“Arsenal would be a totally different team” - Emmanuel Petit tells Gunners to replace ‘struggling’ duo with 2 new players

Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit has urged the Gunners to sign two European stars to take the side to the next level. The Frenchman made this point after his former side struggled to break down the Inter Milan defense in their 1-0 defeat in the UEFA Champions League.

Mikel Arteta's team huffed and puffed, attempting 20 shots without breaching the rearguard of the Serie A champions. They lost a second successive game while also failing to score a goal again after their 1-0 loss to Newcastle United in the Premier League.

While in a discussion with Instant Casino, Emmanuel Petit pointed out that some of the club's attackers are not at the level required for a team of their ambitions. He named Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli as weak links in their attack, saying:

“Of course, Arsenal can score goals but when I look at the attacking players, Kai Havertz has been amazing from the start of the season, but he’s struggling for the last few games because of what happened in his team.

“When you look at Martinelli, he is also struggling. Only Saka and Havertz have scored and created goals regularly for Arsenal so far this season. Martinelli has two goals and two assists. I’m not talking about Gabriel Jesus because he’s not playing and in his best season, he scored 14 Premier League goals.”

He added:

“Manchester City are the only team that has won the title in the Premier League with five or six midfield players scoring between 10 and 15 goals. Arsenal don’t have the players in midfield to do that.

“Arsenal needs a striker that can finish off the moves. Havertz is not a typical striker but he has been scoring goals from the start of the season. Can you imagine if Arsenal played with a real striker that’s fighting to score goals in every single game? Arsenal would be a totally different team.”

He named AC Milan star Rafael Leao and Sporting CP hotshot Viktor Gyokeres as two players that can be signed to strengthen their attack.

“If I could sign one player for them, I would probably go for Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon as a striker. He’s the players I would take, because Nico Williams won’t come to the Premier League. I would probably take Leao from AC Milan, the left winger. I would take an attacking midfielder," Petit added.

Kai Havertz has scored four goals in ten Premier League games this season, scoring once in the Champions League and twice in the Carabao Cup as well. Martinelli, meanwhile, has recorded two goals and two assists in ten league games for the Gunners this season.

Arsenal captain makes first appearance since September in Inter Milan defeat

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard made his return from injury as his side fell to a 1-0 reverse at the hands of Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League. The 25-year-old had missed 12 games for the Gunners with an ankle problem picked up on international duty.

Odegaard was on duty for Norway in September when he damaged his ankle ligaments, ruling him out for two months. The former Real Madrid man returned to training for the side last week before being named in the squad to face Inter Milan.

Martin Odegaard came off the bench in the 89th minute as a replacement for Kai Havertz, who had ended up bloodied after a clash of heads with Yann Aurel Bisseck. The midfielder is expected to feature prominently for the Gunners for the remainder of the season.