Emmanuel Petit explains why he has no room for Arsenal and France midfield partner Patrick Vieira in his best XI of former team-mates as he snubs another Gunners legend for John Terry
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has brutally rejected two big names as he named his best XI of former team-mates.
Petit, who won the Premier League and FA Cup double with Arsenal in 1998 before winning the World Cup with France that summer, joined regular Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher in the studio ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Wolves at Stamford Bridge.
He is remembered as one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation, representing Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea during his illustrious career.
Looking back on that career, the 54-year-old selected his best XI from previous team-mates, but there was no room for Patrick Vieira or Tony Adams.
Petit’s backline instead featured Liliam Thuram, Marcel Desailly, John Terry and Manuel Amoros – with Fabian Barthez in goal.
In front of him were Xavi, Zinedine Zidane and Rivaldo in midfield, with Dennis Bergkamp just ahead of them in a playmaking role and George Weah and Thierry Henry up front.
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit featured on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football

During the show, Petit named his best XI of former teammates from his playing career

However, there was no room for former Arsenal teammate Patrick Vieira (left) in his team
Petit explained his reasoning behind the omission of Vieira and Adams, saying, “I could also work with Patrick (Vieira). But I’ve played with so many great players.’
Carragher replied: ‘I’m shocked by some of the names. For me, John Terry is one of the greatest centre-backs. I think of Tony, Tony Adams. I’ve always been a big John Terry fan. That’s a big decision.”
Petit replied, “I can only take eleven players, though. Even in midfield, Patrick, Frank Lampard for example. There is only one Xavi. I think Xavi in this position…’
“He was great,” Carragher quickly interjected.
“He started with us in Barcelona,” Petit continued. ‘Sometimes he trained with us. Puyol too. Puyol was a little bit more ahead of him, but Xavi, you could see he had something else: his intelligence, his technical ability. The personality too. This is the DNA of Barcelona.
‘Nowadays defenders are not typical defenders. Nowadays when you talk about defenders, Thuram, one-on-one, Desailly, John Terry – those guys, you can’t get past them.
‘It’s impossible. They are real defenders. They fight for the ball. It’s a nightmare for strikers.’
Despite Vieira being left out of his midfield squad, Petit still found time to name the Frenchman as his favorite teammate from his playing days.

In addition to their time at Arsenal, Petit also played with Vieira for the French national team

There was also no room for Tony Adams (second from right) on Petit’s all-time team

Instead, Petit appointed former Chelsea captain John Terry to central defense in his team
‘I would say Patrick. Certainly. For what we did, Patrick, yes. William Gallas too. We are very good friends,” Petit said.
Petit and Vieira played together for Arsenal from 1997 to 2000. They formed a highly effective midfield partnership and contributed to some of the club’s most successful seasons during that period.
They also played together on the French national team, most notably at the 1998 FIFA World Cup where France won the tournament.
Petit attracted a lot of attention with his rare appearance on Monday Night Football, as fans took to social media to argue about which famous fictional character he most resembled.
Fans were delighted to see that Petit, 54, has retained his signature look and joked about who the French legend most resembled, from popular The Lord of the Rings character Legolas to Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series.

Petit went on to call Vieira his favorite teammate of his playing career

Petit attracted a lot of attention with his rare appearance on Monday Night Football
“Lovely to see Emmanuel Petit on Sky Sports tonight,” one fan posted on X alongside a photo of Orlando Bloom’s portrayal of Legolas from The Lord of the Rings.
Several supporters simply praised the 54-year-old pundit’s appearance and praised his fashion sense, style and general demeanor on Monday Night Football.
One fan posted: ‘Emmanuel Petit looks like he could wear 5 random items from a charity shop and still be the best dressed, coolest man in the room!!’
Another said: ‘It’s great to see Emmanuel Petit on MNF, still looking for a billion dollars, the man is ageless.’