It looks increasingly likely that Wenger will make Gervinho his first major signing of the summer, and much has already been written about this Ivorian striker/winger.

Not wanting to cover the same ground necessarily, but wanting to add to the debate, I would like to add some musings and a question or two that I hope you Gooners out there will have a few answers to them.

Whilst I have made my own preference for a returning 4-4-2 system known in previous articles, it would appear that the signing of Gervinho makes this less likely.

He would appear to be a starter for the Ivory Coast, playing on the left of a three man attack with Drogba and Kalou, scoring twice in their most recent African Nations qualifier against Benin.

For Lille, he and Hazard have played either side of Sow in a genuine 4-3-3, which concerns me slightly. My concern stems from the fact that Lille have played with both Gervinho and Hazard as out and out wingers, with three more defensively minded midfielders behind them.

With Arsenal playing Cesc in a more advanced role in the three and expecting the two wide players to defend more, I have no knowledge of Gervinho’s capacity to get back and support the full back.

The question is therefore would be – will he play like Nasri, who tracks back, or will he play like Arshavin, who genuinely has attack on his mind?

If he can play the wide left role in big games, in what effectively becomes a five man midfield, it will be a real bonus for Arsenal – think of the work-rate of Walcott and Nasri in the Chelsea match as a perfect example. If he can do this then I believe he will be an amazing signing as his dribbling ability at speed, his assist ratio, and an obvious eye for goal, easily match that of the frustrating Russian.

The Gervinho signing therefore may suggest the exit door for Arshavin, and one would hope that we might still get enough of a fee to fund most if not all of the deal for the Ivorian.

So accepting I have a fairly warm feeling for this signing, it does still leave a few questions in my mind. If the new boy is a guaranteed starter in the left berth of the attacking three, will Walcott or Nasri play first choice on the right? This of course assuming that Fabregas will stay as our talisman and skipper next season, and that he will play at the fulcrum of the midfield, not Nasri.

Jack Wilshere will certainly play and Song/Frimpong or another signing will also play. Again, this is not what I would opt for, but this is highly likely if Wenger sticks with the formation of the past three years.

My other query will come from leftfield to some of you, but it has been troubling me for the past month since the link to Gervinho first was touted. It surrounds the complete silence of Emmanuel Eboue on the subject.

Now given that Eboue is hardly the shy, retiring type and is always ready with a quote of a supportive comment for team-mates, why has there been no word from him on the potential signing of his classy international team-mate?

They have played close to 30 games together for the Ivory Coast and spent the summer of 2010 at the World Cup in close company in South Africa, so why are the press fishing for the odd snippet from Djourou or Sagna, who saw him play in the French league three years ago? I am not sure if they overlapped, but Eboue and Gervinho were also both at Beveren in 2005.

Maybe I am being a little paranoid and Eboue has probably taken a long summer break away from civilisation, but is it only me that thinks this is a bit odd, that the person within Arsenal best qualified to comment on this big potential signing has not uttered a word?

I am very hopeful that Wenger will make this signing a reality, and remain positive about the impact that the Ivorian could have on us next season.

Article courtesy of David Seager from Gunnersphere

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]