Pires not amused

French international winger Robert Pires said he would be seeking an explanation from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after being substituted in the second-half of Wednesday's 3-2 defeat of Chelsea.

Pires, who will be 30 at the end of the month, said in his column for L'Equipe newspaper being substituted was part and parcel of a footballer's life but sometimes it was necessary to ask the manager why he had been taken-off.

"The manager took me off just before the hour mark.

"That surprised me and didn't please me very much.

"This is part of a footballer's career but sometimes it requires an explanation from the manager and I will be seeking one," he wrote.

Pires, who has yet to reproduce the sparkling form he showed prior to tearing his cruciate ligaments in an FA Cup quarter-final with Newcastle last season, said he believed Arsenal were lucky to have beaten Chelsea to leave them five points clear of Manchester United.

"To be honest they were better than us for parts of the match.

"Frankly Chelsea deserved a draw.

"However we dug deep and came away with the three points which has given us a huge advantage over Chelsea (they are third eight points adrift after taking just one point from three matches)."

Pires said he was looking forward to the second-half of the season with Arsenal also leading their Champions League second phase group and about to embark on their defence of the FA Cup this weekend against Third Division Oxford.

"Of course there is a long way to go but I think our progress in the way we are playing has been as impressive as the amount of points we have been taking.

"It promises to be a fruitful Spring."