Six glorious years in our red and white means that Robert Pires is an Arsenal hero now, but 25 years ago he arrived in north London with some big shoes to fill.
On this day a quarter of a century ago, Arsene Wenger armed himself for Marc Overmars' departure to Barcelona by snapping up the World Cup and Euro 2000 winner for a bargain £5 million. It would prove to be some of the best business the club had ever seen.
While a flying Dutchman was heading out the door, Pires added different qualities to Wenger's Arsenal. Boasting a playmaker’s vision and a striker’s instinct in equal measure, his unusual running style was deceptive as Pires' fleet-of-foot was vital.
However it was a piece of skilful trickery from Wenger that persuaded the 26-year-old to briefly slip away from the aftermath of France's European Championship celebrations to get his signature on an Arsenal contract, and stun Real Madrid who thought Pires was Bernabeu-bound.
“One day, I met the Spanish journalists and I was wearing the Madrid shirt,” Pires told us in 2018. “Some journalists took a picture of me because the people in Spain thought it would be nice as they thought I was signing for Real Madrid.
“For me, the first destination was Madrid because Madrid is, even now, one of the best clubs in the world. Some people, after my decision, especially in my family, told me I was crazy because Madrid is the best club in the world.
“The problem was that maybe two or three days after the picture, I called Arsene Wenger and he changed my mind. That’s why I signed for Arsenal and it was the best decision I ever made."
His exploits with the French national team meant the winger arrived in the Premier League with some pedigree but, by his own admission, he struggled early on. Fears that he would falter under the physical demands of the Premier League seemed merited. But familiarity brought about a potency in Pires, and the Frenchman began to thrive.
On the day that David Rocastle sadly died in March 2001, we played bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Highbury, and poignantly, the man donning Rocky's No 7 shirt that day duly broke the deadlock midway through the second half, and never looked back.
The following season saw him play an instrumental role in our 2001/02 double-winning campaign, wowing the journalists covering the game sufficiently to be named the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year. A stunning lob over Peter Schmeichel at Aston Villa was perhaps his crowning moment before a knee injury curtailed that season early, but his influence on the side was such that on the final day of the campaign, Pires’ teammates bowed down in front of him as he lifted the Premier League trophy.
After feeling his way back to fitness, Pires plundered 14 goals in 26 Premier League appearances in 2002/03, hitting a hat-trick against Southampton in the penultimate game of the season and followed it with the decisive strike when we defeated the same outfit in the FA Cup final in Cardiff.
The same number of strikes would arrive in arguably, Pires’ finest campaign 12 months later. Our Invincibles' achievement was in no small part because of the left-sided triumvirate of Pires, Ashley Cole and Thierry Henry who were unplayable at times and widely regarded as one of the continent's finest combinations.
Pires also had a knack for the big occasion, scoring eight times in 12 games against Tottenham and was never on the losing side in a local derby, including netting on the day the league title was clinched at White Hart Lane in April 2004.
The 284th and last time we would enjoy Pires was 12 minutes into the 2005/06 Champions League final, as he was sacrificed by Wenger following Jens Lehmann's red card against Barcelona. But he had served us fantastically, and his contribution to one of the finest eras of Arsenal Football Club will never be forgotten.
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