Petit tips the balance: why Scholes gave him more headaches than Gerrard or Lampard
The age-old Premier League pub argument never goes away: Scholes, Gerrard or Lampard? Ask ten fans and you’ll get eleven answers. But when a World Cup-winning midfielder like Emmanuel Petit nails his colours to the mast, you pay attention. On That Peter Crouch Podcast, the ex-Arsenal and Chelsea man shared which English icon gave him the most sleepless nights – and it wasn’t hard to read between the lines.
Scholes: the opponent who made Petit think twice
Petit didn’t duck the question. Of all the engine-room battles he survived in England, he said Paul Scholes was the one who truly stretched him. The little maestro could switch the tempo in a heartbeat, drift into pockets you didn’t know existed and – crucially – had the steel to mix it when the game turned nasty. It’s that blend of brain and bite that made Scholes such a nuisance for even the shrewdest operators.
Respect all round – but who would he play with?
Pressed on which of the three he’d want alongside him, Petit’s first instinct was the diplomatic answer: all of them. And you can see why. He watched Frank Lampard’s rise up close in the late ’90s and has huge admiration for how Frank sharpened his tools year on year. Steven Gerrard? An immense opponent – relentless energy, match-turning moments, and leadership you could feel from the opposite half. Yet when Petit talked about the man who was a nightmare to contain, the conversation kept circling back to Scholes.
The head-to-head ledger
Petit’s memories aren’t just rose-tinted nostalgia; the numbers paint a proper picture.
- Versus Paul Scholes: 9 meetings; Petit’s sides won 4, drew 2 and lost 3.
- Versus Frank Lampard (West Ham years): 7 clashes across 1997/98 and 1998/99; Lampard didn’t beat Petit, drawing twice, including an FA Cup quarter-final.
- Versus Steven Gerrard: 5 showdowns; Petit’s only win came with Chelsea in 2002/03, a 2-1 victory on the Premier League’s final day.
For broader context, the three England greats combined for a massive 286 caps: Gerrard 114, Lampard 106, Scholes 66. However you stack it, we’re talking about bona fide elite operators.
Pundit’s view: why Scholes gets the nod
Here’s the crux. Gerrard was thunder and lightning, Lampard was timing and goals, but Scholes was the metronome with menace – dictating traffic while still finding killer passes and late surges. From a midfielder’s perspective, that’s the toughest puzzle to solve for 90 minutes. If you’re picking teams, you’d happily take any of the trio; if you’re trying to sleep the night before facing one, Scholes is the name keeping you up.
Thinking of having a flutter on the next midfield masterclass? Our hub for betting sites uk is a handy starting point. And the footballing bottom line from Petit’s take is this: when push came to shove, he rated Scholes as the trickiest opponent of the lot – while still tipping his cap to Gerrard and Lampard.
Credit where it’s due: statistics referenced are courtesy of Transfermarkt, correct as of 14 October 2025.
