Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger feels there is still more to come from Gervinho

The Gunners saw their Ivorian forward lead from the front against Reading on Saturday, as he broke the deadlock in a comfortable 4-1 success.

He also provided two assists at the Emirates as he put in arguably his best performance for the club to date.

Wenger was not surprised by the standard of Gervinho's showing and believes there is the promise of more to come from a man who needs to have greater belief in his own ability.

"Honestly, he is not a clinical finisher," said the French tactician.

"When he is completely relaxed, he's quite good.

"He rushes his finishing because when he arrives in front of the goal he wants to get rid of it.

"The big goalscorers just pass it in and that's what he has to learn."

Wenger added on a man who went 14 games without a goal at one stage this season: "My worry was he played in front of a negative atmosphere here so you always persist to give him confidence again.

"In training, he finishes well. Better than when he arrived.

"It will get better. His finishing is linked with his psychology. He wants to do well. He loves football. He is a hard worker."

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Premier League: Gervinho inspires Arsenal to 4-1 win over Reading

The Ivorian scored the opener and set up two more as the Gunners gave their hopes of a top-four place a real boost.

The defeat for Reading meanwhile was a sixth on the spin and leaves new boss Nigel Adkins with a mountain to climb if he is to lift his side out of trouble.

The Gunners were on top from the outset and made the perfect start on 11 minutes, Gervinho tapping home Santi Cazorla's cross-shot from close range to finish a move he had started on the right wing.

Arsenal thought they had won a penalty when onrushing Reading goalkeeper Stuart Taylor clattered Olivier Giroud in the area on 18 minutes, only for referee Chris Foy to wave play on.

Arsene Wenger's men were utterly dominant in the first 45 but could not find a second, the best chance coming when Cazorla drilled just wide of the left-hand post from inside the area.

Adkins will have been relieved to have got in at half-time at just 1-0, but whatever he said at the break went out of the window three minutes into the second period.

Reading again failed to close Arsenal down, allowing Gervinho to lay it off to the excellent Cazorla, who coolly stroked the ball home from the edge of the area.

Gervinho again had a role in the third on 67 minutes, collecting the ball on the halfway line after Reading made a mess of their own corner, striding forward and laying it off to Giroud who drilled low first time beyond Taylor.

Reading gave themselves hope just a minute later, Jobi McAnuff's teasing cross from the left converted at the far post by Hal Robson-Kanu.

That hope was quickly snuffed out though when substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was tripped in the area 13 minutes from time, allowing Mikel Arteta to slot home from the spot.

Aaron Ramsey and Per Mertesacker both had late chances to make it five, as Arsenal closed out one of their easiest victories of the season.

Speaking after the match, Wenger was full of praise for Gervinho, who was starting his first Premier League game since December.

"He is what you want from a striker, dangerous, he scored and gave assists," said Wenger. "The only regret is that he had a few more chances to score, but you cannot fault his performance today, he was absolutely outstanding."

Reading boss Adkins is keen to move on from defeat in his first game, with his former club Southampton his new team's opponents next weekend.

Adkins said: "We'll analyse the game, we'll learn the lessons from it, debrief it on Monday and Tuesday and then we'll get ourselves ready for the next game, I think that is the most important thing we've got to go and do now."

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Wenger expects top-four spot

The Gunners chalked up a sixth win in their last eight Premier League games when they saw off relegation battlers Reading 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium in what was Nigel Adkins' first match in charge of the visitors.

With Chelsea losing at Southampton, the Gunners are now just two points behind the Blues, and four off third-placed Tottenham - on whom they hold a game in hand.

There are bound to be plenty more twists and turns over the run-in, and Wenger wants his side to focus on delivering their own top performances to secure the necessary final outcome at full time on May 19.

"We have the experience, we have done it before and what we want is to do again," said Wenger, whose side managed to overhaul Spurs last season and secure automatic qualification for the Champions League group stages.

"I am sure we will, but it demands a lot of dedication and nerves until the end."

Chelsea tackle Premier League leaders Manchester United in their FA Cup quarter-final replay on Monday as part of a hectic fixture schedule in which they also will hope to progress in the Europa League.

Wenger feels having so many key games in quick succession could work either way - but will not get overly concerned with how anyone else is set to perform.

"It can be very positive if you are on a good run, and very negative if you are in bad form," he said.

"But let's just take care of the way we play, take care of our spirit and give it our all."

Ivory Coast forward Gervinho certainly did that against the Royals, firing the home side into an early lead in what was one of his best recent displays.

The 25-year-old has polarised opinion among Gunners fans since his 11million move from Lille in July 2011, with a string of inconsistent displays.

Wenger feels all of his current squad have what it takes to help the club move forwards, although he will look to strengthen the group in the summer.

"Gervinho did not play for his future [against Reading], he was just playing for his club, that is what every player does," said Wenger.

"We are a group of players who want to go for it, and to go for it together.

"Sometimes Gervinho plays, sometimes [Theo] Walcott, sometimes [Lukas] Podolski, but we can only do it if we all have the same target and do it together."

Reading - who slumped to the bottom of the table with yesterday's defeat - had defended resolutely for long spells, but their resistance was finally broken again at the start of the second half when Santi Cazorla curled in a delightful 20-yard effort with Olivier Giroud soon adding a third following a quick break by Gervinho.

Reading, though, netted a consolation through Hal Robson-Kanu before Mikel Arteta's penalty - converted after a trip by Adrian Mariappa on substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, when initial contact was probably outside the box - wrapped things up for the Gunners.

Full-back Nacho Monreal had injured his hip when clattering into the post as he slid to try to stop Robson-Kanu's header, but Wenger revealed the Spaniard, so impressive since his January deadline switch from Malaga, was "not bad" and should train again next week.

Walcott could be back for the trip to West Brom after his hip/thigh problem picked up on international duty with England, although midfielder Jack Wilshere is now likely to be pencilled in for a return against Norwich on April 13.

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Arsene Wenger praises Arsenal forward Gervinho after Reading win

The Ivorian, starting his first Premier League game since December, gave the Gunners the lead after just 11 minutes at the Emirates Stadium before laying on two more for his team-mates.

The former Lille forward could have grabbed a hat-trick as Arsenal threatened to overrun the struggling Royals in the second half.

"He is what you want from a striker, dangerous, he scored and gave assists," Wenger told Sky Sports after the game.

"The only regret is that he had a few more chances to score, but you cannot fault his performance today, he was absolutely outstanding."

Speaking of the team's display in general, Wenger added: "It was a good performance. Technically sound, serious, always focused and a very creative performance as well because we created many shots and chances - that is what you want.

"We kept our focus and fortunately we scored early in the second half, that killed the game a little bit.

"Reading kept going but our technical quality today was very, very good. We also had a lot of imagination, sometimes a little bit too much but that is what you want from your team."

The win keeps up the pressure on north London rivals Tottenham in the race for a top four place, though Wenger insists he is not worrying about other teams' results at present.

"We are focused just on winning our games," he said. "We have a clear target, we don't need to look around us because at the moment we are still behind. We just want to win our games."

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Aaron Ramsey has no regrets over Arsenal move

Sir Alex Ferguson's side were in the hunt to sign the midfielder in the summer of 2008, but a 17-year-old Ramsey opted to move to the Emirates Stadium instead in a 5million deal.

He was impressed with Arsenal's desire to sign him, with boss Arsene Wenger even flying the midfielder out to Switzerland where he was working at Euro 2008 for face-to-face talks.

Ramsey has enjoyed mixed fortunes in an Arsenal shirt, with the undoubted low being the broken leg suffered at Stoke in February 2010 that sidelined him for nine months.

The 22-year-old has looked to be getting back to his best in recent months, though that has been tempered by Arsenal's failure to win major silverware for an eighth season in succession.

Despite the lack of medals Ramsey insists he still feels he made the right choice when opting to snub United in favour of the Gunners.

"The main factor in joining Arsenal was meeting with Arsene Wenger and to hear what his plans were for me," Ramsey told the Daily Mirror. "He has brought through so many youngsters and given them opportunities and turned them into great players.

"They flew me over there to have a meeting with him. I was overwhelmed. I was 17 and one of the best managers in the world wants to meet me face to face.

"It was definitely a hard choice to make at my age, but I've no regrets, I think I made the right choice. I felt more wanted at Arsenal, I felt the plan was better for me and they gave youngsters more opportunities. Manchester United also had a lot of midfielders at the time as well."

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Wenger has faith in Szczesny

Szczesny did not play in the last two matches before the international break, decisions which brought outspoken comments from his father.

The 22-year-old moved quickly to distance himself from that direct criticism of Wenger, insisting he was happy to fight for his place, having come through the Arsenal youth system after joining from Legia Warsaw in 2006.

And Wenger has every confidence in Szczesny's long-term ability.

"That (100 appearances) is a huge credit to him, something absolutely fantastic and shows he has a great future," Wenger said in an interview with Arsenal Player.

"What is happening to him at the moment is just a normal process of any career - we had (Jens) Lehmann, (David) Seaman, they had their blips and their periods where they were less good, even when they were more experienced than Wojciech."

Wenger must decide whether to recall Szczesny for Saturday's visit of relegation-battlers Reading, but has drawn a line under the recent selection row.

"I haven't spoken to him (about his father's comments), but I believe he responded very well. There is a not a lot more to say," the Gunners boss told a news conference.

"We are in a competitive world, he has played 100 games for this club and at his age that is absolutely fantastic.

"For the rest, we have ups and downs in our form and we have to fight against that, that is what he said, basically.

"Wojciech has a great future. He is a very young goalkeeper. You do not find very many goalkeepers at his age who have the experience he has already, that is why I believe he has a great future, but he lives in a world where competition exists."

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Tomas Rosicky says Arsenal's win at Bayern Munich can be a turning point

Arsene Wenger's side won 2-0 at the Allianz Arena, but agonisingly dropped out of the UEFA Champions League on the away goals rule.

The Gunners bounced back from that disappointment with a 2-0 victory at Swansea last time to sit fifth in the Premier League, four points behind arch-rivals Tottenham with a game in hand.

Next up, Arsenal face relegation strugglers Reading at the Emirates on Saturday, and Rosicky is relishing a return to domestic action after the international break.

"Ideally, I don't think we would have had a break after the last two results," Rosicky told Arsenal's official website.

"The game in Munich could be the equivalent of last season's Tottenham game - the stepping stone or turning point. Three days later, at Swansea, we put in another very good performance.

"Now we need to pick up that momentum again. It's a very interesting period for us now, fighting for a place in the Champions League."

Arsenal finished strongly to claim a place in the Champions League last season and Rosicky is looking for more of the same.

"That's what I expect to happen - that we will be there again," he said.

"Of course it will be a tough task, but our advantage is that we had the same experience last year. We know it's very possible but we have to be consistent.

"Inconsistency has bothered us at times this season, but I believe we will produce a strong finish and we will make it."

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