EMMANUEL PETIT believes that Arsenal can finish this season in the top four and has also urged his former club to recall Matteo Guendouzi or sign PSG outsider Georginio Wijnaldum.
Wijnaldum, 31, joined the French giants last summer on a free transfer after his contract with Liverpool expired.
However, he is already being linked with a move away amidst rumours that he is unsettled at the club.
The midfielder has made 24 appearances for PSG since his arrival, scoring three times.
But, he reportedly feels ‘isolated’ and is eyeing up a move back to the Premier League.
This news comes just days after it was revealed that Wijnaldum is a boyhood Arsenal fan.
In an interview with Bookmakers.co.uk, Petit – who won the Double with Arsenal in 1998 – emphasised the idea of Wijnaldum leaving the club and making a return to England.
He said: “You have no idea how much talk there is in France in the last two months surrounding Georginio Wijnaldum.
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“When he scored two goals against RB Leipzig in the Champions League last November, I was at the stadium that night and I thought it could be the perfect game for him to properly start his season with Paris Saint-Germain.
“But, he is struggling and he is quite isolated in the PSG dressing room.
“He doesn’t have the relationship with his teammates that he had when he was with Liverpool.
“He seems to be missing that kind of affection, and the competition is very high at PSG.
“We all know the quality that Wijnaldum possesses, he was a top player at Liverpool, so maybe a return to the Premier League could be something good for him.”
He also urged Arsenal to make some key signings in the transfer window and discussed the idea of recalling in-form Guendouzi: “Arsenal need to get some new faces because of players missing due to the African Cup Of Nations, Covid and injuries.
“They are especially short in midfield actually.
“Then you think about the players in the midfield area who have been out on loan recently, they need to get some of them back.
“Matteo Guendouzi is one of those and he’s performing really well with Marseille recently.”
The Frenchman believes that his former club have the ability to finish in the top four this season and has cemented his trust in Mikel Arteta’s side: “If you asked me this question two months ago, I would have said it would be a miracle.
“But, after what Arsenal have done in the last few months, they now have an opportunity.
“They had a terrible start to the season, but now – after six months of playing – they have the chance to qualify for the Champions League.
“Honestly, the opportunity they have now is a gift for these Arsenal players, so they have to take it.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk