Arsenal told perfect player that would fire them to Premier League title

Bryan Mbeumo is the player Arsenal need to all-but guarantee Premier League glory, and he showcased this at the weekend.

That’s according to Gunners legend Emmanuel Petit, who has highlighted the Cameroonian as the presence up front the Gunners could do with after their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United.

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Mbeumo got on the scoresheet on Sunday as Michael Carrick continued his perfect start to life in the Red Devils dugout with a surprise 3-2 victory at the Emirates Stadium.

After falling behind through a Lisandro Martinez own goal, Mbeumo levelled things up by pouncing on Martin Zubimendi’s error, showing great composure to go round David Raya and slide the ball home.

It marked the second straight game where the forward has netted, following his goal during a 2-0 win over Manchester City a week prior.

Against Arsenal, Mbeumo’s strike proved a turning point, with United edging the five-goal thriller thanks to Matheus Cunha‘s late winner.

This dealt a blow to the Gunners’ title hopes, who missed out on the chance to restore a seven-point lead at the top of the league, and now they sit just four points clear of rivals Man City and Aston Villa.

‘I love him’

Defeat on Sunday saw Arsenal’s title credentials called into question once again, who have finished second in each of their last four Premier League seasons as they target a first league silverware since 2004.

And former Gunners player Petit believes Mbeumo would be the perfect player to help get his old team over the line at the fifth time of asking.

The 26-year-old has hit the ground running at Old Trafford since his £71million arrival in the summer, and is United’s top goalscorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Petit was asked which player Arsenal should sign to help fire them to league glory this term.

To this, the Frenchman immediately replied: “Yesterday I saw exactly what I thought about this player against Arsenal, it’s Mbeumo. 

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“I think in terms of movement, he’s very intelligent. He’s got this flair in front of the goal. He’s very good in terms of assists as well.

“I love his work rate. I love his behaviour on the pitch, technically, mentally as well. 

“But more importantly, I like his movement, the link with his players all the time. He brings something different up front.

“He’s not that physical, but in the meantime he puts everything he has on the pitch. But I love him because he’s very intelligent.

“When I saw Manchester United buy him in the last transfer market, I thought, this is a good bargain.”

Mbeumo’s season in numbers

It isn’t hard to see how Mbeumo would boost Arsenal’s title charge, who has outscored all of the league leaders’ star players.

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His eight-goal league haul is three more than the Gunners’ joint-top scorers Viktor Gyokeres and Leandro Trossard.

Perhaps more impressively, the forward also boasts the same number of goals as Arsenal’s leading goalscorers in all competitions this term – Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli.

Despite United not competing in Europe, and being knocked out of all domestic competitions, Mbeumo has found the net on nine occasions overall, the same figure as the Gunners duo.

And there can be little doubt over the Cameroon star’s impact at Old Trafford following his summer arrival from Brentford.

With his goal at the weekend, the forward became the first Man United player to score against Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool in the same Premier League season since 2022/23.

He is also the first player to achieve this feat in their debut season since Robin van Persie in the 2012/13 campaign.

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Mbeumo’s absence was certainly felt whilst away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, with United winning just one of their five games without him.

His recent return has inspired a return to form, scoring in each of his side’s last two wins over Man City and Arsenal in Michael Carrick’s first games in charge as interim boss.