Vieira: I don't want Chelsea

Patrick Vieira today insisted Arsenal wanted to avoid a London derby Champions League clash with Chelsea in tomorrow's draw.

The prospect of the two meeting edged closer after Arsenal joined Chelsea in the quarterfinals following a comfortable 2-0 win against Celta Vigo at Highbury last night to take them through 5-2 on aggregate.

There are no restrictions in the draw as opposed to previous years when two teams from the same country could not meet until the semi-finals. But Vieira said: "It would be sad if we drew Chelsea. We don't want to play them. We want to play against teams from a different country."

However the Arsenal skipper also stressed that such is the confident mood at Highbury Arsenal would fear noone in the draw including the two biggest teams. "The two big clubs are AC Milan and Real Madrid. But we are playing well and to play against any team would be fine. We will just have to perform. We are not scared. When you reach the quarter-finals you expect to play against a big team so playing Milan. Real Madrid, Chelsea, Monaco or Lyon will not affect the way we approach the game. We are playing well at the moment and every team will see that Arsenal are in good form."

Thierry Henry got both goals against Celta Vigo but also showed an unusual defensive side to his game dropping back to help out Lauren or Ashley Cole when needed.

Henry said: "The front players, they are the first defenders. It starts with us. We are playing well as a team and that is the most important thing people should talk about. You see how well we played in midfield and at the back. Even when we don't play well, like at Chelsea, we got something at the end.