Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit shocked Granit Xhaka has Arsenal captaincy and blasts Emery’s negative tactics at Man Utd
ARSENAL legend Emmanuel Petit is shocked Granit Xhaka has been named as the Gunners' captain and blasted Unai Emery's “negative” tactics at Manchester United.
United held Emery’s men to a 1-1 draw at home on Monday night in a game of little excitement.
With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side struggling for form and confidence it was the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to end their run of 13 years without a win at Old Trafford.
But Emery opted to bench playmaker Dani Ceballos and play three defensive minded midfielders in Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and skipper Xhaka.
Petit blasted the Gunners manager for being too negative in his squad selection
He told French TV: “(Emery is) sending negative signals by picking three defensive midfielders against a team there for the taking.”
The former French international also questioned the decision to hand Swiss star Xhaka the club captaincy, with French based journalist reporting that Petit was "scathing" of the decision.
Xhaka was handed the armband by Emery after a secret ballot by the entire Arsenal squad.
Petit's concerns have been mirrored by many Arsenal fans, who have turned on their new captain in recent matches.
And that continued last night when midfielder was accused of ducking underneath Scott McTominay’s first half-opener for Manchester United.
But manager Emery disagreed with those critics and praised his skipper for getting in a position to make a block in the first place.
Arsenal News
He said: “He ran back, he was maybe the first, in this action.
“I didn’t see that action [him ducking] but I watched him running back. He did perfect with that run.
“He worked with a big commitment, he was in the pitch with a good balance, defensively and offensively. Tonight I think he worked well.”
