Vieira: Today’s Gunners play better football than side I played in

FORMER captain Patrick Vieira believes the current Arsenal side are playing better football than when he was at the Gunners.

The north London club are top of the Barclays Premier League following last Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea, while a second-string team beat Blackburn 3-2 in midweek to advance to the semi-finals of the Carling Cup. It was feared Arsene Wenger’s squad would suffer following the loss first of Vieira, to Juventus in July 2005, and then talismanic striker Thierry Henry, who moved to Barcelona last summer.

Vieira, who won three league titles and four FA Cups in his nine years at the Gunners from 1996 to 2005, is impressed with the way Wenger has moulded yet another superb footballing team.

“When I left, (Cesc) Fabregas had the chance to be selected. And he has since blossomed,’’ the French skipper said.

“In my time, we had a great team. We played well and were physically strong. But this current team plays better football than in our day.

“Whether that means they are going to win something is another story. But whatever happens, Arsenal are one of the two or three teams in Europe who play the best football.”

One of Arsenal’s up-and-coming youngsters is Lassana Diarra, who moved to the Emirates Stadium from Chelsea in the summer.

The France midfielder is not a regular starter under Wenger, though, and he recently outlined his desire to leave the club to gain more first-team opportunities, especially with next summer’s European Championships on the horizon.

Vieira can understand 22-year-old Diarra’s concerns.

“How your career turns out depends on the choices you make,” he added.

“He (Diarra) really wants to play, and that is normal. At that age, I was the same. But when you decide to go to Arsenal, it is difficult. He must simply make the right choice, that is all.”