Pundit and former Arsenal footballer Emmanuel Petit has backed Patrick Vieira to become Gunners manager in the future.
Vieira was introduced as Crystal Palace boss at the start of the season and has impressed in his first managerial role in England, as they currently sit in the top half of the Premier League. He has managed to implement youth into the side, with players like Conor Gallagher and Michael Olise playing key roles in the team.
Crystal Palace produced a shock result against Arsenal on Monday night, when Vieira led his side to a 3-0 victory at Selhurst Park, thanks to goals from Wilfried Zaha, Jordan Ayew and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
With Vieira being triumphant over his former side, Emmanuel Petit has claimed that he can see the Palace boss being the manager for Arsenal in the future once he has gained a bit more experience. He also dropped him a message after Monday night’s display.
In a recent interview, he said: “I sent him a message before and after the game saying ‘sometimes I have to look twice on the bench to see if you were on the wrong bench!’ because the way he’s transformed the style of Crystal Palace is amazing.”
He added: “In the future, I think Patrick will have an eye on [managing] Arsenal, but for the moment, it’s too soon.”
TIF Thoughts on Emmanuel Petit’s comments…
Vieira has done a superb job since arriving at Selhurst Park. Last campaign, the Eagles finished 14th in the Premier League under Roy Hodgson, but this season they have significantly improved and are on track for a top-10 finish.
The youthful approach has worked for Vieira, as Gallagher has been instrumental for his side. He has an average player rating of 7.22 over his 30 games in the Premier League this term (as per SofaScore), so the Frenchman is getting the best out of his players.
With the young talent at Arsenal such as Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, Vieira may be able to have a similar effect on these talented players as he has had at Palace with the crop of young prospects there.