Emmanuel Petit says Arsenal due change at top ahead of Barcelona clash
But as Arsenal prepare, as best they can, for what has all the appearances of being a hiding to nothing at the Nou Camp tonight, the former Gunner and World Cup and European Championship winner with France, suggests that the lesson of this season is that Wenger can no longer afford to go it alone at the Emirates.
“Arsene and I have been friends for 25 years, he was my first manager, he brought me from Monaco academy to the first team, we won trophies, and we did great things together with Arsenal, so I won’t say that he has to leave,” says Petit.
“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 as well. When I look at the 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 (for) Arsene, it’s good to share the place with someone else and try to open the door to the former players.”
When it’s put to Petit that perhaps Wenger could ‘move upstairs’ as a director of football, he doesn’t rule out the idea.
“I think Arsene should stay at the club (but) as a manager? I don’t know. I think he needs to stay at the club because he is 20 years there, he brings the club into a new era, a new stadium (and there’s) the brand (of football) he brought to the pitch.” But it’s on that pitch, Petit continues, that “Arsenal has been missing something for ages — it’s mental. When you look at the titles they won, it was because they had great leaders in the team. They have great players (now) but they are missing leaders and personality. If you want to win things, then you need to suffer.”
The club must improve its transfer strategy, he argues. “I understand the wages situation but Arsenal are one of the richest clubs in the world and they can afford to bring in the big, big guns.” Petit says he would love to see the likes of Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski and Borussia Dortmund’s Aubameyang coming to the Emirates, while he’s also a big fan of Leicester City’s warrior midfielder N’Golo Kante.
But, of course, none of this window shopping has any bearing on tonight’s Champions League second leg in Barcelona, a game in which the task for the visiting team has been characterised by Wenger as a bid to render the impossible possible.
But even on this almost touchingly hopeful note, Petit finds himself at odds with his former manager.
“I understand what Arsene said to the players but I think he needs to be honest with them as well. If I was an Arsenal player, I would think to myself, ‘we lost the first leg 2-0, I haven’t seen a team win 3-0 against Barcelona, it’s impossible — how can we pretend to win against the best team in Europe, when we can’t win at home to Watford?’
“So before thinking about making the impossible possible, you need to focus on the target you can reach, the Premier League — (although) the Premier League seems to be over for them (too).”
Meanwhile Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has hailed Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger as a “chosen one” — despite the ongoing speculation as to his future.
A run of domestic form which has seen the Gunners slip from top of the Premier League to 11 points adrift and ended their hopes of three successive FA Cups has seen the pressure on Wenger ramped up in recent weeks.
The 66-year-old is approaching two decades in charge of Arsenal but more and more of the club’s supporters appear to want change — although Enrique believes Wenger’s sheer longevity proves he is good enough to continue.
“In the modern era, it is impossible,” the Spaniard said, when asked if he could imagine replicating Wenger’s stay.
“It is not the case now with any coach. It means Wenger is a very good coach, no one doubts about that and only the chosen ones can be such a long time in one club — it is because of their good quality.
“I really don’t have a deep knowledge to assess the situation of Mr Wenger, but every time there are more coaches out there and more competition and possibilities — the number of teams is always the same but more coaches,.
“That is why it is difficult to be 20 years in the same position, and why he has done a good job and is at a good level.”
Enrique, whose Barca side are on a 37-game unbeaten run, also feels long-term deals for managers could soon be a thing of the past. “I’d make it so there is never a contract of more than six months,” he added. “The trainer and manager, they have to have that approach — it would be cheaper for the club as well, if you don’t like the manager, you just change it, you don’t spend much money to fire him.”
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