly talking about certain well known African footballers who are powerful, Toure, Eboue, Drogba, Adebayor etc – and he is perfectly right to do so. There is some genetics to this, is it a coincidence that all the best sprinters are black, there are genetically disposed to being powerfully built to a greater extent. We are talking athletes at supreme levels, no staving people in Sudan so lets not make this into something it isn’t
@proops
yes, i live in cape town, south africa. about 15km’s from langa. yes, well built africans. would you like me to send you a picture. i have two guys working with me right now, one of them lives in langa, the other in blue downs… just a bit further out.
i also have a few tanzanian friends – 2 of which are from dar. i dont know any tunisians, but i will grant you that somalians “generally” have a similar build to me – much more slender.
i also have a host of nigerian friends, and many more from the DRC… as a generalization black africans are naturally well built with great upper body strength.
argue with that all you like, but it’s a fact. it’s not racist, nor is it racial stereotyping. it’s the same as saying most people in swedan are blonde. oh god… shoot me… i noticed that people from scandinavian have a different hair colour to my own…
Proops – oh come off it!!! Stop being so bloody pc
If you actually read piece about Gervinho he says “characteristic IVORIAN upper body power” NOT “typical african upper body power” as you indicated proops. So this is all a bit unnecessary and i think, proops you should get off your high horse, or alternatively ride it to specsavers.
On things Arsenal i’m really pleased with the gervinho signing was starting to think it wouldn’t happen. Although am i the only one worried about the ACN as then we’ll only have RVP up front for a while and his injury record isn’t the best. Also i would also be very interested to see Arshavin play in behind the striker thats where he played best for us when he first signed.
This article isn’t about racial profiling or stereotyping…its about Gervinho and his personal attributes which add or detract from his value as a player to AFC. A few crass bloggers have tried to hijack this blog for their own purposes but they’ve failed!
I saw Gervinho play at Lille and elsewhere in the season and also at the WC, where he showed his pacey style of Football. He tends to like moving across the field behind the central striker(s) and then popping up to either setup a goal-scoring opportunity or finish off the play himself. He reminds me a great deal of Eduardo in his best days so I hope he can avoid injury in the faster,tougher EPL. If he does, he’ll be a very valuable asset to the Arsenal. I wonder what we’re going to do with all these wingers?
I so love this article and much so the debate on race profiling and stereotyping, very interesting read. But as an African and a Nigerian, i did not see anything wrong with the blogger’s words. This is a specific club content ralated blog and i suggest @proops should find a political related article to rant on. Nothing is wrong in describing someone’s characteristics with skin colour or continent as long as it’s positively true. I mean, take the words in context used. Gervinho is proud to answer a Brasilian name and i bet his very much proud of his awesome looking head as well as his African/Ivorian upper body-power.
great insights Gunnerblog…
looks like an attacker with some grit … like Freddie
Proops…. shhhhhh
I so love this article and much so the debate on race profiling and stereotyping, very interesting read. But as an African and a Nigerian, i did not see anything wrong with the blogger’s words. This is a specific club content ralated blog and i suggest @proops should find a political related article to rant on. Nothing is wrong in describing someone’s characteristics with skin colour or continent as long as it’s positively true. I mean, take the words in context used. Gervinho is proud to answer a Brasilian name and i bet his very much proud of his awesome looking head as well as his African/Ivorian upper body-power. Lets hope all his feature helps to bring us success
balls to everything…he’ll be used on the left with theo on right , nasri /secsc in middle…not too hard to guess that….n we dont need defenders , we just need to give cover to flanks..lot of unnecssary commotion about defenders in arsenal blogs…defending is based on overall strategy and not individual talent……………unlike arsh , gervinho would provide cover and we’ll win the title..u heard it here first
If Gervinho is used on the right, will Wenger finally use Walcott in his preferred position as a striker? Maybe in front of RVP?
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