Arsenal lack the killer instinct to win major trophies, says Emmanuel Petit

Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes that the Gunners' propensity to look good on the ball has taken away their killer instinct, which had led them to multiple trophies in the past.

The north London club had gone nine years without a trophy, addressing that concern only last season when they won the FA Cup, to put them out of their misery. However, the supporters are looking forward for a major trophy, in line with the Premier League title or the Champions League, something which Arsene Wenger has failed to deliver thus far.

Petit believes that the current players in the Arsenal squad are soft and do not have it in them to finish games like they did in the presence of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira.

The Gunners are still active in the FA Cup, where they have managed to progress into the sixth round and have booked themselves a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

They have also managed to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League, where they will face Ligue One side Monaco over two legs and hope to qualify for the quarter finals after a four-year hiatus.

"You have to remember the defence that we had. You could rely on Seaman, Adams, Keown, etc," Petit said.

"We knew how to travel. When we had to play, we knew how to do that too. I remember one away game at Wimbledon where Tony Adams came to say to me: 'Today, Manu, forget the football. It's war'. We knew how to adapt because we only wanted one thing: to win," he added.

Petit, now 44, reckons the current Arsenal team lack the same hard edge.

"Let's say that the Barcelona of keeping the ball has overtaken that style.

"But today, you have to be more direct and pragmatic. You see that with Germany or Real Madrid. Arsenal have very pretty players but there are not 'killers' in this team. At that time, we were tough, we did not play to look good," the midfielder concluded.