Pires blanked by Gunners

ARSENAL turned down a request from Robert Pires (right) to join their first-team staff.

The ex-Gunners midfielder is not bitter, though, and says Unai Emery can lead the club to the title soon.

He said: “My plan was to work

with Emery on the staff because I know the club, I know the players and I know he is a very good manager.

“I want to learn. For now, I don’t want to be a manager because it is too tough. You have a lot of responsibility.

“Maybe a good start for me would be to work with him on the staff. That is why I sent a message to Unai Emery and he replied to me and said, ‘Yeah, but we need to talk with the club’.

“The club said, ‘Maybe it is a good idea but we already have Steve Bould’. So I said, ‘No problem, I respect your decision’. Maybe one day, I hope.”