Arsenal’s title chances took a huge hit on Sunday after they lost to the Red Devils and rivals Aston Villa and Manchester City both picked up 3 points.
The pressure is on for the North London side who also drew 0-0 to Nottingham Forest last week, reducing their lead at the top to a mere 4 points which cut be cut down even further at the weekend when they face Leeds United.
Petit has spoken honestly on his former side, suggesting that the pressure and poor results may be getting to them.
"The players, they feel it. They feel the impact, the negativity, the pressure, they feel the anxiety," he told talkSPORT.
"They don't need that, they need their support, especially right now.
"When you look at the games they played during Christmas time, they played big games, they played in the Champions League, they qualified for every single competition, they're leading most of them."
Odegaard isn't feeling the pressure
Odegaard dismissed the notion that the nerves from the crowd and called on his team-mates to "stick together now more than ever” after the game.
"I didn’t feel that, I was so focused on the game.
"We have experienced in all those seasons that it is a long run and a lot of things can happen. It is time to stick together more than ever, look for the next game and bounce back.
"It is tough in this league. It was never going to be easy. We just have to keep working and keep going. We are still top of the league. We are still in a good position.
"We are disappointed we lost. We should have won this game. But that’s football and there are going to be ups and downs. Now it is about how we deal with it."