Emmanuel Petit reckons Mikel Arteta could be tempted away from Arsenal at the end of the season.

The Gunners are strong favourites to win the Premier League title this term having finished second in the last three seasons.

Arteta’sside are top of the league, two points ahead of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.

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And Petit claims various circumstances could lead Arteta to walk away from Arsenal and join Barcelona, his boyhood club, but doesn’t necessarily think that would be a good move for him.

“Mikel Arteta could be tempted to come back to Spain, especially to a club he knew when he was very young,” Petit told Snabbare.

“Honestly, with the work he’s doing, can you imagine if he wins something at the end of the season?

“He would probably say, ‘Okay, fair enough. For me, after almost seven years, I’ve done it with Arsenal. I think it’s time for me to see something else.’ I can understand that.

“But, in a way, I can also understand that if Barcelona knocks at your door, you will think, ‘Okay, listen, Barcelona is one of the greatest clubs in the world. I’ll be back in Spain, and the lifestyle is good for my family.’

“I can understand everything, but here we go, it’s very simple, you will probably fight for the title in Spain, but there is no way you will fight for the Champions League.

“Everything is based, most of it, on Lamine Yamal. They have top players in Barcelona, but they don’t have world-class players, just like Lionel Messi was back in the day.

“Can you win the Champions League with these defenders? No way! That’s impossible. They concede so many goals. We saw that last season in the semi-finals against Inter.

“How can you concede 7 goals in the semi-finals? Then you will tell me, ‘Yeah, but they scored six again. If you take away Lamine Yamal, what’s going on at Barcelona? Offensively yes, not defensively. It’s like a casino, they’ve bet everything on Lamine Yamal.

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“Lamine Yamal by himself cannot win the Champions League. Messi, with all the respect, I have such huge respect for him, he would not have been winning the Champions League if he didn’t have Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, those guys.

“And actually, if Arteta, as I said, spent seven years at Arsenal, if he wins something, he will probably say, ‘Okay, I will go to Barcelona, but something has to be changed, especially defensively.’

“Because look at what he’s done so far with Arsenal. He brought success, he improved the team step by step from the back. He’s had the best defense in Europe for years now. They score goals because, behind, he’s got bosses.”