Emmanuel Petit spoke to Compare.bet yesterday. The ex-Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder said he doesn’t believe Arsenal target Douglas Luiz is worth the quoted price of £100m, discussed how Ivan Toney will have an ‘X-Factor’ when he returns to football and why spending more money will only lead to more problems for Chelsea.
- Douglas Luiz for £100m is ‘crazy money’
- Arsenal need 25-30 goal a season striker
- Toney’s feeling of ‘revenge’ will give him X-Factor for any team that buys him
- Money won’t solve Chelsea’s problems
- Ramsdale has to leave in January
MB: What are your thoughts on Arsenal’s win over Brighton?
EP: Arsenal deserved to win. They controlled the game from the beginning to the end. They created a lot of chances and Brighton were overwhelmed by Arsenal. I think it was a positive game and a very good result for The Gunners.
MB: You have been critical of Kai Havertz but he has recently put in some better performances and scored some goals – is he the right man for that central midfield role for Arsenal?
EP: I always said I’d be patient with Havertz if I was Arteta. I would have benched him before putting him in the starting XI, recently he came off the bench and scored. He’s scored four or five goals now for Arsenal. I don’t think he’s that important in the game, sometimes he disappears. In terms of movement I think he’s creating a lot of chances for his teammates. I think we will see the best of him in the second part of the season. You can see he’s starting to understand how Arsenal are playing. It’s not easy when you come from Chelsea to Arsenal. I’m very happy for him, he deserves credit for what he’s doing, he received so much criticism from fans and the media, step by step he’s getting back to his level. Arteta uses him in many different positions.
MB: City have had a slump and look very beatable this year. Do you think this could be the year for Arsenal to win the league?
EP: “Arsenal are definitely one of the favourites. But it will be so difficult to win. There are so many teams that can win it. We’ve not seen a title race this open in a long time. Liverpool, Aston Villa, Man City, they can all win it. Every single year City have a couple of weeks where they struggle, but you remember what happened last season, they went unbeaten for months. Arsenal lead the Premier League by 10 points and City closed the gap. City have injuries but they still have a great squad. They will bounce back, definitely. We will have five or six teams fighting for the top spots. Liverpool, Arsenal, City and why not Aston Villa, so far they have been amazing. It’s very open this year but Arsenal have a great chance. Everyone remembers last year and Arsenal have gained a lot of experience and character from then and with the transfer window coming soon, I wonder if Arsenal are willing to take in some new players for the second half of the season. Big games are coming and they are coming fast. Yesterday you could feel Liverpool were tired, City the season. The demand from the Premier League physically is very high.
MB: You mention the transfer window – what positions should they be bringing in this Jan?
EP: At the moment Arsenal have been very lucky to not have injuries in the important positions. Last season they were missing three or four players in their first XI and all of a sudden it wasn’t the same Arsenal team. When I look at the spine of the team I hope Rice doesn’t pick up an injury, because he’s been marvelous. Against Brighton he was superb. I hope the central defenders don’t get injured because if they do, what’s the solution? Arteta doesn’t have many options. For example, when you compare them to Manchester City, they have four or five central defenders Pep can rotate. For me, defenders are something that will be very important. You saw last season when they missed Saliba. I wish they would also get a midfielder and another striker. I was very impressed with how Jesus played against Brighton, he scored a goal and his link between the teammates was important. You can see he’s enjoying his game with Arsenal, but is he a typical goalscorer? I don’t think so. Nketiah isn’t either. They won’t score 25-30 goals per season. If they don’t get a striker that can score 30 goals, they need to get some midfielders that can score at least 15 per season. For me a central defender, midfielder and striker is needed.
MB: Gabriel and Saliba are such a brilliant centre-back pairing but behind that they have very little in the way of depth – Do you not trust the backups there?
EP: I think Kiwior is a decent player, but is he at the level of Gabriel and Saliba? Definitely not. He will need to play to hope that one day he will be on their level. Arteta and Arsenal have been improving for the last 2-3 years and for me if they want to reach the next level, they need international players that are very talented. In January it’s difficult to get a highly rated international centre back, especially before the Euros. Many players won’t take the risk to change clubs during this time, otherwise, you’re getting someone that doesn’t play and is on the bench. Who is even on the market for Arsenal as a central defender? There’s not many. I think they’re going to have to be very clever and not spend a lot of money, they need someone that will add some value in quality to their team but it’s very difficult to get that.
MB: Douglas Luiz continues to be linked with Arsenal, but Aston Villa are reportedly asking for 100 million – do you think they should look elsewhere?
EP: £100m is a lot of money, I really like Douglas Luiz but is he worth £100m? It’s crazy money. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for Arsenal to go straight on the market and buy Luiz for that much. I think he’s injured too much and the way that Aston Villa are playing, he probably doesn’t want to leave. If I was Douglas Luiz I’d be very excited to have an offer from Arsenal, but I’d think straight away, I’d look at my current teammates and say, “we are second place in the table and only one point off Arsenal. What happens if we do something very special.” We can imagine Aston Villa playing in the Champions League now. When you leave in the middle of a season, you have to be very careful. When you’re playing at the best level with your current club, it’s a very big risk to change and go to another club. I can understand it’s very exciting to join Arsenal, but the timing, I don’t think it’s good for him.
MB: Gabriel Jesus scored on the weekend but has struggled to score goals this year – is it time they bring in Ivan Toney in January if they really want to compete for the title?
EP: Toney has been a nightmare for Premier League defenders since he came into the league. The way he plays with Mbuemo and the understanding they have together is so impressive. He has a physical presence, he can score goals and make assists, but the most important attribute for him is that he will come back on the pitch so angry and so ready to prove himself after he made a mistake. He will have an X-factor, he will have that feeling of revenge inside himself and will do everything to prove himself as a top player. He will be completely fresh in his legs and his head and I think if any team has the chance to add Toney, they should take it.
MB: Aaron Ramsdale will almost definitely leave in January – how do you think that situation has been handled by Arteta?
EP: People say that signing Raya was a mistake and he hasn’t been perfect but aren’t Arsenal top of the league? Yes Raya has made some mistakes but he has also made some brilliant saves and he has been excellent in building up from the back. If I was Ramsdale there is no doubt I would ask for a move away in January. I can see he is miserable at the moment and every day he must be waking up thinking ‘what did I do wrong?’ He did everything, and has no reason to feel responsible for dropping him, but you cannot deny that Arsenal are first in the league with Raya in goal. Especially with the Euros coming up, Ramsdale absolutely has to leave. I’m pretty sure there are many, many clubs in the Premier League that would love to have him.
MB: Mikel Arteta has come under fire a few times this year for his comments made about the refereeing in England. Do you agree that his comments are a problem when it comes to fixing the issue of refereeing?
EP: There is nothing new about Arteta and the referees, he has been like this since the day he started as Arsenal manager. He has always been critical after the game and pushed the limit during the games. As a player, you are very aware of how your manager is acting on the pitch and it affects how you play. I do understand his points on the refereeing sometimes because it’s obviously not been good and as a fan I get just as irritated as him! He will never change, so don’t be surprised when he acts out against the referees.
MB: Pochettino said at the beginning of the season that at Chelsea you need success straight away, but now he is saying they have to accept their ‘mid table reality’ – do you think if he believes that is the case he is the right man to manage Chelsea?
EP: I think what Pochettino said about accepting mid-table is just playing the media and trying to give himself more time with the club and the fans. He’s up against the clock now and he knows it. Although the last few years have been a nightmare for the club, they have spent a lot of money and have some great players there. Of course, when you change so much at once, it’s very hard to make things work quickly and it takes time. He also said that he would need time to build a competitive team and I agree with that because he still doesn’t know what his best team looks like. He’s had to change the squad around so much with all the players that came in and he needs time to develop the squad.
MB: He’s also said his side are ‘missing something’ despite the Billion pounds they’ve spent since Boehly arrived and the 13 players at 400m in Poch’s first summer – is spending more money the correct way to fix Chelsea’s issues?
EP: If Chelsea spend more money in January, they will create more problems for themselves. They have enough players already! Pochettino needs to just keep working with that squad to improve them. They have players coming back from injury and they have to be patient. I’m pretty sure Chelsea will bounce back in the second half of the season. They don’t have any European football to worry about, which means one game a week almost every week while the other top teams are starting to get tired playing every three days.
MB: Why has Moises Caicedo struggled to recreate the form he showed at Brighton since he joined Chelsea?
EP: The environment for Caicedo is not the same at Chelsea as it was at Brighton. For years and years Brighton have played with confidence and there has always been a link between them and the manager and the fans. Chelsea doesn’t have that. With all the respect in the world to Brighton though, there are different expectations when you play for Chelsea than at Brighton and there is much more pressure. Also, he has come into a dressing room that is all a collection of new players, so there is no existing culture for him to come into. He arrived in a bad environment. It’s frustrating to watch as I really wanted him to join Arsenal in the summer but of course money talks. They spent a huge amount of money on him and his wages so now he needs to give back to Chelsea and prove his value on the pitch.
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