Petit right to call it a day - Wenger

Arsene Wenger has backed former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit’s enforced decision to call time on his playing career.

Petit, 34, who won the double with Arsenal in 1998, found it impossible to recover full fitness after a series of operations.

“Just before Christmas I became certain that I would never get back to my physical level. I knew it was over,” he revealed.

“I tried all I could to get back to my physical level, it was a great challenge. But from one day to another 20 years of my life ended.

“It’s like a little death. All the images of my career came through my head and it’s hard to let it go.

“You must suddenly get into real life. Football players live in a bubble. From the morning until the evening, our life is carried out in a military way.

“As a whole, I am obviously very proud of my career. The only regret I have is to have finished it because of injuries like Marco van Basten or Glenn Hoddle.

“As a competitor it’s very hard to come to terms with.”

Petit, who won 63 caps for France, scored the third and last goal in the 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil, and was also a member of the squad which won Euro 2000.

However, he is perhaps best known in England for his superb central midfielder partnership with Patrick Vieira, which underpinned Arsenal’s double success in 1997-98.

Despite having moved to Barcelona before returning to London to play for Chelsea, whom he left last summer, Wenger believes Petit’s natural “home was at Arsenal“.

But the Arsenal boss, who also coached Petit at Monaco, agreed with his decision after witnessing his fitness battle at first hand after some sessions at his former club’s training ground before Christmas.

“It’s a wise decision as he’s in a situation where he couldn’t come back to the level where he was,” observed Wenger.

“I know Manu well. I made him start when he was 18 so I know he is too proud to accept walking out onto the pitch and being a shadow of the player he was.”

Wenger described Petit as one of the best French players of his generation, believing he showed his best form while at Highbury.

“We were lucky to get the best out of him. He was at the peak of his career when he was here and he was a tremendous player,” he said.

“I remember how, one day when Manu was out injured, Tony Adams said at half-time ’when does he come back’?

“When he wasn’t in there, you could feel it at the back. He knew how to protect the central defenders and they felt how good a player he was tactically.”

Petit must now decide on his next move, although he insists he will not leave football entirely.

“I feel thrown into the unknown, but I am interested in a few things,” he said.

“I now have the opportunity to travel, and make my own decisions. I think it is essential to take a year off, to think it all out and make the right decisions.

“But it is sure that I will always remain in football in some capacity.”