Former Arsenal attacker Gervinho has put the blame of his poor form on Arsene Wenger’s unwillingness to give him enough playing time in the right positions, as the Ivorian settles into life at his new Italian club AS Roma.

Wenger has been busy in the transfer market trying to get big signings through the door, but without much luck through most of the window. However, his persistence to get the right player paid off, with the arrival of Mesut Ozil for a club record fee of £42.4 million. Ozil’s arrival has already been welcomed by many Arsenal legends and existing players, praising the creativity and unique talent possessed by the German international. The initial frustration by supporters due to lack of signings combined with Arsenal’s opening day defeat to Aston Villa in the Barclays Premier League had asserted pressure on Wenger and the board, who had promised big names coming through the door without much limitation on the budget.

The squad still consisted of players who had to be moved on due to lack of form, and among those were Nicklas Bendtner and Gervinho. Even though Bendtner was in talks with the Premier League’s newly promoted clubs like Hull City and Crystal Palace a deal could not go through due to the player’s excessive wage demands.

Gervinho was under similar circumstances with lack of form and consistency not helping his aim of getting into the starting eleven at the Emirates Stadium. His style of play, which primarily comprised being on the wing and cutting through the wing backs to score or supply had become too predictable, and with the scale of each Premier League encounter, the opposition would be prepared for Gervinho’s natural instinct. Also, Lukas Podolski’s signing at the beginning of last season decreased his chances of getting a starting eleven berth at the club. With fans getting on the back of players like Gervinho and Bendtner due to lack of consistency, Wenger was left with no choice but to replace them in the lineup.

According to the Metro, Gervinho said, “I was not getting much time on the pitch and was in need of this time to improve and play my best football. Wenger was not prepared to give it to me.

“Also my position on the wing was not what I was expecting and I wasn’t happy with it.

“It would have helped had he shown more confidence in me,”