Robert Pires

Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French football coach and former professional player.

He is widely considered as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players.

Pires is a graduate of the FC Metz youth academy, making his senior debut in 1993 against Lyon.

A former France international, Pires earned 79 caps between 1996 and 2004 for his country, including winning both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.

During his six seasons there, he scored 43 goals in 162 matches, and won the Coupe de la Ligue, prompting a £5 million move to Olympique de Marseille in 1998.

Pires had a mixed two-year stay in Provence; his first season saw Marseille miss the 1998–99 French Division 1 title by a point (he had been even closer the year before when Metz had finished runners-up on goal difference) and they also reached the 1999 UEFA Cup Final, losing to Parma.

His second season saw him suffer a spate of on- and off-field problems which led him to boycott the club at the season's end.

Pires was signed by Arsenal for £6 million in 2000, after stiff competition from Real Madrid and Juventus, replacing Marc Overmars, who had left for Barcelona for a record £25 million.

He made his debut as a substitute against Sunderland on 19 August 2000.

Initially, Pires' form was indifferent, and some people criticised him after his comments that the English game was too physical.

However, he slowly began to regain the form he had shown at Metz, scoring a superb solo goal in October 2000, his first for Arsenal, against Lazio in the 2000–01 Champions League.

Days later he scored his first league goal in a 2–1 win against West Ham United.

During his time at Arsenal Pires had a habit of scoring against rivals Tottenham Hotspur, something he did on eight occasions.

He has been included in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, was the Player of the Tournament for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, FWA Player of the Year for the 2001–02 season, Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year for the 1995–96 season, and was included in the FIFA 100 by Pelé.

He was also voted by Arsenal fans as the sixth greatest player in the club's history.

Pires played the majority of his career as a left winger, but could also play all across the midfield or in a position to support the forward line.

Pires used to be a coach at Arsenal.

Pires was born in Reims, France, to a Portuguese father and Asturian mother.

Pires, the elder of two boys, spent most of his childhood dressed in two football shirts that reflected his divided loyalty.

One was a Benfica shirt (his father was a fan) and the other was a Real Madrid shirt.

Pires confessed he had difficulty in school because he did not speak French well at the time, due to the fact his parents only spoke Spanish and Portuguese.

His passion for football was inherited from his father, António, who played with Les Corpo, a local team, and every Saturday night Pires would watch him play.

At the age of 15, Pires left school and began his dream of a career in football with a two-year sports degree course in Reims.

At the insistence of his mother, Pires continued with Reims and eventually was called up four years later.

The first of such occasions came in a league game on 31 March 2001 when Arsenal won 2–0.

A week later he scored against Tottenham again, this time the winner in the FA Cup semi-finals.

However, Arsenal went on to lose the Cup final to Liverpool 2–1; Pires set up Arsenal's goal for Freddie Ljungberg.

By 2001–02, Pires had fully got to grips with the English game and had one of his best seasons.

Pires scored superb goals against Middlesbrough and Aston Villa.

Against Aston Villa, Pires chased after a long ball by Freddie Ljungberg, and lobbed the ball over the pursuing George Boateng, and finished off the move with a delightful lob over Peter Schmeichel.

Pires also scored in a 1–1 draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, which would commence a sequence of five consecutive league seasons in which he would score in the North London Derby away at their rivals.

He led the Premier League assist charts and was voted both FWA Footballer of the Year and Arsenal's player of the season, as Arsenal won the league title.

Pires provided the assist for Dennis Bergkamp when he scored his memorable pirouette goal against Newcastle United.

However weeks later against the same opposition in the FA Cup Pires suffered a cruciate ligament injury (a game in which he had earlier scored).

This also ruled him out of playing in the 2002 FA Cup Final and the 2002 World Cup with France.

After a lengthy layoff, Pires made his comeback in November 2002 as a substitute against AJ Auxerre in the UEFA Champions League.

Although Pires initially found it tough, he eventually returned to form, scoring 14 Premiership goals in 20 starts that season, including a hat-trick against Southampton on the penultimate day of the season.

Other highlights included scoring twice against Fulham, including a last minute winner, and his customary goal at White Hart Lane.

Pires played for French clubs Metz and Marseille prior to his time with Arsenal, where he won three FA Cups and two Premier League titles, including the club's unbeaten season of 2003–04.

Pires was voted the Premier League Player of the Month for February 2003.