Filed under: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Premier League, Football
As no-brainer signings go, Robert Pires is about as good as it gets for Gerard Houllier.A free agent who has been training for two months at an apparently high standard with former club Arsenal, Pires is ready made to ease the injury crisis that has gripped Villa Park. He could even make his debut against Blackburn this weekend, four years after his last appearance in the Premier League.
With Houllier's squad decimated by so many injuries and a dressing room crammed with kids, the arrival of Pires is as timely as it was perhaps a surprise.
The former French international may have just passed his 37th birthday but even if he only plays ten games until the middle of January, he will have done enough to get Houllier through a testing time.
The consumate professional, there will be no toys thrown out of prams if he is restricted in game time - though he will almost certainly be guaranteed minutes following the loss of Stiliyan Petrov, Steve Sidwell, Nigel Reo-Coker and Fabian Delph.
Ever since rumours of Pires's arrival became known, Sky Sports have been frequently running footage of his masterful goal at Villa Park for Arsenal in March 2002. It was the kind of strike that prompted Arsene Wenger to claim Pires he was the best left-sided winger in Europe before injury cruelly cut short his glittering spell with the Gunners.
Houllier will, of course, not have the same player to call upon but pace was never Pires's strongest asset anyway.
Despite enduring a frustrating end to his career with Villarreal, the Frenchman still provided enough evidence that the guile and technique remains intact. The likes of Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton cannot fail to learn off Pires, and you get the impression that was a large part of Houllier's's thinking behind the deal.
With two Premier League titles and three FA Cups under his belt during six years at Arsenal, he will have a voice in the dressing room to be respected even if he spends most of his time on the bench.
However, he has already told Houllier he is ready for inclusion at Ewood Park, if required.
"It's no problem for me to play on Sunday," he said. "I've been training with Arsenal for two months and I'm happy and in good form.
"I just have to see Aston Villa's medical staff at the end of the week and, if I've signed, I hope to be part of the trip to Blackburn."
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