Emmanuel Petit made 118 appearances for Arsenal. PA Photos

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has admitted that he regrets leaving the club as well as joining Chelsea instead of Manchester United.

Petit, 44, won a Premier League and FA Cup Double with the Gunners in the 1997-98 season before leaving London for Barcelona in 2000.

He soon regretted his decision after being deployed at left-back by the Catalans, joining Chelsea a year later before being forced to retire due to injury in January 2005.

"I made a lifestyle choice to the detriment of the sporting choice," he told football365.fr.

"And on the rare occasions that I've made that choice, I've got it wrong. It was the same thing when I left Barcelona to go back to Chelsea.