Gervinho backed to emulate Henry

LONDON – Arsenal assistant coach Steve Bould has challenged Ivory Coast striker Gervinho to emulate Thierry Henry’s impact with the Gunners.

Friday, October 05, 2012

LONDON – Arsenal assistant coach Steve Bould has challenged Ivory Coast striker Gervinho to emulate Thierry Henry’s impact with the Gunners.Gervinho scored his fifth goal of the season on Wednesday as Arsenal overcame a sluggish start to maintain their 100-percent start to their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win over Olympiakos at the Emirates Stadium.After an underwhelming first season with Arsene Wenger’s side, Gervinho is showing signs of fulfilling his potential following his switch from a wide role to a more central position in Arsenal’s attack.Gervinho looked to have an uncertain future at the start of the season after Wenger splashed out on Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski.But Wenger’s decision to make Gervinho the focal point of his three-man forward line is reminiscent of the way he gradually built his team around Henry, who arrived at Arsenal as an inconsistent winger and left as arguably the best striker in the club’s history.And, while Gervinho is some way short of Henry’s standards, Bould –standing in for Wenger at the post-match press conference while the Arsenal boss served a European ban – is convinced he has the talent to follow in the legendary French striker’s footsteps."No 1, he is scoring goals so his confidence is sky high and his link play is gradually improving as well,” Bould said.