Gervinho Lashes Out at Arsenal and Arsene Wenger for Showing no Faith in Him

Former Arsenal forward Gervinho has criticised manager Arsene Wenger for not showing any faith in his ability during his two years in north London.

Wenger brought the Ivorian international to the Emirates from Lille in 2011 but his meagre goal return saw him fail to hold down a regular first-team role.

Roma offered the player a lifeline in 2013 and since then, Gervinho has grown into an integral component of the Giallorossi attack, having flourished under the guidance of Rudi Garcia, who previously managed him in France.

And, ahead of Roma's group clash with Manchester City, Gervinho insists he does not have anything to prove upon his return to these shores.

"At Roma the coach and the staff showed confidence in me from the first day – and because of that I have able to show exactly what I am capable of," Gervinho told the Daily Mail.

"I think the proof of what I can do is shown by a coach that has confidence in me.

"Maybe Arsenal now think they should have shown more confidence in me – but that is not my problem. All my concentration is on a successful season with Roma."

Roma marked their return to the Champions League group stage for the first time in five years with an emphatic 5-1 win over CSKA Moscow a fortnight ago. Should they record another win on Tuesday 30 September, they will leave City facing the possibility of failing to qualify from the group stages.

"I can't think of any good reason why we should be scared of Manchester City," Gervinho continued. "I don't see why we should fear Bayern Munich either.

"The way we are playing this season – there is no reason to think we can't beat anybody. The only team that we need to concentrate or think about is ourselves."