Robert Pires says he has opened negotiations with Arsenal to extend his contract.
Pires said he was happy in London and no longer interested in playing for Real
Madrid, who announced his signing of Pires after Euro 2000 only for the move to
fall through.
The 29-year-old Frenchman is hoping for a two or three-year extension to his
current deal, which expires in 2004.
'The ball is in their court, I let them know of my intentions, I am
waiting,' he is quoted as saying on L'Equipe's website.
'Here, what strikes me is the respect of the supporters. At Marseille when we
lost they jumped on us - the difference is respect, that's good for us. I feel
at home here (in London), it's a town that suits me.
'My dream since I was very small was to play for Real. But I said that
because I did not know Arsenal. Now that I have discovered the English
championship and English life my opinion is a bit different.'
Pires, who first emerged with Metz, was a member of France's 1998 World Cup
and Euro 2000 winning squads but missed his country's ill-fated defence of the
World Cup this summer with injury.
- NEWS
