Arsenal legend picks out Gunners star who is 'too soft'

Robin Bairner

23 Mar 2023 12:33 GMT
3 min read

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal, 2022/23 — © ProShots

Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has picked out one member of the squad he believes is “too soft” as Mikel Arteta’s side chase Premier League glory.

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The Gunners have suffered a string of injuries to their defence, with William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu both going off with problems in the recent Europa League clash against Sporting CP.

Although Saliba will miss France’s upcoming international matches, his injury is not thought to be particularly significant and he has strong chance of facing Leeds on 1 April, when the Premier League returns after the international break.

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Tomiyasu, though, has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, potentially leaving the Gunners short of cover in defence.

Certainly, that is how Petit, a Premier League winner in 1997/98, sees it.

“Rob Holding, I am not a big fan of him, to be honest,” Petit said on Premier League Productions said. “I think he is too soft, as a defender.

“It’s such as shame also to see [Takehiro] Tomiyasu injured. I would have preferred to have Tomiyasu at right-back and Ben White as a central defender.”

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© ProShots - Takehiro Tomiyasu in action during 2021/22

Petit praises Arsenal mentality

Nevertheless, the World Cup winners believes that Arsenal’s mentality has been excellent and they will not allow their bottle to crash.

“This is one of the youngest teams in the Premier League but they are handling the pressure perfectly,’ he said after Arsenal thumped managerless Crystal Palace.

“I’m confident they will do that until the end of the season. I don’t think they will fail under the pressure, I’m pretty sure they will handle it.

“It feels very good [being top], especially with the way we have played and the results we have picked up. Now we must stop and make sure everyone comes back from the internationals with the same mindset. We have Leeds next and we put the focus there.”