Emmanuel Petit believes Arsenal have "missed a trick" by not asking club legends such as Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry to coach at the club.
The trio, a key part of the most glorious years of Arsenal's recent past, have all taken on coaching roles elsewhere following the end of their playing careers.
Bergkamp is on the coaching staff at Ajax and Vieira is in charge of New York City FC, having previously worked with Manchester City's Elite Development squad. And while Henry did work with Arsenal's youth team, he left last summer when Arsene Wenger told him he could not combine TV work with the role and has since been appointed assistant coach to Roberto Martinez with the Belgium national team.
Petit et les reconversions des stars des Gunners : "Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp, ... Arsenal a raté le tournant" #LeVestiaire cc @Arsenal_France pic.twitter.com/yu8LfBLVID
- SFR Sport (@SFR_Sport) November 28, 2016
"You're often surprised by the career choice of some players after they have stopped playing," Petit told SFR Sport's Le Vestiaire. "I spoke to [Vieira] a few months before he left for MLS, there were representatives of Manchester City there, and I said that I was very surprised that Manchester City would offer a player who is so closely identified with Arsenal a job at their youth academy, like [Mikel] Arteta with [Pep] Guardiola.
"I think Arsenal have missed a trick there, because there are other emblematic players who have left: Bergkamp is at Ajax, Thierry [Henry] is with Belgium."
While Bergkamp and Henry have so far taken coaching positions, Vieira came to the fore when he was appointed head coach of NYCFC in November, and his first major coaching role has gone well with the MLS franchise making a first-ever playoff appearance.
Though Vieira's team stumbled in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it was considered a more than successful debut season, and Petit always felt Vieira had the qualities required to succeed in the dugout.
"There are a lot of midfielders who have become good coaches," Petit, who won the 1997-98 Premier League title alongside Vieira, said. "He was always a leader on the pitch, and has a personality that means he will impose himself and not let himself be pushed around.
"There was also his position on the pitch which helped. At Arsenal, he was an immense captain."