The hostile environment at Marseille, and the minimal impact he had made during his time there, had left Pirès’ price tag at just £6m. “One day I came home and told my mother I’d had enough. Now, ​Cesc Fabregas can consider himself unfortunate to miss out - he did a stellar job replacing Vieira as Arsenal's number four. Before hanging up his boots, Pirès would follow a memorable four-year sojourn at Villareal with a final year in the Premier League, playing for Aston Villa, and one last parting gift to the world of football in the form of a single season playing for Goa FC during the inaugural campaign of the Indian Premier League. In quite literal terms they may be but a mere numerical system of classification, but it's much more than that. Surely, there's been a stand-out player to have had No.9 on their back. If anyone can find a better player than Bukayo Saka, then do let us know. ​Sorry David O'Leary. ‘You don’t know what you want,’ she said. For Pirès, however, his spell at OM would prove unexpectedly troublesome. Read  |  Why Arsenal’s 2001/02 vintage are perhaps the greatest in the club’s history. But more than just an environment, terroir means a sense of belonging. Bukayo Saka gets no.7 shirt number after breakthrough season with Arsenal and follows Pires, Brady and Alexis Sanchez By Jake Bacon 23rd July 2020, 12:45 pm To be fair, it's the least you'd expect from the club's official ambassador! During the campaign that immediately followed his first league title, despite ambitions aplenty, his Arsenal team slipped off the pace and spent a long year trailing a resurgent Manchester United team. Born and raised in the north-eastern French city of Reims, the juvenile Robert Pirès cut a frustrated figure for much of his school life. Whereas on 10 June they had begun their hosted tournament as mortals, they ended it on 12 July as legends: world champions, proprietors of unique French history. “The thing that strikes me most is how physical it is,” he recalled, “and the commitment. One language Pirès had no trouble mastering, however, was the one he’d speak with his feet – intimate conversations conducted between boots and balls – and so it was on the pitch he first learned to express himself. At the time it was very rare to have right-footed people playing on the left.” The rest is history. Now, some might say 'Cashley' Cole is more deserving than Winterburn. Starting from 2001/02, Henry scored 30 or more goals across all competitions in FIVE consecutive seasons. He scored the winning goal in quasi title-decider against rivals Manchester United. And, with No.3 on his back, he made the left-back position his own for pretty much the whole of that period. BREAKING: Thierry Henry has been tested positive for being best Premier League striker of all time. Nine years at Highbury brought with it three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and a certain 49-game unbeaten record - a period in which Vieira captained the side. And now for some notable records - Henry is the only player to have both scored and assisted 20+ goals in a Premier League season. Breathless repetitions of “Super Robert Pirès” spilled out of Highbury and skipped through the streets of London. Arsene Wenger Reveals He Turned Down Chance to Re-Sign Robin van Persie in 2015, Minute Media 2019 90min © All rights reserved, West Brom Agree £15m Deal to Sign Karlan Grant From Huddersfield, Nathaniel Clyne Returns to Crystal Palace on Short-Term Deal, Allan Saint-Maximin Signs New 6-Year Newcastle Contract.