Emmanuel Petit was so renowned for his moans by the time he left Arsenal for Barcelona last summer that the idea of him missing English football seemed ridiculous. Yet the France midfielder yesterday said he has been yearning for the Premiership as he joined Chelsea for £7.5 million sterling.

Having seen his move to the Nou Camp turn sour, Petit sounded delighted to be back among English referees and the hurly-burly of the top flight. Where once he was said to be fed up with the amount of football played in this country, the prospect of constant action could hardly be more appealing after a frustrating season in Spain in which he made only 13 league starts.

"It was maybe the hardest year of my career," he said. "It was very stressful, not on the pitch but off it. On the pitch it was just football, which is my job and my passion, but off the pitch there were so many troubles.

"I was expecting to play more to forget the troubles and I realised when I was at Barcelona how much I missed English football: the tension, the fans, the respect of the people and these kind of traditions. Basically everything."

Petit insisted he had no regrets about leaving Highbury along with Marc Overmars - "I had to leave because I needed a new target in my life" - and knows the feelings he had a year ago are similar to those now afflicting his former Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira.

Petit's return to London on a three-year contract is almost certain to coincide with his compatriot's departure from Highbury. The 30-year-old said he could not see Vieira joining Barcelona - "If he goes there I wish him good luck," he said wryly - and offered one piece of advice: "Go the way your heart tells you."

Despite late advances from Manchester United and offers from elsewhere in Europe, Petit's heart told him to join Claudio Ranieri's revolution at Stamford Bridge. His arrival takes Chelsea's summer spending to £24.7 million after the signings of Frank Lampard and the defender William Gallas, and turning down Old Trafford was straight forward.

"Chelsea made the better approach to me a long time ago," said Petit, who links up with his international colleagues Frank Leboeuf and Marcel Desailly.