He's told Spanish magazine Don Balon that he's convinced that Arsène Wenger won't be the new boss Barcelona are expected to sign in the summer (see Reuters summary). He also teased the Catalan faithful (who if they believe their rags will have been expecting Wenger to come) with unreserved praise for the Arsenal coach.

"My relationship with Arsene Wenger is different from the normal one between player and coach. We've known each other for a long time and to me he's more than a father. He's one of the people I respect most in the world. He's very brave and intelligent. His great virtue is that he always tries to keep the squad united."

Still couldn't stop Manu running off to warm the bench at a "mythical" club like Barca though could he? But that's water under the bridge and if Petit wanted to come back and fight Edu for a place alongside Vieira we'd be delighted. The last we heard from Arsène though, was that it'd be too hard to fit Manu in.

Petit admits that his own situation at Barca is puzzling, saying "If anyone understands it I'd like to talk to them."

He must be praying for a change of some sort, but until we know the identity of the new coach (if indeed there is one) there's not a lot of point in speculating. Not that that'll stop us.

Arsène Wenger has a policy not to bring players back to former clubs. To that I have two words: Martin Keown. And if the problem is Edu, why not have 3 players for 2 places? Even if Manu only played when one of the other 2 wasn't available, he'd be playing more than he does at Barca! What better central midfield cover could you hope for?