Unai Emery’s constant rotation of his Arsenal starting XI makes it difficult for players to operate, claims former Gunners midfielder Emmanuel Petit.
Petit is pleased to see some of Arsenal’s youngsters be given a chance by Emery this season.
However, the Frenchman reckons it is tough to dip in and out of the style of play Emery wants to implement with the north London outfit.
“What Unai Emery wants to create is a team. A collective unit,” Petit wrote in his column for Paddy Power.
“Not just the first 11 but the whole group. This is why he’s constantly rotating his side and including young players.
“I like this idea, but it’s difficult for players to operate in a system like this.
“He changes so often – but you need to be playing regularly in order to adapt like this. His demands from the players are huge.
“But if they show the character they’ve shown recently, they have the potential to do something. Belief comes with results, but results come from what you bring to the pitch. That doesn’t come easily.
“You can’t do it one week and then sleep for two weeks.”
Arsenal bounced back from their 2-2 draw at Watford by beating Aston Villa with 10 men last weekend.
They face a trip to Manchester United on Monday, a place they have not won in the league since 2006.
And Petit says there is always a danger Arsenal could have a bad day at the office.
“They reacted well after the points they dropped against Watford,” he added.
“In a very difficult game for them against Aston Villa, having gone down to 10 men and needing to chase back from being down on the scoresheet, they showed character.
“There are some very positive things to be seen there, especially from the younger players.
“The dynamic seems to be good. But you can’t be 100 per cent sure of that, because you never know: they could easily fall down against Man United on Monday.”
Emmanuel Petit was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power News. To read more, visit news.paddypower.com
