Arsene Wenger celebrates 20 years in charge of Arsenal on 1 October and L’Equipe spoke to one of his finest signings to put on the red-and-white kit – Robert Pires. The Frenchman spent six seasons at the north London club before leaving in 2006.
Now retired, the 42-year-old is an ambassador at the Premier League club and trains with the squad whenever he gets a chance at London Colney. While most former players have a lot of good things to say about Wenger, Pires recalls his worst ever memory under the French manager – the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona in Paris.
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It was the last time Pires wore an Arsenal shirt and his career with the Gunners ended painfully thanks to a red card early in the game. Jens Lehmann had received his marching orders and with no other go, Wenger had to take off an outfield player so he could play Manuel Almunia on goal.
“My worst memory was 10 years ago, Champions League final,” Pires recalled. “It was a nightmare. I remember it like yesterday. When Lehmann gets sent off, you know that a player has to come off, but I never thought that it’d be me, so I don’t even look at the bench.
“Then, Titi (Thierry Henry) tells me ‘Rob, it’s you’. I turn around and I see the number 7 on the fourth official’s screen. I think to myself ‘No way, why me?’
“I can’t go out, not like this. I walk as slowly as possible out of the pitch, I’m extremely angry at Arsene.”
“When we meet, we don’t look at each other, he doesn’t want to look at me because he knows that this is really hard on me. I don’t want to look at him because I know that he has made a mistake.
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Although it was Arsenal who took the lead thanks to a Sol Campbell header in the 37th minute, the Catalan club soon mounted a comeback against 10 men with goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti. Having not conceded a goal in the knockout stages against Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal, Wenger’s side conceded twice in four minutes to hand Barcelona the title.
“After the match, I didn’t go to see him," Pires continued. "It was still too fresh, I didn’t sleep that night, even more so because we lost. This remains the worst moment of my career. Two days after the final, I realized that it was tough for him too.
“That day, I failed and so did he.”
Pires revealed that he quit the club the very next day in spite of Wenger trying to convince him otherwise. La Liga club Villarreal had offered him a two-year contract while Arsenal had only offered him a one-year extension. Wenger then admitted to him that taking Pires off was the “worst decision” he had been forced to make in his career.
“I don’t feel angry at Arsene Wenger” Pires said. “I want to thank him for the confidence he gave me and the titles we won. It [the 2006 UCL final] is a little thing which cannot define our relationship.
“It cannot erase six years when I learned from him. I’ve put it behind me. He is a manager I will never forget.”
Wenger will leave Arsenal after winning another league title: Pires
Wenger is currently in the final year of his contract at Arsenal. And he has given no indications yet on whether he intends to continue managing the Gunners. In fact, he has also not ruled himself out of managing England when his contract is up.
Speaking about what Wenger could do next, Pires claimed winning the Premier League title is the manager’s top priority
“When he’ll win the league again [he will leave],” Pires said. “Then, I can see him say ‘I’m leaving’.
“Every start of the season, that’s his number one objective,” he continued. “The only time I’ve seen him truly emotional was when we were champions in 2004. When he lifted the trophy, I saw him touched.
“It’s the year we’re champions without losing a single match. I don’t know if he’ll ever say it but this is what he considers his biggest achievement.”
