Footballer of the Year turns radio star to stay tuned to his life's missing episode

Highbury's hero will not be a World Cup winner this summer. But he won't be a whiner either. Alex Hayes talks to him

With five days to go before they begin the defence of their World Cup title, the footballers of France should have only one thought on their minds: how to dispatch Senegal in Friday's opening match of the tournament in Seoul. But something is not quite right. "It's Roberto," explains Les Bleus' right-back, Lilian Thuram, "what can I say... we miss him."

In truth, it is the whole football world that is bemoaning Robert Pires' absence. The whole world, that is, apart from the player himself. Pires is not a whiner. Instead of moping around feeling sorry for himself, the Arsenal midfielder has found an ingenious way of keeping abreast with events in Japan and South Korea. Having been robbed of the chance to take any physical part in the main event, he has instead turned his attentions to verbal participation. If you can't join them, and you don't want to beat them, then interview them. Such is Pires' summer motto.

Every Thursday, last season's best Premiership midfield player fronts a 45-minute radio programme on the beautiful game. And we are not talking hospital radio here, as the show goes out on Europe 1, France's answer to Five Live. Guests usually include at least one fellow international, which allows Pires to joke with the players he knows so well.

"It's great chatting with my mates," he says. "It helps me feel I'm a part of the competition. I've known most of these guys for so long now that many of us are inseparable. The Arsenal boys, in particular, Titi [Thierry Henry], Pat [Patrick Vieira], and Nino [Sylvain Wiltord], are special friends. When we're in London, we meet two or three times per week; now, we talk on the phone."

Pires normally asks the questions from a specially accommodated studio in his London flat, but last week's edition was delivered from the South of France. This is because the Professional Football Writers' Player of the Year has been following up his radio career with the release of a book, Profession Footballeur, in which he explains what his job really entails. The book, written in conjunction with L'Equipe's England correspondent, Xavier Rivoire, is yet another string to Pires' bow. "This was an opportunity for me to describe exactly what a footballer like me does on a daily basis," he says. "From the first time I saw a ball to my latest goal."

The book also traces Pires' incredible journey through the football ranks. Arsenal's high-spec training ground at London Colney and his swanky apartment in central London, are certainly a million miles from his first family homes. The town may have been Reims, but the lifestyle had nothing to do with champagne. His father, Antonio, was a Portugese immigrant working in a car factory and times were tough.

"My father sacrificed quite a lot so that I could make it," Pires explains. "I remember him once spending most of his money on football shoes for me. My parents were struggling financially but I was so young I didn't really realise. Looking back now, I can see that my father was living his dream through me. He wanted to be a professional footballer, too, so my having a chance to make it was the next best outcome for him."

As Pires' feet are not allowed to do the talking at the moment, it is the more obvious organ that has kicked in. "I'm not a blabber-mouth by nature," he says, "but I'm enjoying the radio work. It's a nice alternative and it helps me gauge the mood in the French camp. My feeling is that all the preparations are going well and that the team are confident they can repeat the feat of four years ago.

"I know we lost to Belgium last week [2-1 in France's penultimate warm-up match at the Stade de France], but that is nothing serious. We are more than capable of winning the World Cup again because we are strong and conscious of our qualities and abilities. I know it will be tougher than last time, not least because we are away from the safety of home, but I believe in this team."

Another major difference with the last World Cup is the trickiness of France's route to the final. Should they come through their group as winners, Les Bleus could then be paired with England, Brazil and Argentina before the showpiece event in Yokohoma on 30 June. "It looks like a much tougher path," Pires says, "and there is the interesting prospect of a match against England. They are playing good football at the moment and I'm sure confidence is high, even with their injuries. But no matter who we play, I still think we'll take some stopping."

Pires talks almost as good a game as he plays, and his intelligence is clearly not confined to the pitch. Not once has he complained about the devastating knee ligaments injury he sustained in the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Newcastle at Highbury in March. "Hey, look, obviously that was not a happy moment in my career," he says, "and I still try not to think of the incident too much. I don't look at the pictures, because it hurts me when I see them again.

"But that is not to say that I'm going to start crying. I have accepted my fate: I will not be part of this World Cup. But there will be others. In fact, one of the main reasons why I decided not to take any risks this time is because I have every intention of being involved in the next World Cup in Germany in 2006. In many ways, that took the pressure off me."

Pires adds: "But even if I don't play in a World Cup again, there are more important things in life, and the key is that my operation went well. Three weeks after the surgery, I have finally come off the crutches and am now starting to walk vaguely normally again. It's nice to feel well and I reckon I could kick a ball now. Not too hard, though, because there is still a long way to go."

The feeling is that Pires will return to the Arsenal first team by early October. "My type of injury usually takes around six months to heal fully, so that would take us to the first week of October. It feels like a long time to wait, but I know it is the right thing. Even though I feel good today, I know it would be mad to rush back. I expect the road ahead to be tough, both physically and mentally, but I am determined to get all my functions back. I will return as fresh as last season's Robert Pires."

The 28-year-old has received a lot of moral support, including a letter from the French President, Jacques Chirac. Top of the recovery list, though, has been fellow injured countryman Thomas Castaignède. "I met him when I first arrived in London and we immediately hit it off," Pires says of the Saracens and France rugby player. "It's always important to have friends outside of football and Thomas has been a great support. We joke and giggle about our problems because that is the best way to deal with things. When I call him, I say, 'Hello injury No 1, this is injury No 2'. He knows immediately who is on the line."

While Pires accepts that the main reason for his injury was fatigue, he refuses to blame the English system and the excessive number of matches professionals are forced to play on these shores. "What's done is done, and I don't want to point the finger at anybody or anything," he says. "I don't think anybody would deny that we play too many games, but that is the way it is in England. I've always said that I enjoy playing every three or four days, so I'm not going to start changing my mind now just because I'm out injured.

"The only thing that upset me was when some people suggested I was feigning injury, or bluffing ahead of the World Cup. That was stupid. I would never have played any mind games over this issue. The simple fact is that I had a scan the morning after my injury, at which point I was told I would definitely need an operation. But for the operation to go according to plan, I needed to take four weeks off to allow the swelling to shrink as much as possible. That is why I took a while to go under the knife, and that is why I had to miss the World Cup."

It is this positive attitude which has made Pires a firm favourite with the Arsenal supporters. Having struggled to adapt to the rigours of Premiership football during his first season in England, the Frenchman has since proved his undoubted ability. According to his former chairman at Metz, the club where he made his name, Pires is a changed man. "Robert is still the nice guy he always was off the pitch, but he has toughened up considerably on it," Carlo Molinari says. "Aimé Jacquet [the 1998 World Cup winning manager] told Robert to build himself up a bit, and you can see he has done just that. His new-found strength has made him a better player, and endeared him to the Arsenal fans."

Pires agrees with Molinari's assessment, adding that he has found fulfilment at Highbury. "As soon as you get a bit of success in France, people try to knock you down," he says. "Here, the fans show respect and never stop encouraging you. The reception they reserved for me on the last day of the season when we were handed the Premiership trophy was incredible. That ovation was really special."

Nothing, however, came close to what he describes as "the touching gift" from his Highbury team-mates. That gesture consisted of the entire Arsenal squad getting down on their knees to worship their injured friend. Pires is well aware that there was an element of jest to the Wayne's World-style homage, but he insists their actions have eased the melancholy over his lost World Cup. "That is an image that will never leave me," he says. "It certainly makes me realise how happy I am to have chosen to go to Arsenal rather than Real Madrid after Euro 2000."

No matter that he is a world and European champion, a hero in his country, and a hugely respected professional around the globe, Pires still gets excited about his day job. "I love it at Arsenal," he says, "because life there is so serene and tranquil. These are the best conditions I've ever known. It's a bit of a paradise."

Sadly, nowhere compares to a World Cup. Pires intends to keep his distance for the time being, but he wants to travel to the Far East at some stage of the competition. "I will not go out for the group matches or the early knock-out rounds," he says, "but, so long as results go our way, I plan to fly out to watch the semi-final."

Getting there will be tougher without Pires, but you suspect the Frenchman has already made a tentative booking.