Emmanuel Petit says he regrets leaving Arsenal
Emmanuel Petit was at Arsenal for three seasons’ before making the move to Barcelona in the summer of 2000. He ended his time at Arsenal after 118 appearances in the red and the white and scored 11 goals while at the club. The Frenchmen also was a massive part of the French international team, winning the World Cup in 1998 and the Euro’s in 2000, he ended his international career earning 63 caps for his country and scoring 6 goals too.
Speaking in an interview over the weekend, the ex-Arsenal midfielder said he regrets leaving the London club to go to Spain and has said he left because of a “woman”.
He was a fan favourite while he was in London, and it was a bit of a shock at the time when he left, but has recently come out in an interview with Stadium Astro and said this when asked why he left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2000 “”For a woman.” He added: “I always loved Barcelona and Real Madrid, two of the biggest clubs in the world. But I should have stayed with Arsenal, definitely”.
“You know, sometimes the grass is not greener somewhere else. It’s better to stay where you are when you receive love and happiness and you are successful. Why would you leave? Definitely (a big regret) If I could turn the clock back, I would probably make a different decision”.
"I would have picked a different option"
Emmanuel Petit opens up about the reason he left Arsenal when he did and why he came to regret it in a brand new episode of League of Legends this Saturday.#AstroEPL #Arsenal #Barcelona pic.twitter.com/0VsTDj04We
— Stadium Astro 🇲🇾 (@stadiumastro) March 14, 2024
Relationships with Arsenal and our fans continued to sour after he left as he only ended up staying at Barcelona for a season before rumours started spreading around that he was making a move back to England and could end up at both of our long-time rivals Manchester United or Chelsea. He ended up joining Chelsea 2001 and from then on hasn’t been seen as much of a legend for Arsenal fans.
Hearing he regrets leaving the club does ease said tension and after that many years, I don’t think there’s many fans that would still hold a grudge, but it doesn’t make you think about what could have been. He was excellent under Wenger and could have written himself into the Arsenal history books if he just hasn’t listened to a woman and stayed with the club.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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Join the list Petit – so many who thought the grass was greener.
He never hit the heights of his time at The Arsenal again, but he and PV were superb together.
I’ve been hoping that Rice and Partey might come somewhere near that dynamic duo – still time of course and fingers crossed it happens this season.
Still laugh about the spuds paying his taxi fare to Highbury, so he could sign for us – Happy days indeed!!
I remember going to Highbury and thinking who is that guy with the blond tresses. He was a fantastic player and it was a pity he didn’t realise what a fantastic setup he was leaving. It was a glorious time to be a Gooner- and to be able to get a ticket regularly back then
My boys are in the ballot for the BM match – I’m dog sitting 😡😡