Emmanuel Petit: 'Marcus Rashford would be welcome at Arsenal'

The England international was tipped to end his association with the Red Devils after a troubled 2021-22 season, but he was convinced to stay by Erik ten Hag and reaped the rewards of his decision last season.

As well as taking home an EFL Cup winners' medal, Rashford reignited his career with 30 goals and 11 assists in 56 games in all tournaments, winning both the fans and players' vote for Man United's Player of the Season.

However, the 26-year-old has only contributed to 11 goals from 28 matches in the ongoing campaign - five of his own and six assists - and he was once again in the news for off-field misdemeanours at the end of January.

It was initially claimed that Rashford was missing from the squad to face Newport County in the FA Cup due to illness, but Red Devils fans were then rocked by revelations that he had been out partying in Belfast, and Man United confirmed that the issue had been dealt with as an "internal disciplinary matter".

Since the club's statement, Ten Hag - who also dropped Rashford from the starting lineup to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in late 2022 after he was late to a team meeting - has repeatedly refused to discuss the controversy, simply insisting that the case is closed.

The England international was quickly reinstated to the Red Devils' first XI, but his Man United teammates were allegedly left infuriated by his latest indiscretion, and speculation over his future is heating up once more.

Rashford extended his Man United deal until 2028 last summer, and the Red Devils are supposedly not actively looking to sell him, but Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are both said to be monitoring developments.

Speaking to compare.bet - as quoted by the Daily Mail - Petit, a double winner with Arsenal in the 1997-98 season, said that Arsenal would be hospitable to Rashford, but he has urged the "inconsistent" attacker to "grow up".

"Great players like Rashford are always welcome at Arsenal, but there is one big problem with him - he is so inconsistent," Petit said. "We all know what he is capable of on the pitch but he is a sensitive guy and he needs to protect himself a bit better.

"From what I can see, things impact him a lot and it can affect his performances on the pitch. He must work on that. If he wants to come to Arsenal, he needs to grow up.

"It won't be easy to get into the team. [Gabriel] Martinelli is amazing on the left and [Gabriel] Jesus and [Leandro] Trossard work so hard in the number 9 role, so he couldn't just come and think he'll be the star man at Arsenal."

Attacking reinforcements are expected to be high on Arsenal's transfer wishlist for the summer window, but the Gunners will most likely target an out-and-out number nine - such as Ivan Toney or Victor Osimhen - rather than a player of Rashford's ilk.

Bukayo Saka tops the Arsenal scoring charts with 11 goals in all competitions in the current campaign, while Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah boast just four and five respectively in the Premier League.

Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard were all on target in Arsenal's deserved 3-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday, which moved Mikel Arteta's men to within two points of the Premier League leaders.