Arsenal legend tired of club failures after another disappointing season

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Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has delivered a scathing assessment of his former club’s inability to win major silverware in recent years, insisting the Gunners must act decisively in the summer transfer window to avoid further failure.

Despite steady progress under Mikel Arteta, including a Champions League semi-final run and back-to-back Premier League title challenges, Arsenal’s only major trophy under the Spaniard remains the 2020 FA Cup. Their last league triumph came over two decades ago, in 2004.

Speaking to Casinozonderlimiet, Petit expressed frustration over the club’s stagnation at crucial moments and called on the hierarchy to make significant investments while ensuring key players like William Saliba are retained.

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“Arsenal are still second and got to the semi-final of the Champions League, so it’s about what happens next in the transfer market,” Petit said. “The club needs to bring in top players and keep hold of their best players like William Saliba, who Real Madrid want.”

The French World Cup winner, who helped Arsenal lift the Premier League title in 1998, warned that a lack of squad depth is hurting the Gunners in key fixtures.

“Saliba needs to stay, and the team needs reinforcement so they can have better rotation and better quality on the bench. They are losing the big fights,” he added.

Petit criticised Arsenal’s inability to take the final step and secure major honours, pointing to their recent Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain as an example.

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“After we lost against PSG, the fans were mocking Arsenal. In England, people say Arsenal are a good team, a good club—but not one of the top clubs in Europe in terms of history,” Petit said. “That’s because they have failed. I’m tired of it. This team needs to change the situation and win something.”

He believes winning the Champions League would shift perceptions and elevate Arsenal to elite status.

“Arsenal need to improve season after season and win the Champions League to prove people wrong,” he said. “They need to get back to the days of 25 years ago when clubs were scared to play us.”

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