What many Arsenal fans hoped for happened yesterday when Andrey Arshavin joined Zenit on loan for the rest of the season. I doubt he’ll return in the summer, his old club want him back for good and who can blame him for going either? I certainly don’t, I wish him well and hope his career kick starts again, no doubt it will under a coach who will play to his strengths…

Over the last few days, maybe even weeks we have seen our old favourite Emmanuel Petit take a pop at Arsenal and the players, but yesterday he dug deep and had a swipe at his old boss, Arsene Wenger.

Speaking to France Football:

There is obviously a crisis and I am deeply sad for Arsene. I watch their body language and I see players who have become disillusioned. Year after year, they have always struggled with the last step. I feel they are unmotivated. I even fear that some have lost their trust in Arsene.

He’s only saying what most of us have been at some stage of this current season but for him to come out with such words on a North London Derby weekend makes me think he’s being very clever!

I don’t doubt for one minute that he has the fears he talks about but what better way than to go public, do something to get into the minds of our players as maybe Arsene Wenger can’t.

None of us can tell the players how we feel, has Petit just done that for us?

Imagine if you were one of the squad in for the NLD and you read that about yourself and the man who manages you, would it not make you stop and think? Maybe even wake up a bit and think ‘F**K YOU, I’ll show you just how good I am’.

I know it would me!

If this group of players have anything about them, they should too and if they can’t do it for every game, just make sure they are prepared to do it for this one. This one matters, this one matters big time!

Petit never rolled over for anyone, he never shirked his duties when he wore an Arsenal shirt did he? Mind you, Paddy would have soon kicked him in the butt if he had, but reality is, paddy didn’t need to.

He went on to add:

Each player seems alone in his world. Nobody takes the lead in the field and that’s deadly. Arsene has always protected his players, but now he has to step back. These players are fragile, they can sink.

Football, it’s not a popularity contest on Twitter and Facebook, it’s self-discovery. There are peacocks in the middle of a farmyard.

Pull your fingers out of your a**** guys!

Amen to that Petit, Amen to that……!

Quite what peacocks have to do with football I don’t know but…..

Have a good day all, tomorrow the battle commences……