Vieira: Real Madrid are great but I'm signing for Arsenal

Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira has admitted he's thought seriously about playing for Real Madrid.

But the Gunners skipper says he is ready to sit down and sign a new deal to keep him at Highbury.

Vieira told the News of the World, "Of course I think about playing for Real Madrid."

"Who wouldn't with the kind of team they have, the kind of squad they have?"

"Surely every player would want to play for them and I'm no different."

"It would be great - Real Madrid are one of the biggest clubs in the world. But for me the situation is more than just that."

"It is not only about playing for the biggest club you can find and alongside such great players."

"The most important thing of all to me is to be happy, not happy with just one or two issues but happy with everything around me."

"And everything I am looking for I find here at Arsenal. I have found everything I have always wanted right here."

"I have never been happier and I don't want to take the risk of going somewhere else and never finding such happiness again."

"There is something really special at this club. Everyone is working together with a positive attitude. Everyone is in the zone working for the club and to succeed."

"We have a great squad and we all believe we can win things together."

"Yes, we have pressure but every player can still perform and enjoy their game. And that's vital."

"I know some clubs where the pressure is so great the players can't play. So it is an easy decision. It is not a problem."

He added: "At the moment we are all concentrating of making the season a real success - that's me, the manager and the vice-chairman David Dein. But in the summer it will be fine."

"I have a contract until 2004 but I want to stay longer, a lot longer. The way I feel right now I'd be happy to finish my career here - why not?"

"So it's not going to be a problem for me to stay."