Emmanuel Petit warned the Arsenal defence after their 4-2 win against Leicester City on Saturday in a nervy game for the Gunners.
Arsenal went 2-0 up in the game thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. But Leicester scored two goals from James Justin to make it 2-2 in the second half.
It took Arsenal until the 94th minute to retake the lead making for a nervy second half for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Former Gunner Emmanuel Petit told BetBrain that defenders William Saliba and Gabriel need to learn from the game. He said: “For the past two or three seasons, you’d have to say Gabriel and William Saliba are the best centre-back partnership in the world.
“I was therefore surprised to see what happened in the second half against Leicester. They just lost their concentration. Arsenal should have won that game easily, but they lost control of the game and that’s something they need to work on.
“It’s important that they won the game, but this should serve as a lesson for them. If you let your guard down, you’ll receive a kick in the face!”
Petit claims Arsenal’s defence is the best in the Premier League
Despite his criticism of the Gunners’ back line on Saturday, Petit was quick to praise just how good Arsenal’s defending has been.
He added: “Arsenal have had the best defence in the Premier League for the past couple of years. It’s really hard to score goals against them.
“They’re a really strong pairing and I’m really happy with them. Their partnership is the pinnacle of the Arsenal setup and I’m praying neither of them get injured.”
Liverpool looking to compete with the Arsenal defence
Liverpool has the best defence in the Premier League conceding just two goals. Meanwhile, the Gunners have conceded five, joint-second with Spurs and Nottingham Forest.
However, there is still plenty of football left to play. Last season, Mikel Arteta’s side conceded 29 goals in 38 games which was the best in the division by five goals over Manchester City.
If the Gunners are to win the Premier League this season, they will need to make the most of their defensive strength. As Petit says, they can’t afford to lose focus even against the newly-promoted teams like Leicester City.
