Emmanuel Petit feels it may be time for Arsene Wenger to step aside at Arsenal and allow a fresh face to take over.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the former Arsenal midfielder feels this season was a massive opportunity for the club to reclaim the title they last won 12 seasons ago. With the other main title contenders having a less than stellar campaign it left the Gunners in prime position to take advantage, which they have failed to do.
Petit was part of the double winning side in 1998 and formed a formidable partnership in the center of midfield with his French compatriot Patrick Vieira. Both players were seen as strong leaders in the team. This is something Arsenal have lacked according to various pundits and former Arsenal players. Wenger himself refutes these claims and feels the team does have a strong leadership filled team but Petit disagrees with his former boss.
Arsene is one of the greatest managers I have played with, you can see what he’s done over the past 20 years for Arsenal but I think Arsene needs to understand one important thing, he needs to understand that if you want to win a trophy then you need great leaders and great warriors on the pitch.
I think they are not strong enough. Arsene needs to bring in players who have the potential to play the Arsenal way but also with a great mind, a great spirit, a great heart. This was the perfect year for Arsenal to win the Premier League and they’ve missed it. That’s it, and Arsene is quite responsible for that too.
Petit feels that now is the time for Wenger to finally step aside and let a fresh face come in with a fresh perspective.
Should he stay as manager at the club? I don’t know, It’s probably the time for him to stay but in a different role at the club. Maybe he could be supervising but I think they need someone new that will lead to new players coming into the club.
