Arsenal: Emmanuel Petit tirade has some validity

Emmanuel Petit has launched a vicious criticism of the Arsenal players, labelling them as disinterested and unmotivated. The tirade, while harsh, does have some validity.

Arsenal have come under some bitter and vicious criticism in recent weeks. Thanks to their inactivity in the transfer market, even with gaping holes in their squad that need addressing, a disastrous start to the season that featured a four-goal dismantling at the hands of Liverpool, and a growing sense of dread and despair engulfing the club, the media have, justifiably, ripped Arsene Wenger and the board to shreds.

Some of the vitriol that has come from pundits, analysts and reporters alike may seem harsh. But, in reality, the Gunners are deserving.

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And now Emmanuel Petit is taking aim at his former club. However, rather than critique Wenger and his management, Petit has the players in his sights. Speaking in large part about the Liverpool loss, Petit launched a brutal blast of the performance and the players, stating that they looked disinterested, were ambivalent to the result and, confusingly to him, lacked motivation:

"“When I see them play – and I see them a lot – they seem to play without motivation. The blame is put on Arsene, but I cannot see that it is all down to him. Why should it be? Why should a player need motivating to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, in one of the best stadiums in the world? Some of them do not seem to know what it means to wear that Arsenal shirt Maybe they should take a step back and ask themselves what they can give to the club. Not what the club can give to them. Someone should sit them down and tell them not to act like babies and kids.”"

That is only a sub-section of Petit’s statement and he does expand on his points a little more in the linked piece above (it’s worth a read).

But what is perhaps so depressing about his criticism of the players is that, in large part, it is true. While I often believe that debasing professional footballers for not caring, for lacking that competitive edge, is a little lazy and unfounded — such is the competition to be a professional footballer in the first place, it is rare that someone who doesn’t care could ever reach such a high level –, from what I saw on Sunday against Liverpool, it is difficult to argue against Petit.

The performance and the result were extremely disparaging. But the most depressing aspect of the game was, undoubtedly, the lack of effort on show from the Arsenal players, an issue that Petit addresses directly.

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You cannot exonerate Wenger. He is, after all, the manager, and in football, rightly or wrongly, the manager takes the blame for his side’s performances and results. But there has been a degree of oversight in regards to the players, something that Petit does not fall into.

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