Emmanuel Petit warns Arsenal against signing Zaha as it will halt the progress of Martinelli

Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit does not believe his old club should make a move for Wilfried Zaha as they already have a player of real quality who plays in his position.

Gabriel Martinelli has shone on the left wing for the Gunners this season, gaining a reputation as one of the top young talents in the league.

Zaha impressed as Crystal Palace beat Arsenal 3-0 at Selhurst Park on Monday and it was long before talks of a potential move to the Emirates resurfaced.

However, Petit thinks signing Zaha will halt Martinelli's progress.

Speaking to Genting Casino, he said: ‘I love watching Zaha. He’s an electric player. He can be strange on the pitch sometimes, with his provocations.

‘But I really liked his reactions against Arsenal, he controlled his reactions, he was smiling, he was very confident. It should be like that for every game.

‘Of course, he would fit in well at Arsenal. But my question would be, what do you do with Gabriel Martinelli? Martinelli has been very good since his injury and he’s following in the same footsteps of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka.

‘This is the next generation of Arsenal players and if you brought in Zaha then he’d play regular football and Martinelli would be on the bench.

‘So I’m not quite sure about that. Arsenal need competition in their squad, for sure, but when you see the prospect of young players, you have to be very careful with the players you bring into the club.’