Robert Pires is standing in a basement car park at London’s ExCel. It is a typically autumnal afternoon and as the brisk air takes hold in cavernous surroundings, the former Arsenal winger could be forgiven for breaking out in a huff and expressing his desire to be somewhere else, especially when he has to constantly redo one of the PR commitments he is here to carry out because of the interrupting roar of cars overhead. But he remains cool, focused and professional throughout. As anyone who watched him play could testify, it’s classic Pires.

Nine years have passed since his final appearance for Arsenal and it is striking how little the Frenchman has changed since the days when he was a captivating, creative force in a team that touched invincibility. The face has aged but the hair is still jet black and generous, while above perfectly kept stubble remains those recognisably dark eyes. Dressed in a black jacket, white shirt and jeans, the 42-year-old also appears as slim as he was at his peak. It is like Pires has never been away which, to an extent, he hasn’t.

There were spells at Villarreal, Aston Villa and, somewhat bizarrely, FC Goa in India after Pires left Arsenal in May 2006, but his heart always remained at the club where he won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, was voted Football Writers’ player of the year and went through an entire league campaign unbeaten. Having returned to England after retirement, Pires now regularly trains with Arsenal’s first team at their London Colney base. Preparing for Sunday’s north London derby, Alexis Sánchez and co could not ask for a better reminder of the levels of excellence they are meant to be reaching.

“Arsène [Wenger] said to me ‘If you want to come, you can’ and so every morning I am training with the first team,” says Pires. “For me, it’s very interesting. I hope it’s also interesting for the players. I talk a long time to them. I don’t know if I give them some tips and advice but I have a good experience for the guys to learn from.”

Pires’s routine visits to the training ground also allow him to stay fit as he enters middle age and the obvious question to ask is if he is still able to hold his own with Arsenal’s current superstars. “I don’t know, you have to ask them,” he replies. “But the technique … you never lose it. You lose speed, that’s normal, but the technique you never lose.” Cue a devilish smile from the man with the classically Gallic accent.

I am speaking with Pires in the back of a silver people-carrier that has been supplied by one of Arsenal’s corporate sponsors and that Pires, in his role as club ambassador, is here to promote. As the vehicle glides around the car park and beyond, what should be a routine interview suddenly feels like a surreal mix of Football Focus and the A-Team. But ultimately it is not difficult to remain focused on the task ahead given Pires is in such engaging form, no more so than when he is assessing Arsenal’s title credentials. It has been a strange season for the team, with them joint top of the Premier League but, after their 5-1 humbling at Bayern Munich in midweek, in real danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in 16 seasons. Having watched and worked with them, however, Pires is adamant that the class of 2015-16 are the real deal.

“Arsenal have started the season well. Actually, since the game against Man United [when Arsenal won 3-0 at the start of October] they are doing very well,” he says. “They have a lot of ingredients to win the title, because when you see the name in the paper the quality is there. The quality is very good. Of course, the Champions League is very important, but I prefer to see Arsenal win the Premier League this season and I know this is the objective for Arsène Wenger and all the players. It is also important for the fans. So yes, this team can win the Premier League.”

Pires cites Petr Cech as being particularly key to Arsenal’s chances of becoming champions for the first time since he and the rest of the Invincibles did so in 2004 – “He is very important because he has already won the title with Chelsea” – but it is his praise for another of the team’s defensively minded players that truly catches the attention. It comes as the Frenchman explains his choices for an Ultimate XI made up of Arsenal players he featured alongside and/or has seen in the flesh. There are some obvious names in there, such as David Seaman, Tony Adams, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and, from the current side, Sánchez and Santi Cazorla. But who is that at the base of midfield? Francis Coquelin.

Pires, far right, at Arsenal’s training ground with, from left, Mathieu Debuchy, Mathieu Flamini and Francis Coquelin. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters

“I love this guy because he has very good spirit and he loves fighting,” says Pires. “He’s French but he has an English mentality, and in this position you need that. In my time we had Ray Parlour, and Coquelin is the same. He’s a very good balance between defence and attack. He is important for the team. Imagine for 10 seconds Vieira and Coquelin together in midfield, in this moment or 10 years ago. That would be fantastic.”

Robert Pires’s ultimate Arsenal XI

When speaking about Arsenal’s Ultimate XI in Pires’s company it is difficult not to come back to his time at the club having arrived there from Marseille in 2000. It’s somewhat forgotten now that Pires struggled during his first season in north London but, having settled at a new club in a new country, the winger soon soared, helping Arsenal achieve the double in 2002 and complete that most memorable of seasons two years later. “That was a special team and we showed that by being unbeaten and, most importantly, winning the title,” he reflects.

Pires picks out Dennis Bergkamp as the best player he featured alongside during his time at Arsenal – “he was the maestro” – and his goal at Villa in March 2002, when Pires left George Boateng for dead with one touch before lobbing Peter Schmeichel with another, as his own best individual moment for the club. And then there is the effusive praise for Wenger, the man who brought Pires to London and continues to welcome him back into the fold. “He is the same guy from when I joined 15 years ago,” says Pires. “He’s passionate, he loves football, he loves Arsenal and he loves the guys at the club.

Robert Pires in discussion with Arsène Wenger. ‘He is the same guy from when I joined 15 years ago,’ says Pires. ‘He loves football and he loves Arsenal.’ Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

“He loves talking to them, especially when they are a little bit tired or a little bit down, and is very good at lifting them up. That communication is important between manager and player and Arsène never forgets that.”

Looking ahead to Tottenham’s visit to the Emirates on Sunday, Pires agrees that this could be the most intriguing north London derby for some time given the encouraging form of both teams but is backing his old side to record what would be their sixth successive league victory since the bad-tempered defeat at Chelsea in mid-September. This is also another moment for Pires to reflect on the past and, in particular, his excellent record against Arsenal’s most bitter rivals.

“I scored eight goals in 12 games against Spurs,” he says, with the assurance of a man reciting his own phone number. “I’m proud of this achievement because I know this rivalry is very important for the Arsenal fans – when you score eight times against Spurs you are an idol for them.

“And I know the Spurs fans hate me,” Pires adds with yet another devilish smile. “I know this and it is a good sensation.”

Robert Pires was speaking at a Europcar event. Go to www.europcar.co.uk/ yourarsenalyourway to view his Ultimate XI selection