Pires poised to sign new contrat

From Boring Boring Arsenal

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Pires poised to sign new contrat
By Richard
Aug 9, 2003, 9:35am

Robert Pires will next week sign a three-year contract extension at Arsenal that will keep him at the club until 2007.

The France international midfielder has been linked with moves to Internazionale and Valencia since July, when he entered the final year of his current deal.

However, Arsenal's manager Arsène Wenger has been granted his wish that funds be made available to meet the £50,000-a-week wage demands that would keep Pires at Highbury.

The future of Pires' fellow Frenchman Sylvain Wiltord, meanwhile, remains unclear, as he has also entered the final 12 months of his contract.

However, Wenger perceives Wiltord to be a key to maintaining dressing-room morale and is keen to tie him down to an extended deal, though it is likely to fall short of the two years Wiltord is seeking.