Arsenal icon tired of club’s failures and urges them to act this summer

Emmanuel Petit feels Arsenal have failed at the highest level and he is tired of it, urging the club to strengthen in the summer and saying they must not lose any of their best players.

The Gunners have undoubtedly improved under the management of Mikel Arteta, but their only major piece of silverware since he took over remains the 2020 FA Cup.

While they have challenged for the Premier League title under his stewardship, their last triumph remains back in 2004, with Liverpool managing to break the stranglehold of Manchester City this season as the Gunners fell short.

Petit, who won the Premier League with Arsenal in 1998, says it is time for the club to take the next step and establish itself among the most dominant in Europe.

While the Gunners are clearly operating at a very high level, the Frenchman feels the fact they are not among the elite in terms of silverware represents a frustrating failure.

The World Cup winner believes Arteta absolutely must keep hold of William Saliba this summer and add to his squad as well.

‘Arsenal are still second and got to the semi-final of the Champions League so it’s about what happens next in the transfer market,’ Petit told Casinozonderlimiet.

‘The club needs to bring in top players and keep hold of their best players like William Saliba, who Real Madrid want.

‘Saliba needs to stay and the team needs reinforcement so they can have a better rotation, better quality on the bench because they are losing the big fights.

‘After we lost against Paris Saint-Germain, the fans were mocking Arsenal because of that. It’s the same in England, you know, Arsenal are a good team, a good club, but everyone says that they are not one of the top clubs in Europe in terms of history.

‘That’s because they have failed and I’m tired of it. This team needs to change the situation and win something, they need to compete until the end and not just at the start.’

Petit has set his former club a huge task, saying they must win the Champions League for the first time in their history to change the narrative around their status.

‘They need to get back to the days of 25 years ago and be the team to beat, clubs were scared to play against us and we won titles and got to finals, we put in the steps but that was it,’ he said.

‘Arsenal need to improve season after season and win the Champions League to prove people wrong.’

Real Madrid’s pursuit of Saliba is a real concern for Petit, who feels it would be a huge step back for the Gunners if they were to lose his compatriot.

‘If you want to compete with the best clubs in Europe, you have to improve your squad every season and that happens by keeping hold of your best players,’ he said.

‘If Arsenal were to lose William Saliba, it would remind me of the days they needed money after moving to the Emirates, they don’t need to do that anymore.

‘Arsenal have the cash to spend and they need to build on their current team and add strikers and wingers while keeping hold of their defenders.

‘The defence has been their strength in the last three or four seasons, one of the best defences in Europe. If they sign forwards but sell defenders, what is the point?’