Gervinho talks up Arsenal chances

Arsenal forward Gervinho says that the club’s current squad are capable of ending a seven-year wait for silverware this season.

The Gunners brought in Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski over the close season but lost last season’s Premier League top scorer Robin van Persie to Manchester United as well as midfielder Alex Song to Barcelona.

But Gervinho feels that the north London side have retained enough strength to win their first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.

“There’s great belief that we can contend for trophies,” he told Arsenal’s official website.

“This is important, not only for the players, but also for the club in general.

“There is real hope that we can bring trophies to Arsenal. Every player is conscious of this and we’re going to do all we can to achieve it this season.

“We’ve had a few changes at the club and there’s a good spirit among the group – we’re all enjoying playing together. Everyone is happy and it goes without saying that the group is up for having a good season.”

The 25 year-old Ivory Coast international also took time to praise the club’s latest acquisitions, in particular Giroud, against whom he came up in France during his time at Lille.

“I know Olivier Giroud personally from the French league,” the attacker added. “He’s a good striker, he’s really impressed me and has made a good impression generally.

“These new signings will help us move on and I think they are a good set of strikers.

“We’ve got lots of options in attack, but every team is different, every team has it’s own players and every team has got it’s own qualities up front.

“But the most important thing is that we’ve got a good strikeforce, we have to concentrate on ourselves, take care of our own business and I think that our attacking options can really make a difference this year.”