Robert Pirès: The unsung hero

“We knew Robert had talent, but the Premiership has made him take on a new dimension. It was similar for me. I remember when I arrived in England people wondered whether I was going to explode under the physical commitment.” – Thierry Henry on Robert Pirès

Robert flamin’ Pirès!

*Before I begin, I’d like to note that I have a huge respect for Pirès both on and off the pitch and have tried to do him credit in this article, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.*

Where do I start with Robert ‘Bobby’ Pirès? his good looks? his pretty face? his eyes..? football? let’s that with the football! (sorry ladies!)

Although born in Reims in France, Robert has a Portuguese father and a Spanish mother (that’s where he gets his good looks!) and because his parents mostly spoke Spanish at home and around Robert, he initially struggled in school because he didn’t know much of the French language. Robert’s passion for football stems from his parents, as his father was a player for the local team Les Corpo, and at the age of 15, Robert was pushed towards joining football clubs Reims in France after he left school. (Thank you, Pirès’s mother!)

In 1993, Robert made his first senior appearance for the club where it all started, FC Metz, in a game against Lyon on the 24th of September, in a game where Roberts FC Metz won 3-0. Roberts 6 years with the club saw him net 43 goals in 162 matches from a wide midfield position as well as winning the Coupe de la Ligue.

Robert celebrates with a trophy for Metz

1998 was the year Robert signed what was thought to be a major deal with Marseille for a fee of £5million, but in the turbulent two years that he was there, he saw his club miss out on the league title by just one point and come crashing out of the 1999 UEFA Cup Final with just a losers medal for show, as Marseille lost 3-0 against Parma at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow thanks to goals from Crespo, Vanoli and Chiesa in front of 62,000 fans.

Pirès playing for Marseille

28th of July, 2000, Arsenal lost the services of Marc Overamars to Spanish side Barcelona, and the fans of the North London club were in disarray, and many questioned whether Arsenal would be able to replace such a talent like Marc. But, thanks to Arsene Wenger’s ability to snap up a bargain and fend off the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus, Arsenal announced the signing of 26-year old French winger Robert Pirès from French side Masreille for a fee of just £6million.

Robert Pirès signs for Arsenal in 2000.

Robert’s initial impression of the English game was up and down, as he claimed the Premier League was ‘too physical’ and he struggled in his first season to rise to the expectation that he would replace Marc Overmars.

After a year at Marseille where he struggled to play at the level he did at Metz, Robert regained the form of those years in a game against Lazio in the 2000-2001 Champions League tie against Lazio and again scoring a fantastic winning goal in the North London derby game against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final, before going on to lose in the final itself 2-1 to Liverpool.

The year 2001-2002 creeped up and Robert finally gained the form he had been looking to achieve since signing for Arsenal scoring great goals against Middlesbrough and Aston Villa. In the same year, Robert was leading the assists scoreboard and was voted for two awards, the FWA Footballer of the Year and Arsenal’s player of the season in the year that the Gunners won the league title, and that’s even when he missed out on the last two months of the season because of a cruciate ligament injury which he suffered in a game against Newcastle United. Despite the positives that year for Robert, because of the injury he suffered, he had to miss out on the 2002 World Cup with his French team-mates, a cruel blow to a player that was voted for two awards in one season.

AJ Auxerre in the Champions League in 2002 saw Robert come back from that injury that ruled him out of the World Cup, and fans were delighted to see him back as he come on as a substitute. As you’d expect with a player that had been injured for such a long time, he found it hard to regain form and found himself getting more and more frustrated, but he finally gained that spark and finished the season scoring 14 goals in just 20 starts in the Premier League, which included a certain hat-trick against Southampton.. You know, the one that started off that ‘little’ unbeaten run in 2003-2004.. I suppose I should give Jermaine Pennant a mention here, as he scored the second hat-trick of the game for Arsenal in the 6-1 win.. *Get on with it!*

Ahem..

Anyway, moving back on to Pirès! He was voted player of the month for February in the 2003-2004 thanks to some stern performances for the Gunners and then went on to cap off his season by scoring yet another goal against Southampton, this time in the FA Cup Final.

In the same year, the small matter of the 49 games unbeaten ruled the footballing world and Thierry Henry was the stand out player of the success, but what about the players around him? like Robert Pirès? Pirès was more than instrumental in the 49 games as he constantly breezed past players to either score goals for fun, assist other players or, well.. just because he could! Pirès is somewhat seen as the ‘unsung hero’ of the unbeaten run for Arsenal and his tally of 23 goals in 40 starts, 5 as a substitute, saw him become a legend in the eyes of Arsenal fans, who salute him for his sublime skill and passion for the club and the fans. Thierry Henry and Robert Pirès scored an incredible 57 goals in all competitions in that unbeaten run and the two seemed unstoppable.

Although Pirès had a rather slow start to the season, he did eventually pick up where he left off last season with sensational goals against Liverpool, Bolton and Leeds, but as well as his ability to score, the runs on and off the ball made Pirès one of the stand out players of a game against Chelsea in which he drew both Gallas and Terry away from his fellow Frenchman Patrick Vieria who found himself in a one-on-one situation and he calmly tucked the ball into the net to top off a world-class move by Robert Pirès. After that win, because Manchester United failed to beat Leeds, (HA!) Arsenal gained a massive lead in the Premier League and after that day, were not removed off of top spot.

Although Arsenal’s league form was impeccable, their cup form wasn’t, and in the Champions League against Chelsea in the first leg, Pirès scored a great goal beating John Terry to the ball to score the equalizer in a game that Chelsea striker Gudjohnsen scored first to give Chelsea the lead, and although that Pirès goal will be fondly remembered by Arsenal fans, the Gunners were then knocked out of the competition in the second leg where they lost 2-1.

 In 2004-2005, Pirès scored an impressive 14 goals from a wide position on the field and finished third place in the goalscoring charts, behind Thierry Henry and Andrew Johnson. (That’s right, Andrew Johnson was good once!) That same year, Arsenal beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final to gain yet another trophy and winners’ medal to parade around London.

A year later, Robert Pirès was wanting to sign a new 2 year deal with Arsenal, but because of Wenger’s policy of reluctantly signing on players who have reached the age of 30+, Pirès was only offered a 12 month deal to add on to his current deal which was due to expire in June of 2006. New players Reyes, Ljungberg and Hleb were preferred to Pirès on both wings that season and Pirès suddenly found himself down the pecking order at Highbury. Surely Arsenal wouldn’t let a world-class player like Pirès leave the club and not sign him on to a new deal after 6 years of service and 84 goals in 284 games..?

Pirès signs for Villarreal

Later that year in May, Pirès’ Arsenal career was over, and a legend at Highbury signed for Spanish side Villarreal after a long, gruelling month of speculation as to where he would continue to play his football.

On the 3rd of July 2006, Pirès was officially unveiled as a Villarreal player and he started a new chapter in his footballing career in a new part of the world.

Pirès scored his first goal in a pre-season game against Newcastle United on the 5th of August 2006, but just 13 days later in another friendly game against Cadiz, Pirès suffered another injury to his cruciate ligament in his left knee which forced him to have surgery to correct the problem which layer kept him out of footballing action for 7 months. Good way to start your career with a new club, eh?

When Pirès recovered from his injury, he came on as a substitute against Real Sociedad on the 17th of March in 2007. Pirès then scored his first competitive goal for Villarreal in yet another game that finished 3-3, against Real Betis, and in April of that year, Pirès finally got start his first game for his new(ish) club in a game against Barcelona where Pirès managed to score once in a game that saw the then league leaders lose 2-0 to Pirès club.

Despite disagreements between Riquelme and the board at Villarreal, Pirès had the leadership qualities and the coolness to keep the rest of the squad grounded and win 6 of their opening 8 games of the new season, and Barcelona fell short to Pirès’s qualities yet again as the French wizard won his team 2 penalties which were both converted by team-mate Marcos Senna.

In 2009, Arsenal fans saw the return of Pirès as Villarreal and Arsenal were drawn together in the Champions League quarter-finals in which Arsenal managed to beat the Spanish club 4-1 on aggregate, and Pirès played the full 90 minutes at the Emirates stadium and a fitting applaud for the former Gunner from the Arsenal crowd was warmly welcomed by Robert.

In October 2010, despite 4 years with Villarreal, scoring 18 goals in 103 appearances, Robert Pirès found himself clubless and training with the Arsenal first team at London Colney, the training ground of Arsenal, and although there were some rumours of a return to play in Arsenal colours, both player and manager swiftly put those rumours to bed and Crawley Town were wanting to hold talks with Pirès but according to Robert’s spokesman, Crawley Town were never really interested in taking the Frenchman on board for part of the season.

Robert Pirès playing for Aston Villa

In November 2010, Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier was holding talks with Robert Pirès and his representatives and on the 18th of November, the 37-year old winger made a sensational return to English football as he signed for Aston Villa on a 6 month contract. A deal which saw some senior Aston Villa players praise the signing of Robert because of the impact he could have on and off the pitch. Pirès made his debut for the club in a 2-0 Premier League loss to Blackburn Rovers after coming on as a second half substitute but found himself scoring yet again in the Premier League against Blackburn Rovers in a 3-1 the FA Cup win on the 29th of January. Pirès again played a game against Blackburn Rovers, this time winning the game 4-1 and Sky Sports pundits claimed it was his most influential performance in his time at the club.

On the 27th of May 2011 after the 2010-2011 season had finished, Pirès was released by Aston Villa even though he expressed his desire to stay on at the club until the end of the next season. Robert made just 9 appearances for Aston Villa and scored just 1 goal in the process.

Robert Pirès’s career saw him make an incredible 716 appearances whilst netting 165 goals in all competitions, excluding the international stage.

In the eyes of many, ‘Bobby’ will forever be one of the greatest players that Arsenal have ever had amongst their ranks in North London, and the Frenchman is a fan favourite and club legend who will always be welcomed back at Arsenal.

As ever, I took to Twitter to ask people what their favourite moment of Robert Pirès was and finding these clips online brought many memories back, both good and bad. (Clicking on the persons @ will direct you straight to their Twitter)

@UsGunners_ said: “Chip against Southampton!!!” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHwsTWm_27o

@Easton_19 said: “Lob vs Aston Villa. Unfortunately I was there in Paris that night to see him depart” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVzSSPB4JA 

@LetsGoGunners_ said: “It’s got to be his chip against Southampton, one of the greatest goals I’ve seen!” –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHwsTWm_27o

@TheoDHari said: “When he turned Gerrard inside out at Anfield December 2001 and cut the ball back for Freddie to score in our gold Sega kit” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1zl2Uy4WGw

@JonAFCGooner7, who I warn you now, had a lot to say about Bobby, said: “Every goal he scored against Tottenham 🙂 He was great against the Spuds.” – As you can probably guess, I can’t find a clip of ALL of his goals against Tottenham, so here is my favourite – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC0S5LHnq5k

@JonAFCGooner7 again said: “He scored a great goal away to Liverpool in our proper away kit, yellow with a touch of blue 🙂 #SUPERBOBBYPIRES” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC0S5LHnq5k

Jon again, said.. “That pass he gave to Bergkamp for the wonder goal away to Newcastle :)” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n275iW54o68

Guess who?! said.. “That tackle he made on Patrick Vieria in the Champions League at Highbury” – Again, I couldn’t find this clip, so feel free to Tweet me it if you find it and I’ll put it in here with a mention to whoever finds it.

I don’t need to say anything here.. “Bobby was a class player, I loved watching him play football :)”

Last one, I promise!:  “Other teams were scared to play against Bobby 🙂 A world-class football player.”

The video below will bring back an onslaught of good memories of Bobby, I highly recommend that you watch it. Get some popcorn, a drink, sit back and relax.

“Tribute to Robert Pires – Arsenal’s best winger” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hQ8YN2SSRM

Whether or not you’re an Arsenal fan, Robert Pirès was one of the greatest wingers we will ever have the pleasure of seeing. A true legend of football, a true talent and a world-class player. You don’t find many players who, outside of football, have the respect of the footballing world.

Robert ‘Bobby’ Pirès, the true unsung hero of Arsenal’s 49 game unbeaten run.

Robert ‘Bobby’ Pirès