Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit hits out at Gunners’ transfer activity and questions ‘mistake’ of signing flop

ARSENAL legend Emmanuel Petit has hit out at the club’s transfer activity and questioned the “mistake” of one flop signing.

The Gunners take on Chelsea tonight at the Emirates as they look to reignite their faltering title hopes.

Arsenal had put themselves in an unbelievable position to finally lift their first league championship since the Invincibles in 2004 and have been top of almost all of the season.

But things began to change last Wednesday when Kevin De Bruyne’s double and an Erling Haaland masterclass put Manchester City in the driver's seat despite sitting in second place.

Pep Guardiola's side followed up that 4-1 triumph over Arsenal and then took top place with a 2-1 win over Fulham on Saturday.

Despite their title dreams appearing to go up in smoke, it has still been a memorable campaign for Arteta and his young squad with a return to the Champions League confirmed for next season.

However Petit, who won the Double at Arsenal and later played for Chelsea, thinks it could have been better as he hit out at one big “mistake” Arteta made in the transfer market.

The French star told : “I don’t think Fabio Vieira has shown as of yet, that he is the right level to play for Arsenal.

“When he signed I thought to myself ‘this guy looks very lightweight for the Premier League’. I don’t think he’s ready for the Premier League physically and mentally.”

The Portuguese playmaker, 22, is still acclimatising to the ferocious pace of the top flight after his £30m summer switch from Porto last summer.

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He has made 31 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions but has scored just twice.

Petit added: “You can also say that he’s struggled not getting consistent game time and when you compare him to Emile Smith-Rowe, who I think has a future with Arsenal, he’s not the same.

“Respectfully, I think it was perhaps a mistake signing Vieira.”

And he was not the only one to feel the wrath of the ex-midfielder.

Rob Holding has deputised in central defence alongside Gabriel since William Saliba was injured last month.

And Petit added: “I can see Gabriel doesn’t have the same confidence when he plays with Holding, he looks like a different defender.

“Defensively Arsenal are not as strong when Saliba and Gabriel do not play together, it impacts on the rest of the team, they don’t play the same way.

“[Ben] White and [Oleksandr] Zinchenko don’t attack enough when Saliba isn’t there. It affects them mentally and with their confidence, they miss him when he’s not there.

“I don’t want to criticise Holding, he puts in a lot of effort and has done his very best, but if you want to win titles I think it’s difficult for Holding to play every game as he’s been required recently.”