Emmanuel Petit has urged Arsenal to think twice about a potential transfer for Wilfried Zaha, as it could upset the youth revolution taking place in north London.
The Gunners have long been fans of the Crystal Palace star, who was on top form as the Eagles romped to victory in their Premier League meeting on Monday night, and have had previous bids rejected.
But ex-Arsenal midfielder Petit believes the winger’s signing would not be good for the likes of Gabriel Martinelli.
Petit told Genting Casino: “I love watching Zaha. He’s an electric player. He can be strange on the pitch sometimes, with his provocations.
“But I really liked his reactions against Arsenal, he controlled his reactions, he was smiling, he was very confident. It should be like that for every game.
“Of course, he would fit in well at Arsenal. But my question would be, what do you do with Gabriel Martinelli?
“Martinelli has been very good since his injury and he’s following in the same footsteps of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka. This is the next generation of Arsenal players and if you brought in Zaha then he’d play regular football and Martinelli would be on the bench.
“So I’m not quite sure about that. Arsenal need competition in their squad, for sure, but when you see the prospect of young players, you have to be very careful with the players you bring into the club.”
Despite the defeat at Selhurst Park, Petit believes Arsenal are still in a good position to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
“Arsenal need a reaction in the next game,” he added.
“For me, their destiny is in their hands. They’re going to play against Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham, so they have the opportunities.
“When you look at Arsenal since Boxing Day, they lost against Liverpool and Man City and they were the better team on the pitch. Yesterday, it was Crystal Palace’s best game and Arsenal’s worst game of the season.
“With Chelsea, for weeks, you had the feeling they weren’t impacted by what was happening around the club, but the pressure is now on them because they were in the driving seat and they’re now dropping points.
“There are four teams going for two Champions League places. But for me, Arsenal are in a very good position to get a Champions League spot.”
