Arsenal winger Robert Pires has urged Everton midfielder Alex Nyarko not to quit football after a fan ran onto the pitch during Everton's defeat to the Gunners on Saturday and offered to swap places with the Ghanaian.

"I would tell him not to stop," Pires said. "It's not easy, but he must not give up. I really think he would regret it if he did.

"Even if he feels he cannot go on at Everton, he must try to find a solution at another club. He surely has the capacity to do that."

Nyarko failed to turn up for training with Everton on Monday after announcing after the game that he was quitting football for good.

Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly also expressed sympathy for the former Lens midfielder. "I've never faced such a situation," he said. "there are no hot-beds of racism in England as there are in Italy."

The fan's actions, though, did not appear to be racially-motivated. "A man came on the field and gave me a black T-shirt, trying to swap it for my blue shirt," Nyarko explained. "This is the fourth or fifth time this has happened and that's it. I'm finished with football."

And Nyarko received further support from France full-back Lilian Thuram. "Quitting is not the right solution," he said. "I don't know his exact problem, but he must not retire because he must not let these people get away with it."

Everton boss Walter Smith was less sympathetic on Monday. He said: "Alex indicated, at the end of the Arsenal game, that he intended finishing with football and retiring from the game altogether. But he did travel back from London with the team, and the arrangement was that we would meet today to talk things over.

"However, he did not turn up for training this morning, so we will have to wait to find out what has happened before trying to arrange another meeting and taking the matter any further.

"At the moment, I do not know what his thoughts are, so it is impossible to say what action might be taken. We will have to wait until contact has been made before deciding what route we go down.

"All I do know is that we have got a very important match coming up against Bradford next Saturday, and I would prefer it if everyone's attention was focused on that.

"We could do without this, and it is disappointing that it has happened at a time when minds should be on trying to get the win we need to safeguard our future in the Premiership."

Nyarko joined Everton last summer for a fee of ?4.5 million, but after an injury-hit start he has struggled to settle, and has played just 20 games for Everton this season.