I caused some friends to gasp with surprise, and then laugh, when I recently suggested that Gervinho could become the new Ronaldo. “Don’t even mention their names in the same sentence” was one of the responses I got; “they both fall over a lot, if that’s what you mean” was another.
But before traipsing away duly admonished, I decided to do some research, and to consider a little further as to whether my throw-away statement might have some truth.
Frustrating
A lot of people have become frustrated with the Ivorian - particularly since his return from the African Cup of Nations in January.
He enjoyed a honeymoon period during which he scored two pre-season goals, and appeared to be a fast, skilful winger, not yet with a final product.
Some dubious link-up play was overlooked as he slotted in 4 goals in a dozen or so appearances before the end of the year.
After returning from the African Cup - having missed the key penalty in the Final - he’s become a frustrating and inconsistent player.
Even this season (of which more later) he’s been on the end of occasional boos, being accused of being ‘frustrating’ and ‘slow’ - not in terms of pace, but in terms of decision-making.
How many times have we seen a fast break suddenly falter as Gervinho tries to take on one player too many, or opts to dribble when a quick through-ball seemed the most sensible option.
There was a statistic doing the rounds near the beginning of the season suggesting that Gervinho had attempted more dribbles in one match than any player since Ronaldo. And we have become all too familiar with his mazy runs, offering promise but often ending in cul-de-sacs.
Show-boating and dribbling
For me, the resemblance with Ronaldo starts there. Some of us are old enough to remember when Ronaldo first joined United. A precocious young talent, purchased by Ferguson when he was an eye-catching but barely-known 18 year old.
Perhaps not surprisingly, he had in fact been spotted by Arsene Wenger, and had visited the Arsenal training ground as early as November 2002. But it was Manchester United who got to him first, signing him during the 2003 summer transfer window.
My earliest memories of watching him on TV during that first season was a propensity to over-indulge his obvious skills - bordering on show-boating - with no sense of how these could be adapted for the benefit of the team. He was selfish and skilful, but without the nous to become a serious premiership player.
From tricky winger to goal-scorer
But it’s not this frustrating side of his game which I’m thinking of. It’s the way in which Ronaldo moved from being a tricky winger to becoming a goal-scorer. For me it’s also not an accident that the switch really started to take off when United adopted a new formation with Rooney and Tevez - in 2006/7.
In his first season, 2003/4, Ronaldo scored 4 goals in 28 premiership games (14 of which he came on as sub); in his second he scored 5 in 33 (8 as sub); in his third he scored 9 in 33 (9 as a sub). Not a bad rate-of-return for a young winger - but hardly the return we’ve come to expect. So what changed?
In his first few seasons, Ronaldo played as a fairly traditional - if often unorthodox - winger, with Van Nistelrooy the main front-man and goal-scorer.
In season 2007/8, with Van Nistelrooy gone, Ferguson adopted a new formation - with a versatile, fast and mobile front three of Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo. Man Utd famously won the Premier League and the Champions League, beating Chelsea in the final. That season, Ronaldo hit 31 goals from 34 starts.
Look at this video to see how many of these goals were from a central position - but note also how sometimes Ronaldo comes in from the left, and sometimes from the right.
Arsenal’s front line
Now turning to Gervinho. This season he has been used much more centrally and is currently the side’s top goal-scorer. Most of Gervinho’s goals have come when playing alongside Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain (and sometimes Walcott).
This is not Gervinho as a centre-forward, but a front-line of three fast, versatile players.
In fact there are four.
The fast, fluid formation fits perfectly with the way in which Arsene Wenger is playing Santi-Cazorla. Sometimes he is further forward than the two ‘wide’ players. (The development of a ‘stretched diamond’ across the front line is the subject of a different blog!)
My thinking here is that Wenger is going for a front-line which is not dissimilar from the front-line adopted by Manchester United in that 2007/8 season.
None of the front three or four can be pigeon-holed as strikers or wingers - they are all fast and versatile, and it’s their movement and link-up play which has been most eye-catching about Arsenal’s forward-play this season and, in my opinion, is a very exciting prospect - with Gervinho the frustrating, show-boaty, winger-turned goalscorer!
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