Emmanuel Petit reflected on his decision to quit Arsenal for Barcelona – admitting it remains one of the biggest regrets from his illustrious football career.

The ex-Gunners midfielder arrived in north London in 1997 as he reunited with Arsene Wenger, who managed him back in Monaco.

Petit was an immediate hit at Highbury as he played a key role in Arsenal's Premier League and FA Cup double triumph in his first season at the club.

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The Frenchman spent three years at the club before he left for the Spanish giants, alongside team-mate Marc Overmars, for a combined fee of £7million.

The move to Barcelona came shortly after he won Euro 2000 with France, but his success on the international stage – which included winning the 1998 World Cup – didn't repeat itself at club level as he lasted just a year at the Nou Camp.

Constant injuries and failure to keep a regular place in the starting line-up saw Petit later come to regret leaving Arsenal. He confessed as much in 2020 when discussing former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho's lack of joy in Spain following his £142m move to the Nou Camp from Anfield in 2018.

"If I was Philippe Coutinho, every morning I would wake up and think to myself, 'Why, why, did I sign [for Barcelona] in Spain?'" Petit told Mirror Football.

"And do you know why I say this? Because, I can remember the time when I'd wake up, when I was at Barcelona, when I left Arsenal, and I was thinking the same way, 'why did I leave? Why did I leave? Why did I leave?'

"And to be honest with you I am sure Coutinho has been asking himself the same question for a while now. He left for Bayern Munich, he does sometimes play well but he's not really a first-team player."

A return to English football beckoned for Petit, who made the move in 2001 to Arsenal's bitter rivals in Chelsea. They ended up being his last club before retiring from football.

His stint in west London began positively, but following a series of knee injuries, he was dropped to the bench by Claudio Ranieri in his final season before he was released by the club in 2004.

Petit admitted that he was "disgusted" in the manner of his departure from the club as he told SFR Sport 1's The Locker Room: "I really didn't like the way it ended in the dressing room, with the medical staff and the president [Abramovich] at Chelsea.

"I was even disgusted. That's why I left and didn't give them any news about me after that. My performances had been suffering because my knee was a mess, but I put things off. I hid the truth from the medical staff. I still had the hunger."