When Emmanuel Petit arrived at Highbury in the summer of 1997 for a fee
of £3 million few could have predicted the huge impact he would have in
his first season with the Gunners. The pony-tailed midfielder was little
known on these shores when Arsene Wenger swooped to bring him to
London, but by the end of the campaign Petit had truly stamped his
authority on the Premiership. His midfield partnership with another of
Highbury's French connection - Patrick Vieira - had much to do with
Arsenal's magnificent season, which culminated in the club matching the
feats of the 1971 Double winning team.
The League title was clinched
with a tenth straight victory, as Everton were crushed 4-0 on a
memorable Sunday afternoon at Highbury. In the previous game against
Derby County it was Petit who scored the all-important goal that secured
the vital three points. To cap off a remarkable season the classy
midfielder helped Arsenal to a comfortable 2-0 win over Newcastle United
in the FA Cup Final and his midas touch continued into the World Cup,
where he scored the third goal in France's 3-0 final win over Brazil.
Few footballers, if any, can have tasted so much success in such a short
space of time. It was always going to be difficult to match that first
season and after the comparitive 'failure' of two-second place finishes
and a UEFA Cup Final defeat on penalties to Galatasaray, Petit was on
his way to Barcelona with team-mate Marc Overmars shortly before the
start of the 2000/01 season. The pair had joined three years earlier for
a total of £10 million and were sold for a combined fee of £30 million -
not a bad piece of business from Monsieur Wenger ! (David Scranage) |