Vieira's Euro vow

Top gunning: Pires celebrates after scoring Arsenal's first goal

14 April 2012

Patrick Vieira said today that Arsenal are determined to prove they can dominate European football.

"We do not fear anyone," Vieira claimed after a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow means they go into tomorrow's draw for the knock-out stages of the Champions League as one of the top seeds.

The Arsenal captain said: "We were bottom of the group at one stage and yet we finished on top of it. By winning against Kiev and then against Inter Milan in Italy and at Highbury last night, we showed we can beat any team. It looks really bright for us for the future.

"Manchester United have done well in the Champions League and they are one of the big clubs in Europe. We want to be a big club as well, to be successful in Europe. I think we will get there and I think in the way we won the last three games in our group shows how good we are.

"Now we have to keep it going."

As one of the top seeds, Arsenal will avoid Real Madrid, Juventus and AC Milan. Nor can they be drawn against Chelsea or United.

But Vieira is delighted that three Premiership clubs are through to the last 16. "That is fantastic. And all three finished top of their groups. That shows how good the English teams are."

Arsenal salvaged success from a terrible start that left them with one point and one goal from their first three matches. But the Frenchman admitted Arsenal are still on their learning curve in European competition.

He said: "Champions League football means you are playing against good teams and when we make a mistake, we get punished straight away. We are still learning but maybe this could be our year.

"There is still a long way to go. To be successful, everyone must give a little bit of himself, give a little bit of his time."

Goals from Robert Pires and Fredrik Ljungberg saw Arsenal through and the Lokomotiv cause was not helped by the first-half dismissal of Jacob Lekcetho for two yellow cards.

Pires is also convinced that Arsenal must continue to play in a positive way. He said: "Every team left in the competition is a quality team but what is important is that we impose our style on the game whoever we play. We have learned our lessons in recent seasons We are more solid now.

"Can we win the competition? We are hopeful but we also know there is still a long way to go."

Vieira's Euro vow

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