Vieira: We'll be ready for United

Patrick Vieira says the crunch clash with title rivals Manchester United on Sunday is the best way for Arsenal to get over their Champions League humiliation.

He said: "When you have a bad day like we had against Inter and concede three goals at home, you want the next game to come straight away . . . and the next game is at Old Trafford so we have the chance to prove everything. We will respond well because I really believe we are strong enough. We will be ready for Sunday. "

But Vieira also conceded that if Arsenal are to progress in Europe, they must improve on the kind of defending that left them reeling from three decisive counterattacks from the Italians.

The Arsenal captain said: "Any mistakes you make in the Champions League get punished straight away. As a team, that is what we have to improve. This is a competition where we want to do well. We played one of our best games since the start of the season in the first 20 minutes or half hour with some good football and passing.

"But we conceded three goals so it was quite a strange game. If we do not wake up and show how good we are, we are going to be out of the competition."

Arsenal's testing six weeks brings games against United, Liverpool and Chelsea and includes two Champions League trips, first to Russia to take on Lokomotiv Moscow, then to Ukraine where they will tackle Dynamo Kiev, who beat Moscow 2-0 last night.

Vieira said: "It is a huge month but it is really exciting for us. We still really believe in ourselves."