Post by Salem6 on Oct 30, 2003 0:17:13 GMT
Name
Robert Pires
Born
29 October 1973, Reims
Position
Midfielder
Country
France
Height
185cm / 6'1
Weight
74kg / 163lb
Joined Arsenal
03 July 2000
Arsenal Debut
Premier League v Sunderland (a) 19th Aug 2000 (Lost 1-0)
Previous Club(s)
Stade Reims
FC Metz
O. Marseille
Robert was still recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury when last season began. When it ended he was a hero after scoring the only goal in the FA Cup final. Scoring was a feature of Robert's game last season. He grabbed 14 in just 20 Premiership starts, including a hat-trick against Southampton in the final home game.
Robert also hit the net for France against Japan in the Confederations Cup, marking his first game as captain of his country.
Robert Pires returned from injury a few games into the 2002/03 season after recovering from the knee injury which ruled him out of France's dismal World Cup campaign in Japan.
He continued from where he had left off, rediscovering the form that had won him the Football Writers' Player of the Year in 2001/02. He scored 16 goals in all competitions, including the FA Cup winning goal in the final against Southampton.
He delighted Gunners fans when he agreed a new three year deal at the club in the summer of 2003. Pires said: "I am so happy to have signed a new contract with Arsenal. What's more, I am pleased with the way it's all happened and also the fact that Arsenal want to keep me is a great sign of recognition for me personally.
"I love being a part of this club. I have a great relationship with the boss, the players and all the supporters, so I'm very pleased to be continuing my time here.
"It's my personal goal to continue to win trophies in England and also win the Champions League which is of course one of the club's objectives.
Arsene Wenger again turned to his country of birth to produce the next Arsenal midfield maestro by bringing this creative playmaker to the club from Marseille in July 2000 in a £6 million deal. Pires has followed in the footsteps of fellow countrymen Anelka, Petit, Henry and Vieira by making a successful transition to the Premiership with Arsenal.
A League cup winner with Metz in 1996, Pires made two considerable additions to his medal collection as part of the all conquering French national team of World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000, setting up the Golden Goal for David Trezeguet which secured France the title of European champions.
Comfortable in any midfield position, he often likes to push wide on either the right or the left from where he can deliver a telling cross or cut in and create a goal-scoring chance for himself.
With the departure of both Overmars and Petit, Wenger had plenty of scope to accommodate the skills of his new recruit who gained valuable experience in the Champions League during Marseille's 1999/2000 campaign.
Pires had a slightly disappointing first season, despite gaining a regular first team place. He admitted that he found the Premiership to be tougher than the French league. However, his second season was far more impressive, as he scored 13 goals from midfield, and was awarded the Football Writers' Player of the Year.
His season ended with disappointment though, as he was stretchered off during Arsenal's FA Cup quarter-final.
Nevertheless, Pires has firmly established himself as one of the Premiership's brightest stars.
Robert Pires
A true English heart
Position: Midfielder
Nationality: French
Team: Arsenal FC, England
One of Arsenal's latest French recruits, Robert Pires has adjusted quickly to the English game. For a midfielder whose talent was not at all physical strength, Pires has shown commitment on the pitch. In this interview he explains why he likes playing in England so much. He underlines two major factors: the passion of the supporters and the beauty of a competition like the FA Cup. Before the final against Liverpool, he opened his heart...
Not strong enough. The motto was heard again and again when Robert Pires was signed by Arsenal from Olympique de Marseille last season. Six months later, the same could be said about the France midfielder, but slightly differently: Not soft enough.
Why has Pires changed from a skilful but elongated figure in the middle of the field to a talented but pushy player on the wing? England!
According to Pires, his love affair with English football does not only come from the intensity of the game itself, but also from the passion that surrounds matches, especially in the Cup, a competition he has grown to love and cherish. The level of support seems to have lifted a winger described before his arrival on English soil as softhearted.
One incident in the 2000/01 season epitomised his change of character: playing against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. For an ever bubbly derby, Pires came towards the stands to get a ball that had been lost in the crowd. A Tottenham supporter faked to throw the ball at him in order to intimidate him. Pires, once he had the ball in hand, did the same. He did not wince nor whinge. He was almost being provocative. "It was all part of a game," says Pires, "I would never have thrown the ball at him."
Of all his memories of the season though, the Arsenal number 7 would rather speak of the FA cup-tie at Carlisle United: "It was the precise moment I realised what the Cup meant to our supporters and to the English fans in general." On a freezing cold night, in the heart of winter, Arsenal were playing away against an un-fancy team, in a small stadium. Yet the support of the "Gooners patrols" was immense. "I had even more respect for the Cup then," admits Pires. Arsenal went on to jump all the remaining hurdles before the final.
Of the "incredible public support", of the derbies and of the Cup matches, Pires says: "The intensity of this meeting is incredible. When I played for Marseille I thought their fans were the loudest in the world, but now I know I was wrong. The Gunners win the accolade."
Having in mind the highly symbolic goal he inflicted on Tottenham in the semi-final at Old Trafford, what does Pires think of the reaction of the crowd when he scores? "It's an unbelievable sensation to be standing on the pitch when the whole crowd erupts." For a man who played in a European championship final, and who won the World Cup, these words must sound sweet to English ears.
Does Pires see such a gap between stadium atmospheres in France and in England then? "As a Frenchman, I had never experienced that kind of support. That's why I sometimes stand back and just look around me. The intensity is such that I often think the fans are about to pour unto the pitch. I'm sure that they think about it for a split-second before deciding to stay in their seats. It's incredible!" And Pires did not dare trying to describe what the atmosphere would be like at the Millennium Stadium on May 12. He knew better: the Cup fever would be at its highest.
Pires, the shy and thin Frenchman turned into a proud and muscly Arsenal player, would not mind scoring again in "the most wonderful club competition in the world."
May 2001
By Xavier RIVOIRE, UK Correspondent of the French sports daily "L'Equipe"
