The doom-mongers predicted big trouble for Arsenal when Robin van Persie packed his bags and headed for Old Trafford in the summer but perhaps they need not have worried.
Gervinho, who spent his first season in north London very much in the shadow of the Dutch master, is suddenly re-discovering the form that tempted manager Arsene Wenger to sign him from Lille while in Germany's Lukas Podolski, they boast one of the most natural goal predators in Europe.