Pires set to commit to Gunners

Robert Pires hopes to effectively commit the rest of his playing career to Arsenal by signing a new contract after tomorrow’s FA Cup final against Southampton.

“I hope my future is at Arsenal. I want to stay and we will talk after the final,” stated the French midfield star.

“There are two weeks before we go away to the Confederation Cup. I expect everything to be okay and I hope to sign a new contract. Arsenal are one of the biggest clubs in Europe and that’s why I want to stay here,” said 30-year-old Pires, who joined the Gunners for £6million from Marseille three years ago.

There has been speculation over the future of Pires, who has two years remaining on his present contract, and if he extends the deal it could effectively mean he would spend the rest of his top-flight career with Arsene Wenger’s club.

But that is not the most immediate thing on his mind as he attempts to make up for the disappointment of missing last year’s FA Cup final victory over Chelsea because of a knee ligament injury by collecting a winner’s medal at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium tomorrow.

There is also the matter of making sure Arsenal have something to show for their efforts this season after they surrendered the Premier League title to Manchester United and also suffered disappointment in the Champions League.

“It’s very important for me and the club to win this year,” said Pires. “It’s most important that Arsenal win a trophy because we didn’t win the championship.

“If we don’t win it will be a bad season because at the start we had three objectives. Now there is only the Cup so it’s even more important.”

He promised: “We will take Southampton very, very seriously. They are capable of beating Arsenal so it’s necessary to be wary of them.”

But Pires admits that victory over the Saints would not totally compensate for coming second in the title race.

“The most important one is the championship but Manchester United were too strong for us this season in the league,” he said as he tried to pin-point just where it all went wrong.

“The points we dropped at place like Newcastle, Liverpool, Bolton and Aston Villa, after we were leading in those games, cost us. But there are no excuses,” said Pires, who sees no reason for manager Arsene Wenger to change the way his team plays in order to put things right next season.

“I love football, I love the ball, I love playing and it’s very important to us that Arsenal played the way we did this season and will play like this next season.

“Our problem is sometimes concentration and we have to improve that.”

Pires maintains that Arsenal’s 6-1 league victory over Southampton at Highbury just 10 days before the final will have no bearing on what happens in Cardiff.

“It isn’t the same game. We must forget that,” he said.

Victory in the only part of the original treble target which remains is the only thing that matters and the French star added: “When you are at Arsenal you have to win something every season. It goes with playing for Arsenal. It is expected.”