How many chances did Gervinho expect at Arsenal?

I was absolutely stunned today to read that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have come in for criticism from the departed Ivorian international striker Gervinho. The 26-year old was allowed to leave for Italy and the Serie A side Roma this summer, when Wenger admitted that his confidence was not likely to return at the Emirates. The story in the Independent reveals that Gervinho thinks that Wenger should have had more faith in him. In my opinion, and a lot of Arsenal fans feel the same, Gervinho was extremely lucky to get as many chances as he did, and I doubt whether many managers would have been so forgiving of his poor performances. The 26-year old 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 was not happy with it.” The boss actually gave Gervinho a good run of games at the start of last season, and the striker started okay, but his form dropped right off, so I’m not sure where he is coming from. I think he was even worse when he played in the middle than he was on the wing, and he was lucky to even be on the pitch most of the time. Also, in his first season after joining the Gunners from French club Lille, Wenger gave him 37 games, and was rewarded with a paltry four goals. I think the final straw for Wenger came in the Capital One cup game against Bradford last season. Arsenal were in a great position to end the long trophy drought, but Gervinho’s frankly inept and embarrassing performance in front of goal against League 2 Bradford in the quarter-finals meant the game went to penalties, which we lost. Even after that, Wenger gave the player a few chances when he came back from the AFCON, so there’s gratitude for you.