It was the 18th minute of the Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona in 2006, when Jens Lehmann brought down Samuel Eto’o outside the Arsenal box, becoming the first player in this competition to be sent off. Manager Arsene Wenger had to react and bring on reserve keeper Almunia, but when he choose to substitute Robert Pires, the Frenchman was out of his mind. (3.10) SPAIN (3.20) FRANCE (2.55)Pires was already in his sixt year as a Gunner and had over 280 appearances, 85 goals and 59 assists and was also a 1998 Cup Winner. He was also a part of the famous “Invincibles” which rampaged the Premier League, and was stunned when he saw his number on the board. “I can’t believe it. At no point did I think I’d be the one coming off. I didn’t even look at Arsene. For me, he was going to take off Hleb or my friend Fabregas, because I could help in attack and I have that very good technical relationship with Henry. It’s not arrogance. So I’m there, calm, super confident and Henry tells me I’m the one coming off. ‘What?’, and I see the number 7 on the board. It’s awful. Awful! I pass in front of the manager, we don’t look at each other. I go sit down, very annoyed. I wait for it to calm down, and then I tell myself ‘what I want is for us to win” he told L’Equipe. New Ronaldinho, new Cavani and new Benzema: These are the 60 future stars of world footballAfter he calmed down, Pires decided to leave the club and left to play the next four years in Villareal, appearing 129 times fo the club, scoring 18 and assisting in 15 goals. “Two days after when I told him I was leaving… basically, it triggered my exit. He wasn’t expecting it. I also needed to move on to something else. After the final, there was like a rupture… It was a horrible week: I learn that I’m not in the squad for the World Cup, I play 17 minutes in the final and we lose it… I’ve known better!” said Pires.
