Arsenal Transfer Prospect: 10 Football Attributes Gervais Yao Kouassi Possesses

Gervais Yao Kouassi was born on May 27th, 1987, in Anyama, Ivory Coast. In his days at the ASEC Abidjan academy, his Brazilian coach in the academy derived a nickname from his first name Gervais. The nickname shared the same last syllable with Brazilian legends like Serginho, Juninho and Ronaldinho. The name was Gervinho.

Like Farmer Eboue, he got his big break in Beveren of Belgium before Le Mans snapped him up for a meager sum of £575,000. Two seasons, 59 league appearances and nine league goals after, LOSC Lille Métropole came knocking on Le Mans’ door. The team multiplied his transfer sum by 10, selling him to Lille at £5.75 million.

He dazzled the Lille faithful in his first season, with 13 league goals in 32 appearances. He was even better in the season that just wrapped up, with 15 goals in 35 appearances, helping Lille to a League and Cup double.

The best thing about Gervinho is that he’s in the mold of excellent wingers who can be deployed in the center forward position. That kind of versatility could play a role in a club like Arsenal.

Gervinho has also represented Ivory Coast on the international scene. He was the captain of the Ivory Coast Under-23 side that represented Africa in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China. His first competitive stint with Ivory Coast came in the 2008 African Cup of Nations that took place in Ghana. He has made 27 appearances for his national side, and he has scored six goals.

Gervinho has certain attributes that make him a standout performer. He is now a sought-after player, attracting sides like Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.

Here’s my take of the top 10 attributes possessed by Kouassi.

Pace

Pace is an attribute that’s important for any winger in world football. Gervinho has excellent pace in his system, and it’s going to be a useful tool in the world’s fastest league—The Barclay’s Premier League.

In a club like Arsenal, Gervinho will have to do some running. There will be times when Cesc Fabregas or anyone else will want to give that killer defense-splitting pass that cuts opposition backlines like hot knives through butter.

There are many wingers that are faster than Gervinho in world football, but the top five on my list are Theo Walcott, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Eljero Elia and Victor Obinna.

Technique

Gervinho can be a live wire when the ball is at his feet. His technique has been proven in his Le Mans and Lille games, as he has scored all sorts of technically astute goals, ranging from first-time volleys to bicycle kicks.

Dribbling

Before you decide to take on the role of a winger, you’ll have to be able to take on opponents using a direct technical skill called dribbling.

Luckily for Arsenal, Gervinho can be ranked as one of the best dribblers in the business. There are not much better dribblers in Africa than Kouassi. Adel Taarabt, Salomon Kalou and Steven Pienaar are the closest contenders to the Ivorian winger.

Finishing

Gervinho’s goal-scoring record in the French league speaks for itself. In the space of two years, he has played 69 league games for Lille, and he has scored 28 goals.

We all know that there are two goal-crazy wingers in world football, and they are the star players of the two biggest clubs in Spain. Gervinho is the kind of player who would score a goal when he gets the chance.

Stamina

When the word stamina is mentioned in football, Dirk Kuyt and Park Ji-Sung are the two names who come into any football lover’s mind. Gervinho is a player who also has the stamina of an ox.

He can go on a competitive run of games without whining that he needs to be rested. When he joins Arsenal, he’ll have to prove that he deserves to get a run-out of consistent games.

First Touch

Gervinho is a winger that possesses an excellent first touch. In football, one touch too many is more than enough for the opposition defense to recover, so having a player who has a good first touch will be vital in attack.

Robin van Persie is one of the most technically gifted players with an amazing first touch, but the king of the first touch, in my book, is Manchester United’s Bulgarian forward, Dimitar Berbatov.

Off-the-Ball Movement

Gervinho’s off-the-ball movement shows he can be a constant thorn in the flesh of the opposition. Last season, there were many games where Ludovic Obraniak and the BioHazard of Eden possessed the ball with the aim of feeding Gervinho, who played behind Moussa Sow sometimes. The opposition defense failed to keep the winger in check because off the ball ability.

Flair

Gervinho can give himself a pat on the back for being one of the most flamboyant wingers in Africa. His body language, as well as his movement, is a thing of beauty.

Creativity

Arsenal Football Club is a team renowned for its amazing reserve of creative talent. This is evident in the creativity that begins from the front line to the midfield.

Robin van Persie is a striker who has laid assists for his teammates, time after time. Marouane Chamakh is also a selfless footballer who can lay a pass to a teammate to score when the chance arises. Nicklas Bendtner tends to take the selfish approach at times, but his lovely weighted cross to van Persie against Leeds United in Elland Road can’t be forgotten so easily. Theo Walcott is another forward who has laid on passes for the killer blow, although he had a knack for feeding van Persie with goal-scoring chances. Arsenal’s flying Dutchman wasted no time in converting the bulk of them.

Arsenal’s midfield is honored with the most creative 24-year old in existence, Francesc Fàbregas. Andrei Arshavin is a player who has been criticized by the fans but he still managed to lay on 17 assists to his peers. The list of creative midfielders in the club is quite endless, but you’ll have to make do with Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Tomáš Rosický.

Gervinho should be grateful that he’s going to join the ranks of such a creative array of talent. An array so creative it gifted Emmanuel Greedybayor 30 goals and a shitload of misses.

Determination

When the chips were down for Arsenal last season in many games, Robin van Persie, Bacary Sagna, Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny stepped their game up to put up stellar performances. But their teammates still let them down in many games.

When Arsenal played so poorly against Stoke, van Persie did very well to score a goal for his team but Johan Djourou’s carelessness gifted Stoke with the match winner late on. When Manchester United were leading Arsenal by two goals late on, Bacary Sagna did extremely well to get clear of Evra to send a cross to Rosicky, but the Czech captain chose the worst time to shoot some air. When Arsenal were a goal down to Bolton, Djourou foolishly conceded a penalty and Szczesny did well to save the spot kick and spare his blushes, but the defense crumbled in the last minute to concede the goal that said sayonara to Arsenal’s title challenge.

Gervinho is a player who is highly motivated, so I’m positive that he can come with the goods when Arsenal needs that unsung hero to score a 90th minute goal to win all three points.

Summary

Gervinho is a French-speaking player who will gel well with Arsenal's squad because of the high contingent of French men on the squad. At an agreed fee of £10.5 million,  Gervinho is a classic Arsène Wenger signing.

This article was written by Toni Okike.