Emmanuel Petit has snubbed Cole Palmer and named the one Chelsea player he’d love to see at Arsenal.
The two London rivals clash on Sunday at Stamford Bridge with the Gunners looking to reverse a miserable run of form.
Mikel Arteta’s men slipped to a damaging defeat on Wednesday night in Milan after they were beaten 1-0 by Inter thanks to Hakan Calhanoglu’s controversial penalty.
The Gunners have also failed to score away from home against Newcastle and Bournemouth in recent weeks but, despite the extra firepower and invention Palmer would bring to their team, Petit feels midfield enforcer Moises Caicedo would have a bigger impact at the Emirates.
Caicedo, after a slow start, is beginning to justify his transfer fee under the tutelage of Enzo Maresca and Petit would love to see the Ecuador international, who Arsenal tried to buy two years ago, lining up alongside the likes of Declan Rice.
He told Instant Casino: ‘If I could pick one Chelsea player to put into the Arsenal team, actually, that would be Moises Caicedo, definitely. I would probably take Cole Palmer as well, but I will go for Caicedo.’
Rice, meanwhile, who Arsenal ultimately signed instead of Caicedo, has looked off colour so far this season and is a doubt for the weekend with a toe injury.
Martin Odegaard’s absence may have played a role in Rice’s struggles but Petit fears the England international is paying the price for having played so much football over the last 12 months.
‘You can’t put a poor performances on Odegaard’s absence,’ Petit added.
‘Big teams cope without big players. The players are tired. You can see that. You know, for me the best example is Declan Rice.
‘He’s been marvellous since he signed for Arsenal and from the start of season, he’s not the same player anymore.
‘It was a long season last season, and he played so many games at a high level during the European Championship as well.
‘As I said, rotation is key. With the new format of the Champions League, it’s like there are big games coming up all the time.’
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