Petit fears Arsenal will be gunned down

Subject: Petit fears Arsenal will be gunned down Sun Jul 29 2007, 01:03

Petit fears Arsenal will be gunned down

Emmanuel Petit (Getty Images)
Saturday, 28 July 23:30 AET Digg This!

Former Arsenal favourite Emmanuel Petit has uttered the words that Gunners fans have only been able to whisper, predicting that Tottenham could finish higher than Arsene Wenger's men this season.

The World Cup-winner is deeply worried for the club he loves, having once formed arguably the most domineering centre-midfield partnership the Premier League has witnessed alongside Patrick Vieira.

Having led Arsenal to Premier League and FA Cup glory in his first season at the club, Petit knows what it takes to succeed at the top, and he is worried The Gunners will fall away from a top four spot this season.

"I am afraid for Arsenal," the likeable Frenchman told The Daily Telegraph.

"To be honest, I think they will not finish in the top four.

"Why? Because when I see Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, they are stronger than them.

"On one game Arsenal can beat anyone, but over a whole season you can feel the strength and power of the other teams.

"When I see Newcastle, and Tottenham as well, they are becoming stronger."

Arsenal step up their pre-season preparations against Paris Saint Germain in the Emirates Cup on Saturday, but Petit has called on Wenger to introduce more new signings to the club.

The Gunners have signed Eduardo da Silva, Bacary Sagna and Lukas Fabianski during the summer, but Petit is adamant the current squad is too inexperienced to sustain a title challenge.

"There are no leaders," he continued. "When we won the Double in 1998, how many players were young? There were only two. Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira.

"I trust Arsene but if I was an Arsenal fan, a season ticket holder, I would think: 'What is the club doing?

"We have lost Thierry, the best scorer in the Premier League for the last five years. What are we doing with our team?"

http://au.setanta.com/portal/article/football::england?open&articleid=624685066216b75880257326004795dc&ref=rss

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Edgar Davids Joined : 06 Jun 2007 Posts : 2576

Here's hoping.

Edgar Davids Joined : 06 Jun 2007 Posts : 3552

Crucial season for them. If they will out on a CL spot it could spark a mass exodus. I can only see Arsenal staging a revival if they receive a massive cash injection from some Yank.