Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has lavished praise on the Gunners' new signing Gervinho, who joined this summer from Lille for £11 million.

27133 - Gervinho will 'kill' defenders - Henry

The Ivory Coast international has moved to the Emirates after helping Lille to the Ligue 1 title last season, and he gave an immediate indication of his quality by scoring twice in a friendly debut at Cologne.

"He is a good player. I have known about him for a very long time," Henry said. "He is skilful, versatile and you will see that in one-on-one situations - he is going to kill a lot of defenders in this league.

"Gervinho is fast, has great vision and everything to succeed at Arsenal. He is an Arsenal player and Arsene doesn't buy players who won't fit in his team. The fans will be excited by him. He can light up a stadium. He can play anywhere."

Meanwhile, Henry has urged the Arsenal hierarchy to stick with Arsene Wenger, despite the club's six-year wait for silverware. "I know some people had a go at Arsene recently," he said. "The boss changed the face of the club and, for me, I would keep Arsene for life. I know he got a bit of stick recently, but hopefully they can change that this year."

Henry, now with New York Red Bulls, will play against Arsenal on Sunday during the Emirates Cup, which is being screened live on ESPN.