Gunners boss on why he let Ivorian forward leave.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has explained his decision to sell Ivory Coast forward Gervinho to Roma this summer, in an interview with Arsenal.com.
The former Lille attacker recently left the Emirates Stadium for Serie A in an £8million move, after just two seasons with Arsenal, and Wenger admitted that the 26-year-old lacked confidence during his time in England.
Often indecisive in possession and reckless in front of goal, Gervinho’s performances did not go down well with the majority of Arsenal fans, though some were perhaps surprised to see him leave as soon as he did.
Wenger maintains that Gervinho is a talented player, and hopes he can find his best form again in Rome, where he will be reunited with his former manager Rudi Garcia.
“I made that decision [to sell Gervinho] because he looked to play with a lack of confidence, especially at the Emirates,” the Frenchman explained.
“He is a very creative player, an instinctive dribbler and for that you need a lot of confidence to be completely efficient.
“You sit there and think, ‘Do I bring him back or does he need a new challenge to get that confidence back?’ and I did not want to stop him from getting a new chance.”
Arsenal have managed to offload several squad players this summer, though they have so far failed in their attempts to bring in new signings, appearing to miss out on deals for Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez and Luiz Gustavo.
The likes of Marouane Chamakh, Andrey Arshavin and Denilson have followed Gervinho out of the exit door, leaving the Gunners somewhat short of depth in their squad.