Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is not worrried that captain Patrick Vieira will miss the forthcoming showdown with Chelsea.
Vieira’s picked up a yellow card against Liverpool on Sunday to register his fifth booking of the season.
He will automatically miss the clash against current Premiership leaders Chelsea at Highbury on December 12.
However, Wenger seemed relatively unconcerned by the loss of his skipper.
“At the moment, in football, we go from game to game,” Wenger told Sky Sports.
“Our most important game is the next one.
“I’m not concerned by that (Vieira’s suspension) at the moment, I’m concerned by the next game, which is the Carling Cup.
“You always want your best players to be there but, before that, we have two, three other games so that’s a much bigger concern for me.”
Vieira admitted he was disappointed to miss the Chelsea clash as well as the UEFA Champions League tie with Rosenborg.
“It is a big disappointment for me to miss those games in what is a very important week for the club,” said Vieira.
“When we are going through a difficult time like this, I have a big part to play and I will try my best.
“As a team, we have to improve. It is up to us. If we really want it, we are going to do it. The quality and the hunger to keep the title is there. We know what we have to do.
“We know we played better at the start of the season. We need maybe a bit of togetherness to help us win the games.
“Three or four years ago, maybe, we would have won the game at Liverpool. We are disappointed because we wanted to start winning again.
“A worry? No, it is about ourselves. I don’t think the other teams are better than us. We have to look at ourselves and try to improve.
“The only way we can do that is to work harder and harder. I am sure that will come.”
