Petit joined Arsenal in June 1997 for £2.5 million, where he was reunited with his former Monaco manager Arsène Wenger. Wenger switched Petit from central midfielder to defensive midfielder, and partnered him with fellow Frenchman Patrick Vieira. The French duo formed a midfield partnership which brought instant success, as Petit won the double with Arsenal in his very first season, clinching both the Premier League title and the FA Cup. Altogether, in the three seasons in his Arsenal career, Petit made 118 appearances and scored 11 goals, including a stunning drive from outside the area against Derby County (which was also the winning goal), during the 1997–98 season.[citation needed]
Petit moved to Barcelona (together with Arsenal teammate Marc Overmars) in the summer of 2000 for £7 million (€14 million). At Barcelona, he was moved back into defence and suffered a rash of niggling injuries. As a result, he failed to settle and could not hold down a regular place. In his biography, published in 2008, the midfielder gave his time at Barcelona a special chapter in which he exposed that coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer did not even know what position he played when he joined the team. His only goal for Barcelona came on 13 May 2001 at home to Rayo Vallecano in a 5–1 win.[6]
After his first season at the Camp Nou, Petit was linked with moves back to England with Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea, joining the last in 2001 in a £7.5 million transfer deal.[7][8] He initially was a first-team regular for the Blues in a largely disappointing first season and played in the 2002 FA Cup final[9] which Chelsea lost to his old club, Arsenal. He scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 2–1 win over Derby on 30 March 2002.[10] His second season saw a significant improvement, as he formed an impressive midfield partnership with Frank Lampard as Chelsea impressed in the winner-takes-all final game of the season against Liverpool as Chelsea secured the fourth UEFA Champions League berth. He also scored twice throughout the season: against Everton in the League Cup,[11] and former club Arsenal in the league.[12] After a series of knee injuries, however, he spent much of his final season of his career on the sidelines, and he was released on a free transfer in the summer of 2004, his final appearance for the club coming against Blackburn Rovers on 1 February 2004.[13]
After being released by Chelsea, Petit rejected the chance to sign for Bolton Wanderers,[14][15] and he announced his retirement on 20 January 2005 after failing to fully recover following knee surgery.[16][17][18]
International career
Playing for the France national team, Petit earned 63 caps and scored six international goals in his career and won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. He scored twice in the 1998 World Cup, the first from a powerful shot from just outside the box against Denmark, which turned out to be the match winner, and a second in the final against Brazil. The goal he scored in the final was particularly memorable, as he had embarked on an optimistic run across field before calmly slotting in the goal in the final minute of regular time. That same goal happened to be the 1,000th goal in the history of the French Football Federation, and the last World Cup goal of the 20th century. France won the match 3–0. An earlier Petit corner kick had set up Zinedine Zidane's header for France's first goal.[19] Petit was also part of the 2002 World Cup squad, though France failed to advance past the group stages and failed to score a single goal in three matches during their defence of the trophy.[20]
Petit retired from international football in September 2003.[21]
Style of play
Although capable of playing as a defender, Petit usually played as a defensive midfielder throughout his career, and was known for his energy, work-rate, strength, tackling, aerial prowess, and positional intelligence in this position, as well as his elegance, and his passing range and striking ability from distance with his left foot; as such, he was not only capable of breaking up attacks, but of dictating play in midfield, creating chances for teammates, and even scoring goals.[22][23][24][25][26]
Personal life
Petit married French actress Agathe de La Fontaine,[27] in 2000, but they divorced in 2002 after having one child, Zoe. He now shares his life with Maria Servello, with whom he had another child, Violet, in 2007. He has often appeared on French TV as a football analyst.
His brother Olivier was an amateur footballer when Petit was a teenager. While playing for his club Arques in 1988, Olivier collapsed and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead due to a blood clot of the brain.[28] In his biography, Petit explained that this event shocked him to such an extent that it almost made him quit football. He viewed his brother as a gifted young man who had good looks and did well in all his endeavours, whether it was football or education. At age 18, he was already facing the demanding rigors of the Monaco youth academy, and not so soon, he had lost his grandfather. His brother’s and grandfather’s loss happened in a bracket of two years and the passing of his brother almost became the final straw.
Petit wore the number 17 shirt in club football throughout his career as 17 was his brother's age when he died [29]
He starred as himself in a Christmas special episode of British police show The Bill in 1998.[30]
Petit has been an ambassador for the Homeless World Cup movement since the tournament was hosted by Paris in 2011.[31]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[32]
^"Entreprise Masky à Paris (75004)" [Company Masky in Paris (75004)]. Figaro Entreprises (in French). 7 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020. "Emmanuel Petit". BFM Business (in French). NextInteractive. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
^"Emmanuel Petit". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
