ANR

Annus Mirabilis for No.17

by Myles Palmer

Manu Petit, at 28, is in his prime. I just love to watch players improve, and the Golden Ponytail improved more than any footballer in 1998.

Petit is a strong contender for Footballer of the Year, and might even be the next Arsenal captain. Proof again that football is about confidence.

The big No 17 won trophies because he improved, and he improved becausw he won trophies. If he had not won the Premiership and FA Cup Double with Arsenal he might not have made Aime Jacquet's 22-man squad.

Petit joined a tough, shrewd bunch of competitors at Highbury, and had to raise his game with Arsenal. He had to raise it again with France. Neither adjustment was easy.

Last season I watched France play a friendly on Eurosport. Sweden, probably. Petit had a nightmare. He kept passing to his opponents.

Nothing he did came off. He was embarrassing, a fish out of water, almost a Geoff Thomas.I did not think he would play for France again.

Mercifully, he was substituted. Afterwards Petit admitted, I was terrible. But, at Arsenal, he liked the manager and the manager liked him.

Indeed, Arsene Wenger could not have played the dynamic style of football he favoured without Petit, who developed into a perfect partner for Vieira, a more talented player.

The Ponytail and the Beanpole were friends. They suited each other. They helped each other.

In December, after Arsenal crashed 3-1 at home to Blackburn, Vieira sat back more, covered the back four more, rarely cruised forward. But, crucially, the French duo dominated most games by playing narrow with each other, pressing fiercely to win possession.

When Arsenal had the ball Petit and Vieira kept it moving forward quickly. They tried to find Bergkamp quickly.

Also, Petit hit long balls which were sometimes deadly.

Even when he wasn't playing well, he played risk football by chipping and floating 30-yard passes towards the box.

Early in the season he put Ian Wright through. Later on he started to put Overmars through.

The Dutch winger made good runs off the ball as well as with the ball. He started from different places, came into the penalty area from different angles, and scored 16 goals in his first season.

Petit helped Overmars become the new Ian Wright while everyone was watching to see if Anelka was the new Ian Wright.

Of course, well-balanced midfield partnerships have always been a feature of good English club teams Frans Thijssen, a gifted dribbler, and Arnold Muhren, a reliable long passer, were superb for Ipswich, having played together at Twente Enschede. Glenn Hoddle, a long ball specialist, and Ossie Ardiles, a short ball man, complemented each other at Tottenham.

In 1985 Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell used to play beautifully in tandem for Everton's championship team. They shuttled across the field together, shuttled forward together, and shuttled backwards together, never more than 15 yards apart. (Thern and Schwarz, two consummate craftsmen, did the same job for Benfica six years later.)

Everton were a short-passing team who passed sideways a lot. Reid and Bracewell had short legs and made short passes, often to each other. They were the hub of an Everton style which was based on possession.

The Arsenal style is based on penetration. They constantly create, and re-create, situations where players can pass the ball forward. And pass it forward quickly. Petit and Vieira have longer legs than Reid and Bracewell.

If Viera tackles and wins the ball cleanly he often passes short to Petit, who tends to pass it longer.

If an opponent beats Vieira, Petit invariably takes the ball off him. If he beats Petit first, Vieira pinches the ball. It is almost impossible to dribble round both Petit and Vieira.

And it is hard to pass through such indefatigable warrior-athletes because they get tight so quickly.

Helped by Ray Parlour, another dynamo, they make a tackle, or two tackles, or force a bad pass.

Only a very cute player, like Asanovic of Panathinaikos, can retain possession against such ferocious pressing.

So Petit and Vieira are powerhouse players who speed the game up, but they can slow it down as well, usually when Arsenal are winning. A valuable asset, that.

Naturally, rival clubs have pressers who excel in the skirmishes and scuffles of midfield. Manchester United have Keane and Butt, Chelsea use Wise and Desailly, and Leeds added Batty to Hopkin and Bowyer.

Last summer Petit was the last piece of the jigsaw in a triumphant French national team, a last-minute addition, a bit like Martin Peters and Alan Ball in 1966.

Deschamps and Blanc gave France experience and leadership. Desailly and Thuram gave them colossal power and pace in defence. Zidane gave them creativity. Coach Aime Jacquet knew he lacked a convincing centre forward.

But he had two more terrific athletes in Lizarazu and Djorkaeff. So he decided to marry the high-tempo Arsenal style with the solidity of the 4-3-2-1 Xmas tree he used in Euro 96.

Jacquet played to his strengths with a formation which used Zidane and Djorkaeff behind a centre forward.

The difference between France in Euro 96 and two years later was the pace they played at. Jacquet decided to keep the formation, but raise the tempo.

And the key player he added was Petit, the bionic sprinter from Arsenal, who was on a high after winning the Double. Petit gave France a lot more energy and momentum. He operated behind Zidane, on the left of Deschamps, covering when Lizarazu overlapped. He was gradually able to make that position his own.

In the World Cup Final he rose to the occasion, just as Geoff Hurst did 32 years earlier. France led Brazil 2-0, Desailly was sent off, and Petit switched to centreback to play out time with ten men. But when Brazil had a corner in the 93rd minute, and Dugarry brought the ball out, Petit took off on an optimistic 60-yard run.

He accelerated onto a sublime pass from substitute Vieira, and buried it for 3-0.

Back in England, World Cup fatigue did not affect him. Petit came back to Arsenal and carried on playing out of his skin.

He apparently wanted to show Wenger that he was still hungry. He scored in the first Premiership match, a 2-1 win against Forest at Highbury while I was on holiday.

When I came home the first game I saw was the 0-0 against Charlton at Highbury on August 29th. Petit was Arsenals best player. I gave him 8 that day. I gave 7 to Keown, Anelka and Seaman.

But I only gave 5 to Bergkamp, Vieira and Parlour.

He carried on playing well right through August, September and October. At Blackburn on October 25th he made it 2-0 with a free-kick which deflected off the wall past Tim Flowers. Anelka's goals kept Arsenal in the top three, but the team had a World Cup hangover. Bergkamp was anonymous, Vieira was sluggish, Overmars was not scoring.

In November Petit went off injured in Lens when Arsenal were winning 1-0. Vareilles scored an injury-time equaliser from a corner. Adams seemed to blame Seaman. Petit missed three Premiership games Middlesbrough (1-1), Derby (0-0) and Aston Villa (2-3).

Three games without a win was poor form for champions.

He came back on December 20th against Leeds and took 20 minutes to find his touch. After that he was brilliant. When he powered forward onto Bergkamp's killer pass, between Weatherall and Haaland, he still had a lot to do against a class keeper. Left foot shot, instep, first time, rolling across Nigel Martyn, in off the base of the post for 3-1. That goal clinched three points. And all this in a new role in a foreign country.

Petit played at left back for Tigana's Monaco against Newcastle.

Before that, when Wenger was the coach, he used him at centreback. He also played at wingback for Monaco, but never in central midfield.

The bottom line? Arsenal are ordinary without Petit and Vieira. Mr Wenger almost admitted as much after the 1-0 win against West Ham, when he spoke to the Monday papers.

He spoke in detail about the roles of various players, and confirmed what I had already figured out.

He said that Manu was a winner who could run for hours.

Q : Is Petit the heartbeat of the team?

I think he's the one who brings balance into midfield, because he was a
defender before. He has a tremendous advantage in that he knows when to drop into defence, and when to stay in midfield. And when he was a defender he hit some good long balls, which helps us a lot. Because, with Overmars and Anelka, he's the one who can find them. We have nobody else in midfield who can play a long-range ball. He's very good at that. And as well he's a winner-type. He refuses to lose the game, he's everywhere. The field looks smaller when he's there. He has a rare presence. And nobody could predict that, not even him. He has grown with the position. I thought he could become that, but it was a gamble : different position, different country, no experience at the job.

So it was a big gamble. Today it looks an obvious one. But it was a big gamble at the time.

Q So what did you see in him then?

What I could see was that he is physically strong. He can run for hours. And as well he had a good technique, as a defender. So I thought maybe he could cope. I wanted to go back to a four, and have two strong players in front of the defence. And as well the fact that he can play in different positions.

In my mind the gamble is less big because he can play left back, he can play central defender. I thought : If he doesn't make it, maybe I can fit him in somewhere else.

Q : As a man, as a character, he plays a big part.

When Vivas came into the team he always speaks to him. He's a character, a strong character, a leader-type. He's a winner. He's an ambitious guy. So that's why I thought he could play for a big club.I knew he had the mentality to play at a big club.

Q : Weve been talking amongst ourselves, we vote for the Footballer of the Year. Hes being talked as a possibility. Have you seen anybody else who has as big an impact as he has?

It's very difficult to say. But usually a good team is when the balance is right. What is 100% sure is that when he's not there we dont have the same balance. Even if we have a good player in his position. He is the one who balances the team - he is a good complement of Vieira.

Viera is as well a huge player and very important. And Parlour, everybody is important. But he brings us that kind of balance we need. And he's very consistent.

He's an excellent passer of the ball. He doesn't often give the ball away. He's not as fluent sometimes as other midfielders, but he's always looking to play the ball in front. And his passing is always sharp. He sees openings very well. It's a question of balance because Patrick is more a chasing player and a short-passing player and a runner with the ball.

And Petit is more a passer of long balls, and an interception player. He's reading the game as a defender.

He played with me in a zone, a back four. So he's used to reading the game of the opponent. So when Patrick goes, he knows that the guy can make the pass and will read it.

We look more vulnerable defensively when they are not there."

Q : How quickly did he settle in?

He had a difficult period the first three months. And after that he was always - (Wenger made a gesture of a jet plane taking off ).

Q : Did he improve a lot after the World Cup Final?

I would say it gave him more confidence.

Q : He's won the Double and the World Cup. Where does his hunger come from to carry on and win more things?

He needs it. He just has an internal need to perform. He's the kind of guy who will never be happy with mediocre results because he's not happy when we lose. Even in training.

You can ask the same question for players like Winterburn or Dixon, Where do they get the hunger from? They've won now everything they can achieve now? And they still go in every game because it's in you.

Q-So this was the ideal club for him to come to.

Yes.

Q-Is Petit tied up for a long time?
Yes , five years.

Q-Would you ever consider moving him back into defence?

No, because I think hes a real midfielder now. I can see today that for him to play in defence was frustrating because it doesn't co-oincide with his character.

He's a generous type of player. He needs to move on the pitch, he needs to feel physically exhausted. And as a defender he was more reading the game, he didn't run so much. At one stage maybe, in two or three years, he'll become a central defender again.

But for the next three years he must settle in midfield, and be a world class midfielder.






	Annus Mirabilis for No.17 by Myles Palmer
	Manu Petit, at 28, is in his prime. I just love to watch players improve, and the Golden Ponytail improved more than any footballer in 1998. Petit is a strong contender for Footballer of the Year, and might even be the next Arsenal captain. Proof again that football is about confidence. The big No 17 won trophies because he improved, and he improved becausw he won trophies. If he had not won the Premiership and FA Cup Double with Arsenal he might not have made Aime Jacquet's 22-man squad. Petit joined a tough, shrewd bunch of competitors at Highbury, and had to raise his game with Arsenal. He had to raise it again with France. Neither adjustment was easy. Last season I watched France play a friendly on Eurosport. Sweden, probably. Petit had a nightmare. He kept passing to his opponents. Nothing he did came off. He was embarrassing, a fish out of water, almost a Geoff Thomas.I did not think he would play for France again. Mercifully, he was substituted. Afterwards Petit admitted, I was terrible. But, at Arsenal, he liked the manager and the manager liked him. Indeed, Arsene Wenger could not have played the dynamic style of football he favoured without Petit, who developed into a perfect partner for Vieira, a more talented player. The Ponytail and the Beanpole were friends. They suited each other. They helped each other. In December, after Arsenal crashed 3-1 at home to Blackburn, Vieira sat back more, covered the back four more, rarely cruised forward. But, crucially, the French duo dominated most games by playing narrow with each other, pressing fiercely to win possession. When Arsenal had the ball Petit and Vieira kept it moving forward quickly. They tried to find Bergkamp quickly. Also, Petit hit long balls which were sometimes deadly. Even when he wasn't playing well, he played risk football by chipping and floating 30-yard passes towards the box. Early in the season he put Ian Wright through. Later on he started to put Overmars through. The Dutch winger made good runs off the ball as well as with the ball. He started from different places, came into the penalty area from different angles, and scored 16 goals in his first season. Petit helped Overmars become the new Ian Wright while everyone was watching to see if Anelka was the new Ian Wright. Of course, well-balanced midfield partnerships have always been a feature of good English club teams Frans Thijssen, a gifted dribbler, and Arnold Muhren, a reliable long passer, were superb for Ipswich, having played together at Twente Enschede. Glenn Hoddle, a long ball specialist, and Ossie Ardiles, a short ball man, complemented each other at Tottenham. In 1985 Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell used to play beautifully in tandem for Everton's championship team. They shuttled across the field together, shuttled forward together, and shuttled backwards together, never more than 15 yards apart. (Thern and Schwarz, two consummate craftsmen, did the same job for Benfica six years later.) Everton were a short-passing team who passed sideways a lot. Reid and Bracewell had short legs and made short passes, often to each other. They were the hub of an Everton style which was based on possession. The Arsenal style is based on penetration. They constantly create, and re-create, situations where players can pass the ball forward. And pass it forward quickly. Petit and Vieira have longer legs than Reid and Bracewell. If Viera tackles and wins the ball cleanly he often passes short to Petit, who tends to pass it longer. If an opponent beats Vieira, Petit invariably takes the ball off him. If he beats Petit first, Vieira pinches the ball. It is almost impossible to dribble round both Petit and Vieira. And it is hard to pass through such indefatigable warrior-athletes because they get tight so quickly. Helped by Ray Parlour, another dynamo, they make a tackle, or two tackles, or force a bad pass. Only a very cute player, like Asanovic of Panathinaikos, can retain possession against such ferocious pressing. So Petit and Vieira are powerhouse players who speed the game up, but they can slow it down as well, usually when Arsenal are winning. A valuable asset, that. Naturally, rival clubs have pressers who excel in the skirmishes and scuffles of midfield. Manchester United have Keane and Butt, Chelsea use Wise and Desailly, and Leeds added Batty to Hopkin and Bowyer. Last summer Petit was the last piece of the jigsaw in a triumphant French national team, a last-minute addition, a bit like Martin Peters and Alan Ball in 1966. Deschamps and Blanc gave France experience and leadership. Desailly and Thuram gave them colossal power and pace in defence. Zidane gave them creativity. Coach Aime Jacquet knew he lacked a convincing centre forward. But he had two more terrific athletes in Lizarazu and Djorkaeff. So he decided to marry the high-tempo Arsenal style with the solidity of the 4-3-2-1 Xmas tree he used in Euro 96. Jacquet played to his strengths with a formation which used Zidane and Djorkaeff behind a centre forward. The difference between France in Euro 96 and two years later was the pace they played at. Jacquet decided to keep the formation, but raise the tempo. And the key player he added was Petit, the bionic sprinter from Arsenal, who was on a high after winning the Double. Petit gave France a lot more energy and momentum. He operated behind Zidane, on the left of Deschamps, covering when Lizarazu overlapped. He was gradually able to make that position his own. In the World Cup Final he rose to the occasion, just as Geoff Hurst did 32 years earlier. France led Brazil 2-0, Desailly was sent off, and Petit switched to centreback to play out time with ten men. But when Brazil had a corner in the 93rd minute, and Dugarry brought the ball out, Petit took off on an optimistic 60-yard run. He accelerated onto a sublime pass from substitute Vieira, and buried it for 3-0. Back in England, World Cup fatigue did not affect him. Petit came back to Arsenal and carried on playing out of his skin. He apparently wanted to show Wenger that he was still hungry. He scored in the first Premiership match, a 2-1 win against Forest at Highbury while I was on holiday. When I came home the first game I saw was the 0-0 against Charlton at Highbury on August 29th. Petit was Arsenals best player. I gave him 8 that day. I gave 7 to Keown, Anelka and Seaman. But I only gave 5 to Bergkamp, Vieira and Parlour. He carried on playing well right through August, September and October. At Blackburn on October 25th he made it 2-0 with a free-kick which deflected off the wall past Tim Flowers. Anelka's goals kept Arsenal in the top three, but the team had a World Cup hangover. Bergkamp was anonymous, Vieira was sluggish, Overmars was not scoring. In November Petit went off injured in Lens when Arsenal were winning 1-0. Vareilles scored an injury-time equaliser from a corner. Adams seemed to blame Seaman. Petit missed three Premiership games Middlesbrough (1-1), Derby (0-0) and Aston Villa (2-3). Three games without a win was poor form for champions. He came back on December 20th against Leeds and took 20 minutes to find his touch. After that he was brilliant. When he powered forward onto Bergkamp's killer pass, between Weatherall and Haaland, he still had a lot to do against a class keeper. Left foot shot, instep, first time, rolling across Nigel Martyn, in off the base of the post for 3-1. That goal clinched three points. And all this in a new role in a foreign country. Petit played at left back for Tigana's Monaco against Newcastle. Before that, when Wenger was the coach, he used him at centreback. He also played at wingback for Monaco, but never in central midfield. The bottom line? Arsenal are ordinary without Petit and Vieira. Mr Wenger almost admitted as much after the 1-0 win against West Ham, when he spoke to the Monday papers. He spoke in detail about the roles of various players, and confirmed what I had already figured out. He said that Manu was a winner who could run for hours. Q : Is Petit the heartbeat of the team? I think he's the one who brings balance into midfield, because he was a defender before. He has a tremendous advantage in that he knows when to drop into defence, and when to stay in midfield. And when he was a defender he hit some good long balls, which helps us a lot. Because, with Overmars and Anelka, he's the one who can find them. We have nobody else in midfield who can play a long-range ball. He's very good at that. And as well he's a winner-type. He refuses to lose the game, he's everywhere. The field looks smaller when he's there. He has a rare presence. And nobody could predict that, not even him. He has grown with the position. I thought he could become that, but it was a gamble : different position, different country, no experience at the job. So it was a big gamble. Today it looks an obvious one. But it was a big gamble at the time. Q So what did you see in him then? What I could see was that he is physically strong. He can run for hours. And as well he had a good technique, as a defender. So I thought maybe he could cope. I wanted to go back to a four, and have two strong players in front of the defence. And as well the fact that he can play in different positions. In my mind the gamble is less big because he can play left back, he can play central defender. I thought : If he doesn't make it, maybe I can fit him in somewhere else. Q : As a man, as a character, he plays a big part. When Vivas came into the team he always speaks to him. He's a character, a strong character, a leader-type. He's a winner. He's an ambitious guy. So that's why I thought he could play for a big club.I knew he had the mentality to play at a big club. Q : Weve been talking amongst ourselves, we vote for the Footballer of the Year. Hes being talked as a possibility. Have you seen anybody else who has as big an impact as he has? It's very difficult to say. But usually a good team is when the balance is right. What is 100% sure is that when he's not there we dont have the same balance. Even if we have a good player in his position. He is the one who balances the team - he is a good complement of Vieira. Viera is as well a huge player and very important. And Parlour, everybody is important. But he brings us that kind of balance we need. And he's very consistent. He's an excellent passer of the ball. He doesn't often give the ball away. He's not as fluent sometimes as other midfielders, but he's always looking to play the ball in front. And his passing is always sharp. He sees openings very well. It's a question of balance because Patrick is more a chasing player and a short-passing player and a runner with the ball. And Petit is more a passer of long balls, and an interception player. He's reading the game as a defender. He played with me in a zone, a back four. So he's used to reading the game of the opponent. So when Patrick goes, he knows that the guy can make the pass and will read it. We look more vulnerable defensively when they are not there." Q : How quickly did he settle in? He had a difficult period the first three months. And after that he was always - (Wenger made a gesture of a jet plane taking off ). Q : Did he improve a lot after the World Cup Final? I would say it gave him more confidence. Q : He's won the Double and the World Cup. Where does his hunger come from to carry on and win more things? He needs it. He just has an internal need to perform. He's the kind of guy who will never be happy with mediocre results because he's not happy when we lose. Even in training. You can ask the same question for players like Winterburn or Dixon, Where do they get the hunger from? They've won now everything they can achieve now? And they still go in every game because it's in you. Q-So this was the ideal club for him to come to. Yes. Q-Is Petit tied up for a long time? Yes , five years. Q-Would you ever consider moving him back into defence? No, because I think hes a real midfielder now. I can see today that for him to play in defence was frustrating because it doesn't co-oincide with his character. He's a generous type of player. He needs to move on the pitch, he needs to feel physically exhausted. And as a defender he was more reading the game, he didn't run so much. At one stage maybe, in two or three years, he'll become a central defender again. But for the next three years he must settle in midfield, and be a world class midfielder.