Emmanuel Petit gives his opinion on Mikel Arteta and what he can achieve
Emmanuel Petit reckons that Mikel Arteta can become as good a manager as Pep Guardiola is, but he doesn’t have the personality that Pep has.
Arteta became Arsenal’s new manager at the end of last year after he accepted the challenge to turn the Gunners’ season around.
The Spaniard has got the team playing some of their best football in recent seasons and Petit believes that Arsenal has good players.
However, he admitted that it would be tough for Arteta to replicate the achievements or performances he enjoyed from his players when he assisted Pep Guardiola.
He claimed that while Arsenal has good players, the Gunners lack the personality to emulate Manchester City, especially in their middle.
He admitted to seeing similarities between Arsenal’s style and that of Manchester City but he believes that midfielders like Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez make the difference for City.
“You can see now that when Arsenal players don’t have the ball, they apply pressure and want to get the ball back very quickly,” Petit told Mirror Football.
“It’s just like Guardiola wants to do with his team – they want to control the game with the ball and show composure against opponents, especially at home.
“For me, the two main things Arteta wants to bring from Guardiola at Arsenal is applying pressure without the ball and to want to score goals.
“But I don’t believe he can do that with the quality of his players – especially in midfield.
“In the midfield area, with the lack of Kevin de Bruyne and the likes of Riyad Mahrez on the flanks, you cannot control a game like City does. They don’t have the same personailities.
“You could do it with Mesut Ozil, and I was pleased with the way he came back on the pitch recently. But they do not possess the personalities.
“If you want Arteta to bring what Guardiola does at Arsenal, he needs personality as well as quality players.”
Petit also forgot to mention the more than £1 billion that City have splashed out for those quality central players.
Alway easy to buy personality, City has proven that.
