The Gunners boss extolled the Ivorian’s virtues after he had a hand in three of their four goals scored against the Royals, while he also praised his team’s overall performance
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has lauded Gervinho’s performance in their 4-1 demolition of Reading, lavishing praise upon the Ivorian as he both scored and provided for the Gunners.
After opening the scoring in the 11th minute with a tap-in, the winger turned provider for the next two goals, setting up both Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud before Mikel Arteta completed the rout by virtue of a penalty as Hal Robson Kanu’s goal turned out to be scant consolation.
And Wenger was eager to praise Gervinho and appeared hopeful that his match-winning performance would give him confidence; something the Frenchman believes his player has lacked in over the past few months.
“Gervinho’s performance was very strong. He was always dangerous, always looked like he could score, gave assists and scored himself,” he told reporters.
“I believe that sometimes Gervinho has lost confidence because he played in a very negative atmosphere during a period. Strikes need confidence, and [with] his game, even more.
“He was always taking the ball and going forward, and provoking. When you lose confidence, that is a very dangerous game then. When he has found the confidence back, he is a dangerous player.
“At the African Nations Cup, for me, he was the best striker there. He is the type of player who is difficult to find, because they always go at people.”
The veteran Gunners boss was also keen to praise his team’s overall performance as he implored his side to sustain that level throughout the remainder of the season.
“I enjoyed out technical side, our creative side, our spirit and how disciplined and focused we were. The regret you have is that there were more goals in this game than the number of goals we scored,” he continued.
“Overall it’s a good basis to finish the season well. Let’s just keep that spirit, that attitude and play the football we want to play.”