"Pires is competing in the UEFA Champions League final, and when this is done he will be a free agent and he will come to do the presentation for Villarreal," Roig was quoted as saying by Spanish paper Marca.

Pires, who scored 82 goals for Arsenal since he joined the club from Marseille in summer of 2000, will be out of contract this summer.

He was linked with a number European clubs including Turkish giants Galatasaray and Villarreal, who reached the UEFA Champions League semis on their debut before being eliminated by Arsenal themselves.

Villarreal, looking to capitalize on their European success, signed Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci from Real Sociedad and are looking to add more strength to their team by luring Pires.

If the deal is sealed, The 33-year-old Pires will be linking up with Argentinean midfielders Juan Roman Riquelme and Juan Pablo Sorin and former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan.

"We want to improve our squad for next season, we will have a smaller group of players, around 19 or 20 but we will increase the level and the quality of the players in the team," Roig said.

Pires will be playing what seems to be his last game for Arsenal when the Gunners face Spanish giants Barcelona in the Champions League final in Paris on Wednesday.