Arsenal icon Emmanuel Petit has claimed he’d rather have Bukayo Saka start for his side in attack than Barcelona and France winger Ousmane Dembele.
The legendary Frenchman won the World Cup all the way back in 1998 alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane and current Les Blues boss, Didier Deschamps.
He has been speaking ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and he has just made a big claim.
Emmanuel Petit says he’d rather have Arsenal star Bukayo Saka than Ousmane Dembele
France are the defending World Champions, and many feel they have a great chance to retain their title in Qatar.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Grieamann starred in Russia four years ago, while although Barcelona star Dembele was in the squad, he didn’t have much of an impact.
However, the Frenchman has been in fine form in Spain this season, and a lot is expected of him. He could be a star for Les Blues in Qatar, but Petit says he’d much rather have Arsenal’s Saka in his side.
When asked by 90min France to pick one of the two, the Frenchman said: “I really like Bukayo Saka. I really like Ousmane Dembele too. It’s true that Bukayo Saka… I actually love the boy. I love what he does on the pitch and I love his personality.
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“So, (I’d) rather (have) Bukayo Saka.”
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Petit has upset many Arsenal fans with some of his opinions over the years, but this one will be welcomed with open arms by Gunners supporters.
Saka has been one of Arsenal’s best players for over two years now. He is a world-class talent, who has the quality and potential to become a top, top player in the coming years.
Dembele is a brilliant player too, but injuries have been really cruel to him over the years. It looks like he has put those woes behind him now, which is excellent news for France.
It will be interesting to see how the two wingers will fare for their respective countries in Qatar. Saka’s campaign begins on Monday against Iran and he’ll be hoping to hit the ground running.
