Emmanuel Petit likened Philippe Coutinho’s greatest error in his career to an Arsenal choice.

Since moving from Liverpool to Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho has had a terrible time, and Emmanuel Petit, a former player for Arsenal, has noticed similarities between the Brazilian and himself.

Emmanuel Petit and Philippe Coutinho’s careers took strikingly similar turns, despite the Frenchman’s insistence that they had both committed the same error.

During his three years at Arsenal, Petit made a significant impression, winning the FA Cup and Premier League in his debut campaign. At the conclusion of Petit’s first season, he and Patrick Vieira, who forged a formidable midfield connection, helped France win the World Cup.

That was as good as it got for Petit while he was at Arsenal though, with the midfielder joining Barcelona, where he endured a miserable one-season spell before moving to Chelsea. Petit’s career path was a forerunner to Coutinho, who secured a dream move to Barca after a brilliant spell with Liverpool.

Even though he didn’t bring home any hardware with the Reds, Coutinho was thought to be among the top players in the league. His career was stunted by a combination of injuries and falling out of favour after his £142 million move to the Nou Camp.

For the 2019–2020 season, he was transferred on loan to Bayern Munich, where he helped the Bundesliga’s top team win the Champions League. Liverpool was busy taking home a tonne of trophies while he was having a nightmare in Spain.

Petit then compared himself to the Brazilian, noting that Arsenal had also experienced tremendous success following his departure. The Frenchman encouraged the midfielder to look at moving back to England back in 2020.

“If I was Philippe Coutinho, every morning I would wake up and think to myself, ‘Why, why, did I sign [for Barcelona] in Spain?’ And do you know why I say this?” Petit told Mirror Football at the time.

“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. I’m pretty sure it would work out for him [returning to England]. He fits perfectly with the Premier League.

“He’s got the vision, the technique, the speed, he can strike, he has the creativity. We all know what he is capable of. I was a big fan of his when he was at Liverpool. I would be very, very happy to see him back in the Premier League.”

Following Petit’s advice, Coutinho signed a loan deal with Aston Villa in January 2022 and made 19 appearances while scoring five goals. He made the switch permanent that summer, but Villa had a rough start to the season, and he struggled mightily to find his form.

Uni Emery, the new boss, is choosing other choices. In the summer, Coutinho moved on loan to the footballing graveyard of Qatar, with little expectation of playing regularly.

Thus far, he has made six starts for Al-Duhail across all competitions, tallying three goals. However, an injury has kept him out of their last three games, and as Coutinho’s career continues to deteriorate, The Red Knights are currently fifth in the Qatari Premier League.