Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit had to make an apology after wrongly claiming that Gunners legend Pat Rice had died, while live on Sky Sports.

Speaking on Monday Night Football’s coverage of Chelsea’s win over Wolves, Petit was reliving his fondest moments at Highbury and when talking about his former coach Rice said “rest in peace”.

“He had some fights with Pat Rice as well, rest in peace Pat,” Petit said.

However, he was swiftly informed that Rice, 75, was in fact alive and well, which prompted huge relief for Petit but also laughter from Jamie Carragher that his co-star for the evening had made such an error.

“I’ve got some good news, Pat Rice sends his best,” Sky host David Jones confirmed. “He’s not actually no longer with us. He’s alive and kicking.”

Petit then responded: “I’m sorry! Sorry Pat. I’m confused. I’m so sorry Pat. Pat, I made a mistake, sorry.”

Rice made nearly 400 appearances for Arsenal between 1967 and 1980, before going on to work as a coach for the club across four decades.

He joined as an academy coach before taking up a caretaker manager position following the departures of Stewart Houston and Bruce Rioch.

Rice then worked as an assistant to Arsene Wenger when the iconic Frenchman moved to north London, where they won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups together across 16 years.

After a total of 44 years as a player and coach at Arsenal, Rice stepped down in 2012. Wenger paid homage to Rice as he said: “Pat is a true Arsenal legend and has committed almost his whole life to Arsenal Football Club, which shows huge loyalty and devotion to this club.

“I will always be indebted to him for his expert insight into Arsenal and football as a whole. On the training pitches and on matchdays, Pat has always been a passionate, loyal and insightful colleague, who we will all miss.”

The following year he was awarded an MBE for his services to football and after announcing that he had been admitted to hospital for cancer treatment, became a scout for Arsenal once he made a full recovery.