Former Arsenal and Chelsea star Emmanuel Petit has been discussing Sofiane Boufal’s shortcomings at Southampton.
The Gunners legend sat down with the French media in recent times and spoke about a number of current issues, including Boufal’s predicament on the South Coast.
Boufal wants to leave the club this summer, as he has confirmed himself, with a lack of progress having been made following his £16m move from Lille in 2016.
The Moroccan international was excluded from his country’s 23-man squad for the World Cup recently after being exiled from Southampton’s first-team plans towards the end of the season.
Concerns have been raised regarding Boufal’s attitude and it seems a summer move is on the cards, with his frosty relationship with new Saints boss Mark Hughes well-publicised.
Petit has been giving his verdict on why Boufal has not lived up to expectations, reasoning the struggles with the player’s alleged individualism on the pitch.
Whenever he’s had playing time at Southampton, he was constantly forgetting his partners.
Petit also drew comparisons with PSG playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa, who was similarly accused of being greedy during his stint with Newcastle some years ago.
He reminds me a little of Hatem Ben Arfa – talented on the ball, able to make a difference but on the pitch, he plays to score and does not take notice of what is going on around him.
