Arsenal legend Petit raises major title concern for Arteta’s side

Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has raised a major concern over the title credentials of Mikel Arteta’s side. The Frenchman claims the Gunners couldn’t deal with the pressure in Sunday’s huge clash against Liverpool at Anfield.

Arsenal let slip a two-goal lead on Merseyside as Liverpool put a dent in their title hopes. There is still a six-point gap to second-placed Manchester City, although Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand.

It is still in Arsenal’s hands but it is also now in City’s, with both teams facing each other at the Etihad in two weeks’ time. Petit believes Liverpool deserved to win the game at the weekend and says his old team were unable to deal with the occasion.

He said: “They cracked under the pressure. Conceding the goal just before half-time was a big blow for them, if they could’ve got to the dressing room at 2-0 it would’ve been different.

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“I was sure Liverpool would bounce back in the second half. Klopp would relay to his players he wanted more from them, more creativity and energy. With the fans at Anfield backing the team, they cracked under the pressure.

“The mentality of the Liverpool players changed and they did very well in the second half. In the last minutes of the game, [Aaron] Ramsdale was the hero. He made some great saves.

“At least they got a point, but you can look at it as did they earn one point, or lose two points. I think they earned one point because if you look at the game, Liverpool should have won that game.”

Petit knows that is not the last high-pressure game Arsenal will face between now and the end of the season. He admits there has been some improvement in that area in the last 12 months but still thinks Arteta needs more leaders to get over the line.

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Petit added: “For me, the pressure Arsenal were under in the second half, they must be very careful because until the end of the season, they will be under pressure in different games. One’s coming at City, at Newcastle as well.

“They’ve got Brighton as well who are challenging for Europe, they’ve got teams who are fighting relegation, so there will be moments in those games they are under pressure. I remember the game last season against Spurs, it was six or seven games to go until the end, they lost at Tottenham and were under pressure emotionally, their mental strength crashed during that game.

“They’ve made big improvements since then, but they must learn from what happened in the second half because that will help them in the coming games. They will be under pressure for sure, and they need to get more personality and have more leaders in those moments.”

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