Stoke City vs. Arsenal: Is This the Match That Gervinho Comes Back to Life?

It usually takes a foreigner new to the Premier League at least a season or so to adapt to the pace and rigor of the game.

The adage is time-worn and reinforced by past examples.

Robert Pires took some time to adapt at Arsenal after arriving from Marseille in 2000. This was a man who was often a class apart on the wing for the Gunners in the early years of the last decade, but you might not have envisioned that type of success after his first few matches wearing Arsenal red.

Just last season, Laurent Koscielny, who'd been playing in the French second division as recently as 2008-09, often appeared as if he couldn't keep up with the furious action in EPL games. It seemed the style of the Champions League was best suited to his game.

Both proved us wrong.

Perhaps the only new man to take to the Premier League like a fish does to water was Thierry Henry, whose 15 goals in 15 matches to begin his Arsenal career was the stuff legends are borne from.

But then, "Titi" was always a class above.

When Gervinho was signed last summer, many Arsenal fans believed Arsene Wenger had, for a good price, found yet another gem steeped in technical ability and attacking prowess.

The Ivorian, though just 24 years of age (his birthday is May 27), was already a seasoned campaigner. (He has been capped 37 times for the senior national team, and had become one of the top players in Ligue 1 after two seasons with Lille.)

He'd played in major international competitions with the Ivory Coast (2008 and 2010 African Cup of Nations), and had drawn praise for his performances in the 2010 World Cup.

He was coming off a fantastic season with Lille, where his 18 goals and 11 assists (all competitions) had played a major role in helping Les Dogues complete the domestic double.

All signs pointed to him making an impact this season. But how quickly we forget the lessons learned from past experience.

Though slightly frail, and with a hairdo that, well, defied convention (OK, done with the jokes), Gervinho made a solid impression in the first half of the season for Arsenal.

The red card against Newcastle in the opening game of the season, earned after the winger had engaged in a war of words with Joey Barton before raising his arm at the Englishman (who it must be said made the most of the incident), resulted in a three-match ban.

Despite that blemish, Gervinho came back and looked to be a serviceable option on the wing in the 4-2-3-1 formation. He excelled during the two-leg playoff against Udinese.

He scored his first goal against Blackburn, albeit in a 4-3 loss, but he was getting frequent playing time on the left wing opposite Theo Walcott. It looked as if his searing pace and instinctive sense of skill would only grow with enough time.

After all, if he was adapting this quickly, fans had to be chomping at the bit to see how good he'd become by say, April.

Gervinho is a crafty dribbler (once referred to as "The Crazy Dribbler" in France, where at one point during the '08-09 season he was averaging 9.5 "dribbles"—or elongated segments of attacking defenders individually—a game.

That continued to be the case at Arsenal. The dreadlocked winger is nearly Henry-esque in his tendency to collect the ball on the wing and then attack defenses, looking either to cut inside or take his man to the end line.

He certainly brought something different to the proceedings, but he was still capable of playing within the Arsenal system, which has been predicated upon attacking play through passing build-ups for quite some time now.

The most frustrating thing with him was that Gervinho often appeared to run out of ideas after an excellent move, or simply let his touch get away from him. It seemed that it was a manageable "problem," however.

A couple of seasons of Premier League football under his belt, and he'd be fine. He just had to get his sea legs, as it were.

But then came the African Cup of Nations. Gervinho helped lead Ivory Coast to the final, scoring a "cracking goal"—Wenger's words—along the way, but proceeded to miss a crucial penalty in the shootout to decide the game, allowing Zambia to win the title and thereby shock the world.

This was no Andrei Arshavin meltdown after the Russian had failed to reach the 2010 World Cup, but Gervinho was hurting because of his blunder.

Perhaps with one eye cast back to how the disappointment of losing in the 2009 playoff had battered Arshavin, who really was never quite right after it, Wenger said he wanted Gervinho back at Arsenal and playing games as soon as possible to take his mind off the disappointment.

But like Demba Ba, Newcastle's signing of the EPL season (as voted upon by Premier League managers) who had been bagging goals at a blistering pace to start the campaign (14 by the end of December), Gervinho also tailed off upon returning from the African Cup of Nations.

He played for Senegal in that contest, but has looked a bit off since coming back.

He has played just nine times for Arsenal since returning in mid-February. Only two of those have come as a starter, and he has provided just one assist. Far from the production expected from a man of his quality.

Especially one who had played such a key role at times to start the season. Against Stoke on Oct. 23, Gervinho had played a part in all three goals Arsenal scored against their opponents.

He's been saying all the right things of late, and doesn't seem to be too down in the dumps—but his decreased playing time must be frustrating.

The injury to Theo Walcott, then, who has been ruled out for the season after picking up a hamstring knock against Chelsea last Saturday, could factor into a Gervinho revival. And why not have it come against the club (Stoke) he was so deadly against back in October?

There's one problem, however. Another player now stands in the way.

Just as Gervinho had seen his path blocked to the first team by the emergence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the first months of this year (the 18-year-old was starting opposite Walcott on the wing), Yossi Benayoun has been one of the best Gunners during the past few weeks, netting a goal against Wolves and providing a different kind of option on the left wing.

It's a position Benayoun is more than comfortable playing after deputizing there for past clubs Liverpool and Chelsea, and while his playing style is quite different than that of the Ivorian's, he has produced when called upon of late.

The Israeli enjoys coming into the middle of the attacking third a bit more frequently than Gervinho might prefer in order to get time on the ball.

Benayoun's work rate has been superb, and it appears that Wenger is finally warming to him and rewarding him with consistent games after looking reticent to do just that for such a long time.

With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the likely option to supplant Walcott on the right wing now, the battle now shifts to Gervinho and Yossi on the left.

Whom will Wenger choose for the match against Stoke?

Given the likely physical nature of the game, one would think Benayoun, who despite his slight demeanor is not one to back down from anyone.

The season-long loanee has bags of experience playing in just these types of games from his lengthy time in the Premier League—something that will not have escaped Wenger's considerable mind.

Once more, Gervinho's inexperience in the league may come to cost him a spot in the starting XI. But looking ahead to next season, there are few options as intriguing, and few players who have more talent, than the Ivorian.

His second half of the season does not justify the rumors that have begun swirling about his head—shock transfers and the like. That's the sort of knee-jerk reaction fans should refrain from.

Gervinho will come good—his past record more than backs him up as a dangerous option in attack. It may just take a little longer to see him at his best.