Robert Pirès (born October 29 1973 in Reims, France) is a French international football player, of Portuguese and Spanish descent. He currently plays for Arsenal F.C. as a midfielder.

Pirès was a graduate of the FC Metz youth academy, making his senior debut in 1992. During his six seasons there, he scored over 40 goals, prompting a £5 million move to Olympique de Marseille in 1998.

At Marseille, Pirès had a mixed two-year stay. His first season saw him missed the French league title by a point, but his final 1999/2000 season saw him suffered a spate of on- and off-field problems which led him to boycott the club at the season's end.

He joined his current club, Arsenal, for £6 million in 2000 from Marseille. Though initially people criticized him for him saying that the English game was too violent, he silenced his critics after scoring a superb goal against S.S. Lazio in the 2000-2001 Champions League season. Pirès was part of France's 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winning squads, but had to miss the 2002 World Cup due to a crucial knee injury. He also played in Euro 2004.

In 2001/2 Pirès had one of his best seasons. He led the assist charts for the Premiership and was voted the FWA Player of the Year for helping Arsenal to the league title. Pirès has been a focal point of Arsenal's quest for the Premiership title in the 2003/2004 season (which they achieved). His 13 League goals made him one of the highest scoring midfielders in the league. He scored 19 goals in all competitions this season; an excellent return for a midfield player.

Clubs

• 1992-1998 FC Metz
• 1998-2000 Olympique Marseille
• 2000- Arsenal F.C.

Honors

• World Cup winner - 1998
• European Championship winner - 2000
• FA Cup winner - 2002, 2003
• FA Premier league winner - 2001/2002, 2003/2004
• Football Writers' Association Player of the Year - 2001/2002

External links

• http://pavelicious.boo.pl/fls/robert/
• http://ifrance.com/carobby