AS Roma coach Rudi Garcia admits Gervinho's signing was a personal request.

The Ivorian hasn't looked back since arriving from Arsenal.

"Of course I knew Gervinho could be this decisive. He started with me at Le Mans, then at Lille we won the Double, so when I arrived at Roma I realised we were missing someone like him. He can get past one or two men and make the difference against teams that are locked down. Gervinho always plays for his teammates too and makes good choices.

"We have a very attentive staff who study the opposition, which is why we know what to do. Roma hadn't won here for 19 years, so we knew this was a difficult test, but the team is confident."