Pires = Super-sub. I've said it before and I'll say it again. That's how I see him fitting into the current Arsenal team.
Though apart from the penalty kick, Pires had little else to offer on the night, as I've said, he still pops up with the odd goal or two that wins matches.
And that's why Arsenal must see his contract through.
The Nov 22 game away to FC in general was quite bizarre.
I don't know how Arsenal walked away with the spoils when they'd conceded a perfectly good goal.
The assistant referee wrongly saw a Thun player offside and ruled out the goal.
On the other end, I felt that perhaps Robin Van Persie went down a little too easily for the penalty call.
Though there seemed to be some amount of contact, I'm used to seeing the pleas for penalties from those incidents easily waved off by the referee.
But Pires despatched his kick with aplomb and we took the three points and at the end of the day, as unjustified as it may seem for Thun, the end result will be all that counts.
In defence, Pascal Cygan was crap yet again in his makeshift left back position.
He kept getting dragged out of position numerous times, leaving Reyes to pick up the pieces and track back really deep, and was beaten for pace on so many occasions that I lost count.
I held my breath each time Thun attacked on Arsenal's left side.
Senderos, who was standing in for the rested Kolo Toure, was a rock at the back.
Although not as pacy as Toure, he made up for it with his awareness and positioning, something Cygan knows little about in his current position.
Wenger, hopefully having seen enough, decided to switch him for Lauren in the second half which helped a lot with the pace.
Sol Campbell was not at his best again but there was an improvement in his performance compared to Arsenal's game against Wigan over the weekend.
But all in all, he pulled off a great performance when compared to Cygan.
Toure's international teammate, Emmanuel Eboue on the other hand, put together a sterling performance especially considering he doesn't get too many chances to play.
He has strength, speed and some nifty footwork that impressed.
He was giving the Thun left side hell with his dribbling skills but he lacked the maturity to work the ball well in the final third.
There were occasions throughout the match where Eboue dribbled past three defenders and into the penalty box but just didn't know how to get himself out of trouble.
Plus, with his size, I don't think going down in the box is going to win too many penalties.
I was quite impressed with him and getting a few games under his belt would surely do wonders for his education and confidence.
Elsewhere in midfield, Freddie Ljungberg wasn't firing on all cylinders again. He really looks tired but I see him giving his all for the team.
The Alexander Song and Mathieu Flamini pairing in the centre of midfield didn't do a great deal to impress.
Song was in and out of the game and didn't seem too well positioned throughout.
He was showing up all over the middle but not stamping much authority.
Flamini on the other hand disappeared into the game and hardly touched the ball especially in the second half.
Reyes was lively and hardworking but lacked the killer instinct I expect a record signing to have
Up front, Van Persie huffed and puffed but together with Henry, was limited to the number of chances they had.
Henry looked like he was having an off day and was substituted by Pires with 20 minutes to go in the game.
I guess the team was guilty of over-elaborating in the final third of the pitch again.
I don't understand why they don't pull the trigger more often.
Their approach play was good but they lacked that little bit extra needed to take a shot.
It's as though they're lacking confidence in front of goal.
Of course it didn't help that Thun were a hardworking side and closed down their opponents quickly and defended in numbers.
They seemed to employ a 4-5-1 formation and tried to hit on the counter-attack.
The game saw an unbelievably high number of offside decisions called throughout and it took the fluidity out of the contest.
Arsenal had already qualified for the second phase of the Champions League but the three points from this game ensured that they finished top in their group and will be placed in the seeded teams' pot when the draw is made for the knockout stage.
Not like that makes a big difference in the Champions League but at least it allows Wenger to concentrate on domestic football and lets him blood some youngsters in Arsenal's final group game against Ajax in two weeks time.
Till then.
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