The former Arsenal midfielder has sought help from Uefa’s career transition expert, to navigate the world outside the dressing room

Robert Pires will never forget what it was like coming to terms with being a retired footballer. “You don’t want to say stop because I had been playing for 19 seasons and football meant everything to me,” says one of the stars of Arsenal’s Invincibles, who was part of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. “Even now, football is my life and it’s in my blood, so that’s why when I said it was game over, it was very difficult to accept.”

Luckily for Pires, help was at hand. He first met Stéphane Ehrhart – a former player who is now Uefa’s career transition expert – in 2009 while playing for Villarreal, when the decision to hang up his boots had barely even crossed his mind.

Arsenal’s world-class attacker on embracing the occasion of a pivotal derby at Tottenham with team’s title hopes on the line

Even when the stakes could barely be higher, Bukayo Saka finds the capacity to step back a little and marvel. He needs no telling what Sunday’s north London derby means , the possibilities victory would unlock and the likely implications of falling short, but it would not feel the same without a sense of fun.

“When you go in the stadium and see the atmosphere, it’s beautiful,” he says of those afternoons when Arsenal and Spurs face off. “I try to enjoy it. There has to be an element of seriousness, discipline and focus, but you have to try to enjoy it as well.”

Memories of 2004 still sting and in Sunday’s derby Tottenham have the chance to take a wrecking ball to Arsenal’s title hopes

It would not scan like the original Arsenal terrace chant. “We took a big step towards winning the league at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.” The prospect, though, is real. And before Sunday’s derby – the 195th edition of the fixture that determines the mood in north London – it is utterly sickening for Spurs supporters.

Spurs could not stop the Arsenal Invincibles in April 2004 and it is fair to say they have not heard the end of it since. Nor was that the first time their hated rivals had won the league at White Hart Lane. Arsenal did exactly that on the final day of the 1970-71 season when Ray Kennedy’s late header gave them a 1-0 victory.

Liverpool await a dead-ball salvo, Luton have to keep their chins up, and things could get spicy at the City Ground

David Moyes will surely have taken note of Liverpool’s struggle to defend set pieces against Everton. Jürgen Klopp, who must be delighted with a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, should prepare his team for another bruising test when they visit West Ham. For Moyes, this is a chance to repair the sizeable damage to his reputation caused by last weekend’s collapse at Selhurst Park . West Ham were 4-0 down to Palace after 31 minutes and are preparing to part company with Moyes at the end of the season, but they should take heart from how Everton unsettled Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Everton scored twice from set pieces and West Ham pose a similar threat from dead balls. James Ward-Prowse’s deliveries towards Tomas Soucek, Kurt Zouma and Michail Antonio will have Klopp’s defenders sweating. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Sheffield United, Saturday 3pm

Manchester United v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

Mikel Arteta’s side are chasing the title but Ange Postecoglou wants a top-four spot and has the tools to hurt his local rivals

After Arsenal lost to Aston Villa and went out of the Champions League in the same week, there were suggestions their season was at risk of unravelling. Since then they have secured a win at Wolves and thrashed Chelsea but they face a pivotal test of their credentials against their bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

That game is not just about a team fighting for the title travelling to one aiming to qualify for the Champions League; there is a lot more at stake in a derby – just ask Liverpool . The effect of hostility should not be underestimated in potentially season-defining matches. Tottenham will be desperate to dent the Gunners’ chances of securing a first Premier League trophy in 20 years.

• Player asked not to be considered for England selection in March
• Agent refers to ‘adverse period off the pitch’ for 26-year-old

Ben White’s agent has called on the Arsenal defender’s critics to “be kind” after he asked to be left out of England’s squad for March’s international friendlies with Brazil and Belgium.

Gareth Southgate revealed last month that White does not want to be considered for international selection and said he had to go public with the truth because to continue to “protect” the Arsenal player would have been to risk his own credibility. But in an impassioned defence of the 26-year-old posted on his LinkedIn profile on Wednesday – the day after White scored twice against Chelsea in Arsenal’s 5-0 win – his agent, Alex Levack, said he felt “compelled” to defend his client after “negative” coverage in the media.

• Arsenal manager says change needed to ‘protect our players’
• Accrington chairman open to boycott if ‘enough clubs’ want it

Mikel Arteta insisted that the scrapping of FA Cup replays was necessary to “protect our players” as Accrington Stanley’s chairman said he would support a boycott of the tournament if there was widespread backing.

As the backlash against the abandonment of replays continued, the EFL said clubs lower down the pyramid were being marginalised. Accrington’s Andy Holt tweeted that it was important to fight the change “with all our might” and said: “I would support a boycott if enough clubs feel the same.”

It was a night when Bayern Munich lived up to their assertions that, when the Champions League comes around, they are an altogether different beast. Equally it was a triumph for Thomas Tuchel, who may yet rescue a miserable domestic season with another European trophy and remind any suitors that his star has not waned just yet. Bayern’s certainly remains ablaze and ultimately they deserved to beat Arsenal, who seemed to run out of steam after an accomplished first half, through a fine header from Joshua Kimmich.

Mikel Arteta’s team could not muster a response and must now gather themselves. A run of games that brimmed with promise has not delivered and their season hangs by a thread. When the dust has settled a quarter-final finish will demonstrate clear progress but the swagger with which Bayern expertly shut the tie down shows there is still far to go.

• Champions League updates from the Allianz Arena, kick-off 8pm BST
• Manchester City v Real Madrid – follow it live
• Get in touch with Scott | Live scoreboard – Wednesday’s latest

Arsenal are 90 minutes away – or maybe 90 minutes plus extra time, then possibly a penalty competition – from their first Champions League semi-final since 2009. But good luck predicting how this match is going to go. Arsenal will take a lot of heart from their impressive start and staunch powers of recovery during last week’s 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich at the Emirates ; they way they ceded early momentum in that see-saw game will worry them as well. They’re coming off the back of a concerning league defeat at home to Aston Villa; Bayern won’t be in the best frame of mind either having relinquished their decade-long grip on the Bundesliga last weekend. Arsenal are hopeful that Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard will both be fit to start, while Bayern are without Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Alphonso Davies; on the other hand, Harry Kane, Harry Kane and Harry Kane. So it’s up in the air. The Gunners went into this tie as favourites, but having not made the most of their home advantage in the first leg, everything’s poised perfectly for a wonderful evening’s entertainment in Munich. The partial may demur but everyone else can kick back with the popcorn, because this could be great fun. Kick-off at the Allianz Arena is at 8pm BST, 9pm local. It’s on!