It is time for Wenger to go, insists Petit
EMMANUEL PETIT has urged Arsene Wenger to step down as Arsenal manager at the end of this season and allow one of his protégés take charge at the Emirates Stadium.
World Cup winner Petit was signed by his fellow Frenchman while still a teenager at Monaco and went on to lift the Premier League and FA Cup under his mentor in 1998.
However, Petit now feels that the time has come for Wenger t o become a director of football and relinquish the day- to- day running of the team as an increasing number of supporters become disillusioned with the club’s slide.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday, the 41-year-old explained: ‘I am pretty sure he has to stay at the club but maybe it’s time for him to open the door for something else. When I look at former players from Arsenal, how many of them have their badges to manage a team?
‘ Dennis Bergkamp, Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, many, many great players, they have their own statue in front of the stadium. I think Arsene... it’s good to share the place with someone else and try to open the door to former players.’
Petit definitely won’t be one of them, though, joking that he prefers to coach his kids. His old midfield partner Vieira is also unlikely to return in the near future considering he is entrenched i n Manchester City’s system and is currently in charge of New York City FC in Major League Soccer.
With the Gunners 11 points adrift of league leaders Leicester City, Petit believes they are now out of the title race because they ‘give up on the pitch’ too easily when things don’t go their way.
‘I think Arsenal has been missing something for ages, it’s mental,’ he added.
‘They’ve got great players and the way they used to play is one of the best in Europe. But playing well on the pitch doesn’t mean you’re going to winin the title.
‘ You can play badly as well but you win the game. One thing that’ s wrong with Arsenal is that you can see a lot of the playerss give up. Mentally, I think they need to improve a lot butut in terms of quality theyhey have everything to win the title.
‘I think Arsene has done a great job in the 20 years he has been there and I respect this very highly, but when you look at the title they won it was because they had great leaders in the team. They have great players but are missing leaders and personality.’
Arsenal were recently eliminated from the FA Cup by Watford at the quarter stage on Sunday and have just three victories in the league since the turn of the year. And Petit believes it is impossible for them to overcome the 2-0 deficit against Barcelona in the Champions League tonight. ‘I think he (Wenger) needs to be honest with them as wwell. If I was an Arsenal player, I wwould think to myself “we lost the first leg 2-0, I haven’t seen a t eam win 3- 0 against Barcellona, it’s imposssible, how can we pretend to win against the best team in Europe when we can’t win at home to Watford?”. ‘The gap between Arsenal and Barcelona i s huge, in terms of performances, titles, the way they are every time they come on the pitch. ’
Petit, who endured a troubled time at the Nou Camp after leaving London in 2000, fears the one player he could make a real difference at The Emirates is now out of their league.
‘I would love to see Robert Lewandowski coming to Arsenal but I am pretty sure he won’t leave Bayern Munich to come to Arsenal. There is [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund, he is having a great time, but they need a great holding midfielder, a real one.
‘I have seen so many holding midfielders in the past with Arsenal, but if you want to win the Premier League, have a target to win the Champions League, you need to bring something to the team.’
Leicester City’s N’Golo Kante has caught Petit’s eye. ‘He is a warrior, but as well, he is very intelligent, tactically. For me, he reminds me of (Claud) Makelele, the way he plays, the way he reads the display from the opponents. He is very intelligent as well, his reading of the game is perfect.’
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