Clicky
Sports, Football

Arsenal needs a great leader, like Gerrard: Petit


Bangladeshpost
Published : 13 Nov 2019 09:35 PM | Updated : 30 Aug 2020 03:24 AM

Emmanuel Petit has expressed his belief that it is "time for Unai Emery to leave Arsenal", while backing Rangers boss Steven Gerrard to come in and steady the ship at Emirates Stadium, according to Goal. Former Gunners midfielder has suggested a Liverpool legend would be the right man to inherit the managerial reins at his old club

The pressure is mounting on Emery after a six-match winless streak across all competitions which has seen the Gunners exit the Carabao Cup and slip to sixth in the Premier League. A 2-0 defeat at Leicester City on Saturday left Arsenal eight points adrift of the Champions League places, with a crucial home fixture against Southampton up next after the international break. Some fans and experts have already suggested Emery's time at the Emirates is up, with no significant progress made at the club since his appointment in the summer of 2018.

Petit is among those endorsing the Spaniard's potential departure, with it his belief that Arsenal "need a great leader" in the mould of Gerrard, who has helped Rangers emerge as title contenders in Scotland once again. “The club needs a great leader now,” Petit told Paddy Power. “Someone who can bring back the passion, someone respected by the players, someone who can fill the team with energy and the winning mentality.

“Steven Gerrard, for example, is like this. “I want to see passion, emotion. Someone who, when he takes your hand, you can feel the electricity. 

"I want someone who can bring that to the Arsenal dressing room, because they need to wake up.” The Frenchman thinks that the majority of the Arsenal squad have already "given up on Emery" and that a change in the dugout is a necessity for the club to start moving in the right direction. “I believe it’s time for Unai Emery to leave Arsenal,” Petit said. “The results are not good at all. I don’t recognise this team anymore and I don’t recognise this club anymore. “Arsene Wenger built this club for 20 years and there was concern as generation after generation came and went. But now they look like an average team without any inspiration or creativity – and I don’t think that’s solely down to the players.  “My opinion is that most of the players have given up on Emery, so it’s time for him to go."