Gervinho was allowed to leave Arsenal because he lacked confidence and needed a new challenge, according to Arsene Wenger.

The Ivory Coast international spent two seasons at Emirates Stadium and showed flashes of his undoubted class, not least when he led the attack at the start of the 2012/13 campaign.

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Gervinho scored 11 goals in 63 appearances for Wenger's side before completing a move to Italian side Roma earlier this month.

"I made that decision [to sell Gervinho] because he looked to play with a lack of confidence, especially at the Emirates," explained Wenger in his exclusive interview on Arsenal Player.

"He is a very creative player, an instinctive dribbler and for that you need a lot of confidence to be completely efficient. I felt that in the last six months it was very difficult for him to express his talent in a confident way.

"Then you sit there and think, 'Do I bring him back or does he need a new challenge to get that confidence back?' and I did not want to stop him from getting a new chance."