60,000,000 REASONS WHY GUNNERS ARE GOING NOWHERE
Legend Petit insists Emery is a talented manager being let down by the club’s refusal to spend BIG
EMMANUEL PETIT has warned Arsenal will “go nowhere” under Unai Emery – unless they start spending big.
Petit claimed that it is “ridiculous” that the club have only got as little as £60million to spend this summer and Emery will struggle to make an impact.
The Gunners legend says Emery is “very talented” and reminds him of a young Arsene Wenger, but warned the squad needs a major overhaul. Petit (left) said: “When I hear about the amount of money Emery has to spend, I can’t believe it. Where are you going with £60m? You’re going nowhere.
“With that amount of money, you can put the best manager in the world on the sideline and the team won’t change much. There is quality at the club, but not to match the likes of Manchester City or Liverpool. They need to bring in top quality players. “I want to say to the board: Can you just stop bringing in young players for one year? We’ve had enough of young players. It’s been like this for 15 years now, we need something else. We need talented experienced players, big characters and big personalities.
“This is what has been missing. For me, £60 million is ridiculous.”
Emery took over at Arsenal last week after Wenger’s 22 years in charge and Petit believes he has all of the attributes to be successful.
But he must sign the right people with the right mentality and character if he is to implement his ideas and bring the success he enjoyed at Sevilla.
Petit added: “Emery is very talented. He has a very specific vision of what he wants to do on the pitch with his players. At Arsenal he will probably want to do exactly what he did at Sevilla.
“He was unable to do that at Paris Saint-Germain because of the egos in the team. He was eaten by the players and didn’t have the personality to be the leader of the dressing room.
“When the Arsenal players meet him they will be surprised. They will see a young and talented manager, but his desire, passion, commitment and professionalism may surprise them.
“He loves the game so much that he reminds me of Arsene. He eats and sleeps football. Having watched him over the past two years in France, you could see he was frustrated. it was obvious he was alone at the club.
“The president didn’t protect him and Emery had to front up alone to criticism. The players spoke out against him. I pitied him sometimes – he never got the chance to do what he wanted. There were too many divas in the PSG dressing room.
“Some at Arsenal can be the same, but I hope they give him the chance.
“I want to see the same passion and desire that Liverpool show, which is what Emery’s Sevilla used to produce.
“I want to see Arsenal express themselves, no matter the opponent.
“Quick passing, quick movement, then pressure straight away when you lose the ball. I desperately want to see that type of play back at Arsenal.”