Robert Pires on how Arsene Wenger convinced him to turn down Real Madrid, the infamous Champions League final substitution and why the current Arsenal side have more quality than the Invincibles

Sitting on the substitutes' bench at the Stadium of Light, Robert Pires wondered if he'd made the right decision in listening to Arsene Wenger.

Pires had just witnessed the opening 20 minutes of Arsenal's 2000-01 Premier League campaign, played at a ferocious pace away at Sunderland.

But before Niall Quinn's headed winner and long before Patrick Vieira was sent off for hitting out at Darren Williams, Pires had made up his mind.

'Wenger put me on the bench for my first game, against Sunderland,' Pires told Sportsmail.