MANU LOVING LAMPS’ STYLE
EMMANUEL PETIT admits he would rather watch Chelsea than Arsenal this season after being blown away by Frank Lampard’s start to life as manager at Stamford Bridge.
Petit (right) played for both clubs, spending three years with the Gunners between 1997 and 2000 and three years at Chelsea from 2001, with a year at Barcelona in between.
Lampard arrived at Stamford Bridge from West Ham in the same summer as Petit arrived from Spain.
And the Frenchman knew from the start that his fellow midfielder would be cut out for management.
That’s why there are have been no surprises for Petit that things have been so positive for Lampard and Chelsea since he took over from Maurizio Sarri.
And as his two old clubs prepared to meet today, Petit said: “Frank has made such a huge improvement since he left Derby.
“The results for Chelsea are so-so – they win, they draw, they lose.
“But I’ve been very impressed by the way the team are playing, when they have the ball, when they don’t have the ball.
“And, if he keeps on doing that, he can do great, great things as a manager. I’m not surprised.
“He was one of the most intelligent players I’ve played with on the pitch in terms of his movement, decisions, spirit, mentally, his efforts on the training pitches and his diet.
“You could see that and feel it when he was there, the way he was preparing himself all the time. He was such a professional with such desire and ambition – and he always wanted to win.
“He has no problems in terms of self-confidence – he is a proud guy. He wants to do great things, he has great ambition and he has the quality to do what he wants to do.
“I’m enjoying watching
Chelsea again and that hasn’t been the case for a couple of years.
“Honestly, this season I really enjoy watching them and that hasn’t been the case with Arsenal.
“It’s a pity to see what’s going on now with Arsenal.”
While Petit laments the negatives with the Gunners this season – and there have been plenty of them – he has felt uplifted by how fast Lampard has made his mark on their old club.
The Frenchman added: “He has the good vision, he’s an intelligent guy.
“He knows very well the quality of the players and he took strong choices straight away.
“With the striker Tammy Abraham, but also with other young players in the team.
“When I look at the lack of Pedro in the team and those kinds of players who lose their position in the first XI.
“From the start, he knew what he wanted to do.
“He can change the system with the players, by using them in different positions, especially the midfield players.
“Sometimes he plays with two or with three, it depends on the opponents and the way he is wanting to play.
“The team are playing for each other – whether they have the ball or not. The face of the team is completely different to what I saw last season when Maurizio Sarri was the manager.
“It’s not the fact Sarri didn’t do a good job, he did a good job. He won a trophy with Chelsea at the end.
“But what you’re looking at on the pitch are not the same things. With Frank, he brings some talented British players with him.
“We were all fearing the fact that, with the transfer ban, it would be very difficult for him with all the young players.
“I was very surprised, but the way they played altogether, they showed so many qualities, individually and collectively, on the pitch.
“Of course, they are responsible for that, but Frank is the momentum for everything.”