It has been two decades since Arsenal’s only Champions League final appearance, yet for Robert Pirès the wounds have not healed. In an exclusive interview, the former France international opened up about the 2006 defeat to Barcelona, a night he describes as the worst of his career—not just because the Gunners lost 2-1, but because of the brutal early substitution that cut his night short after just 17 minutes. The pain, he admits, remains as raw as ever.
Pirès was supposed to be a key part of Arsène Wenger’s plan that evening at the Stade de France. With a sold-out crowd split between red and blue, and his family and friends in the stands, the occasion was a dream come true. Arsenal started brightly, pressing Barcelona high and creating chances, but disaster struck in the 18th minute. After goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was judged to have fouled Samuel Eto'o outside the box, the referee brandished a red card, leaving Arsenal a man down. What followed is etched into Pirès’ memory as a nightmare.
“I didn’t think for a second that Arsène would take me off,” Pirès recalled. As the fourth official raised the board, it was his number that appeared. The substitution was necessary to bring on replacement goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, but Pirès believed he was the wrong choice. He felt his technical understanding with Thierry Henry was vital, and that removing a forward would blunt Arsenal’s attacking threat. “To win, we had to score goals,” he said. “I had that special connection with Titi.”
Wenger opted instead to reinforce the midfield, a decision Pirès found impossible to accept. Walking off the pitch, he was consumed by anger. “I didn’t look at him. There was no point in talking,” he said. The walk to the bench felt interminable, and once there he isolated himself at the far end, detached from the emotion of the game—even after Sol Campbell’s header gave Arsenal a shock lead. “I was absent, off in another world,” he admitted.
The silent treatment between player and manager continued long after the final whistle. In the two decades since, they have never discussed that decision. “He only told me once, ‘Robert, I hope you never have to face that situation as a coach,’” Pirès revealed. “I understand what he means, but it doesn’t change how I felt.” Despite that, the pair maintain a cordial relationship and occasionally meet for dinner, though the 2006 final remains a taboo subject. “We talk about everything except that night.”
For Pirès, the bitterness is compounded by what might have been. Had Arsenal held on to their 1-0 lead, he might have easily forgiven the episode. “If we had won, if we had lifted the trophy, I would have forgotten those 17 minutes. I’d have been a European champion,” he said. Instead, Barcelona’s comeback—with goals from Eto’o and Juliano Belletti—left a double wound. The flight back to London was silent, the dressing room a graveyard of shattered dreams.
Looking back, Pirès is adamant that the wrong man was sacrificed. Asked who should have been hooked instead, he does not hesitate: “Alexander Hleb.” The tactical reshuffle, in his view, cost Arsenal their cutting edge. It remains a bitter pill, especially given the controversial nature of Lehmann’s red card. Former referee Tony Chapron has since told Pirès that the official should have played advantage, allowing Ludovic Giuly’s goal to stand and keeping 11 men on the pitch. “If that had happened, I would have stayed on,” he laments.
The 2006 final has become an inescapable part of Pirès’ legacy. “Everyone still talks to me about those 17 minutes,” he said with a rueful sigh. It is a record of sorts—the shortest Champions League final appearance by a starting outfield player without injury. But for Pirès, it is a mark he would rather not hold. As Arsenal continue to chase their elusive first European crown, the pain of that Paris night endures—a reminder of how quickly glory can turn to despair.
Based on reporting from L'Equipe.