Pires only offered 12 month deal

Fulham 0 Arsenal 4

Pires missed Saturday’s remarkable 4-0 victory at Fulham, which has put Arsenal’s young, fast-developing side in the best possible frame of mind to beat Real at Highbury on Wednesday.

But although Pires is certain to return for that fixture his long-term future is growing increasingly uncertain.

He has told Arsenal he’ll only stay if he’s offered a two-year deal but Arsene Wenger refuses to change his long-held policy of never offering a player over 30 more than a 12 month agreement.

Wenger said: “He wants more than one year but I remain faithful to our policy. I want him to stay because he’s an important player in the squad. We have such a young squad that the experience of players like Robert Pires will always be important.”

If Pires needs extra reason to stay then Saturday’s performance at Craven Cottage should go a long way to re-assuring him the club’s future is not as gloomy as has been painted in some circles. Arsenal were far too strong for Fulham and produced football of such stunning quality that losing boss, Chris Coleman, described their display as the “best performance against us by any team since I became a manager.”

Once again Thierry Henry was the driving force behind the victory, scoring two stunning goals and driving his team forward at every opportunity.

But Freddie Ljungberg was also back to his best, and there were further goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and substitute Cesc Fabregas.

“Confidence wise it’s a good way to prepare for Real Madrid,” said Wenger. “This gives us a good base to prepare for a game like that because belief will be important as will sharpness. I think this team is maturing and doing better and better in every game.”

Remarkably, despite sitting only fifth in the Premiership and enduring the worst league season since Wenger became boss, Arsenal are seriously considering the prospect of Champions League success with their developmental side.

Henry’s goal in Madrid has already put them 1-0 ahead in the tie, so could they really lift the trophy in what was meant to be a transitional season?

“Let’s first finish the job Wednesday night and then we’ll see,” said Wenger. “We have a big game and I’m confident we can do it - and that we will do it - but it’s a long, long distance you know.”

Opta Fact: Fulham have lost all five home matches with Arsenal in the Premiership.

Opta Fact: This was Arsenal’s biggest away win in the Premiership in 51 away games, going back to August 2003 (4-0 v Middlesbrough).