Pires: we won't drop our guard this time
作者： Alex Hayes
2004年2月15日
"Together, together." That is how Robert Pires describes Arsenal's new approach to the game. No matter that there are exceptional individual talents at the club, the ethos this season is based firmly on team values. And no one is being allowed to forget that fact. The chief enforcer, Pires says, is Sol Campbell. Every time one of his team-mates scores a goal, the England centre-back runs up to the celebrating huddle of players and reminds them of the mantra: "Together, together".
“团结，团结。”这就是皮雷如何描述阿森纳对待比赛的新方法。不论在俱乐部中有一些非常有天分的单个球员，在这个赛季里俱乐部的精神是基于团队价值。没有任何队员允许忽略这一点。皮雷说，主要核心就是索尔·坎贝尔。每次他的队友打入一个进球后，这位英格兰的中后卫都会跑到因为进球而抱成一团的队员身边，提醒他们这句念语：“团结，团结！”
It may all sound like psycho-babble, but the players are taking the fresh directives very seriously. The dramatic collapse of last season, when Arsenal surrendered a once-comfortable Premiership lead to finish second behind Manchester United, shook the club to their core. Come the end of the season, serious questions were asked of the players, while their manager, Arsène Wenger, was forced into a major rethink. "It's fair to say we had a demanding few weeks last summer," Pires admits, "but it was probably just what we needed."
也许这所有的一切听起来都象心理语言，但是队员们都非常认真地执行着这一命令。上赛季在如此巨大的优势下，阿森纳将英超联赛榜首的位置拱手交给曼联队而最终仅名列第二，这一戏剧性的崩塌震惊了俱乐部的高层。在赛季结束后，一系列严肃而认真的问题接踵而至，而他们的教练，阿瑟·温格不得不对主要问题重新予以考虑。“公平的说，去年夏天里的几个星期，大家对我们有一些过分的要求。”皮雷承认，“但是也许那正是我们所需要的。”
Pires recalls how the players took stock, toughened up and decided they would never make the same mistakes. "I think we took it a bit too easy for certain games last year," the Frenchman concedes. "We were perhaps a little complacent. But now there is no mucking around. We are much more serious this season."
皮雷回忆起球员们如何反复反省自己，决心他们再也不会犯下同样的错误。“我想我们在去年对待某些比赛太过简单了。”这位法国帅哥反省说。“也许那个时候我们有一点点的自满，但是现在再也没有那种思想了。这个赛季里我们对待比赛更加认真了。”
Arsenal's slackness in the championship run-in, when they dropped crucial points away to Bolton Wanderers and at home to Leeds United, cost them dear. Pires insists this was not because the players were ill-prepared or arrogant, but rather that there was an over-reliance on individuals to carry the team. "It's much more about the group nowadays," he explains, "and that makes it a lot easier to deal with everything that is thrown at us."
当他们客场对博尔顿和主场迎战利兹联队接连丢掉了至关重要的分数后，阿森纳在冠军追逐的进程中的怠慢让他们付出了昂贵的代价。皮雷强调这并不是因为队员们缺乏充分的准备或者自大，而是太过依靠个人的能力来带动整支球队。“现今集体的力量更强大，”他解释说，“它使得我们可以更加从容的应付我们所面临的问题。”
The next three weeks will test Arsenal's mettle, as the Gunners face Chelsea twice (once in the FA Cup and once in the Premiership) before resuming their Champions' League campaign against Celta Vigo. "The two games against Chelsea could go a long way towards shaping the rest of the season," Pires says. "Playing them twice will be demanding, but we have to rise to the challenge. Despite what a lot of people are saying, everyone at Arsenal knows that Chelsea are still in with a shout at the title. It's going to be between the three top teams [Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea], and there is still plenty of time for the lead to chop and change."
接下来的三周时间将会检验阿森纳的勇气。在继续征战同塞尔塔队的欧洲冠军联赛之前，枪手将两次对阵切尔西（一场足总杯比赛，一场英超联赛）。“同切尔西的两场比赛将对剩余赛季的休整大有帮助，”皮雷说。“同他们的两次对决人们将会有非常高的期望，但是我们必须接受挑战。尽管很多人都在说，但是在阿森纳的每个人都知道切尔西仍然在争夺着联赛冠军。最终的头名将会在三支队伍中产生（阿森纳，曼联和切尔西），仍然有时间对联赛的座次产生改变。”
Pires adds: "One win against us and another win against Man U would put Chelsea right back in the frame."
皮雷补充道：“一旦战胜我们，然后战胜曼联，切尔西就将重回夺冠的行列。”
Events in midweek proved as much, when Arsenal profited from Manchester United's defeat at home to Middlesbrough to extend their lead to five points. "There's no doubt that Man U are missing Rio Ferdinand [who is suspended for eight months following his failure to attend a doping test]," Pires says, "but let's not be silly enough to write them off at this stage of the season."
当阿森纳从曼联主场对米德尔斯堡的失利中获益而使积分差距拉大到5分，皮雷说：“毫无疑问，曼联失去了里奥·费笛兰德（因缺席药检而禁赛8个月），但不要因为这样就让我们愚蠢的把他们在这个赛季的舞台中除名。”
So was that not the turning point of the campaign? "No, no," Pires insists. "Remember that this time last year we were six points ahead, and yet we all know what happened to us in the end."
那么这不会是这场冠军争夺战的转折点吗？“不，不，”皮雷强调说。“记得去年的这个时候我们曾经领先六分，而到了赛季末的时候我们则知道了最终结果如何呢？”
Does last season's débacle explain why no one at Arsenal seems interested in talking about the prospect of finishing the League season unbeaten? After all, the club are in a much better position to achieve their improbable aim this time around. "It would be an unbelievable exploit," Pires says, "and it's true that we're in a great position this year. But we're not there yet and that's why we're not stopping now. We're staying focused."
上个赛季的最终崩溃可以解释现在在阿森纳没有人对谈论整个赛季保持不败感兴趣的现象吗？毕竟，俱乐部现在处在更好的联赛位置去完成他们“不可能完成的任务”。“真是难以置信。”皮雷说，“今年我们的确处在一个非常好的联赛位置。但是我们还没有成功，这就是我们现在不可以停止的原因。我们必须依旧聚精会神。”
Keeping cool will prove equally important over the coming few weeks, as teams compete to become the first to defeat Arsenal in the Premiership this season. "What is certain," Pires explains, "is that the mental side of the game will be the most important thing for us between now and May. We know we're good enough, so the key is going to be making sure that we stay concentrated. Teams are going to try everything to put us off or even destabilise us, so it's going to be up to us to keep our discipline. The worst thing we could do is bite back when we're provoked. We've got to rise above it all and fight on intelligently."
在接下来的几周里保持冷静将会显得相当重要，因为每支队伍都想成为本赛季在英超中第一支击败阿森纳的球队。“可以确定的是，”皮雷解释说，“从现在起到五月，比赛时的理智对我们来说将会成为最重要的事情。我们都知道我们非常优秀，所以关键是我们必须要确保集中精神。其他队伍都会想尽一切办法让我们离场，甚至是激怒我们，所以我们就面临着要使自己保持纪律的问题。当我们被激怒的时候我们最不能做的事情就是回敬他们。我们必须学会用些心思，聪明地和对手作战。”
Intelligently, but boldly, too. While Arsenal appear to have worked out a way to keep opposition teams at bay, they have lost none of their attacking flair. Wenger's men are still the most dynamic and graceful side to watch when breaking from deep, and Thierry Henry remains the best all-round striker in the division. "People ask me if I think Titi will break Ian Wright's scoring record [of 185 goals] for the club," Pires says, "but it's not a case of if, it's a case of when. He's getting closer and closer [Henry is on 136 at the moment], and I expect him to make it soon."
聪明而大胆。当阿森纳开始设计出一条防线让对手无功而返的时候，他们也没有丢掉他们的进攻美学。温格的枪手们仍然是破解严防死守的最为生动而优雅的球队，亨利依然是联赛中最好的射手。“人们问我是否认为TITI将会打破依恩·奈特的俱乐部进球记录（185球），”皮雷说，“但是现在不是是否的问题，而是何时的问题。他现在离记录越来越近（亨利已有136球入帐）。我期待着他尽快做到。”
Pires is equally enthusiastic about the Arsenal new boy, Jose Antonio Reyes. He believes it is perfectly normal for the Spanish teenager to be taking a while to settle in. "It's a very different environment, on and off the pitch," Pires says, "so he just needs to be given time. But he'll definitely make it here. In Spain, he's already a star, which proves that he's real quality. He has a special technique and I think he will give us that little something extra that you need, especially if you want to progress in Europe."
对阿森纳的新人雷耶斯，皮雷也同样的热心。他相信花了一段时间真正融入了球队后这一切对这个西班牙的小伙子来说都很正常。“这是一个截然不同的环境，无论是在场上还是在场下，”皮雷说，“所以他需要的只是多给他点时间。到时候他就会明显的好转。在西班牙，他已经是一个球星了，这证明了他的实力。他的技术特别突出，我想他会给我们带来一些意想不到的东西，尤其是如果你在欧洲有所发展的话。”
Pires, who speaks fluent Spanish, has been helping Reyes settle in. "So far, so good," he smiles, "although I think he's finding hard to adjust to our eating times. In Spain, you don't eat at seven or eight, you eat at midnight." Reyes may be struggling to get to grips with the meal times, but he has been left in no doubt about the team's hunger to succeed. "I've told him many times," Pires says. "It's together, together."
能说流利的西班牙语的皮雷正在帮助雷耶斯融入球队。“到现在位置，一切良好，”他微笑着，“虽然我想他会很难适应我们的用餐时间。在西班牙，你不会在7，8点钟的时候吃东西，而是午夜。”雷耶斯也许正在努力的适应着就餐的时间，但是毫无疑问他现在剩下的是队伍对成功的渴望。“我告诉过他很多次了，”皮雷说。“是团结，团结！”
