Arsene Wenger is not preoccupied with the World Cup - but he thinks his players have a better chance of international joy if Arsenal have a successful season.
It's conceivable that 17 of Wenger's first-team squad could travel to Brazil for the 2014 finals and the Frenchman will be hoping for a repeat of 1998, when two Gunners got their hands on the World Cup.
"I remember 1998, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit had an outstanding season here and they won the World Cup after with France, so the positives of one goes into the other one," said Wenger.
"[As a manager] you do what is right for the club. If the players can do well at both levels that is even better. Most of the time the confidence is linked by doing well in one competition [with] one team, you then have a better chance to do well in the national team."
A fit Jack Wilshere will almost certainly be in England's squad next summer and Wenger says the midfielder's Arsenal workload will be carefully monitored.
"We play 60 games per year and he will certainly have to be managed," he said. "Unless his pains go completely then he will be used when needed. If there is an alert on his ankles, we will of course take advice from the medical department and use him when he can really be used.
"I have no concern, I have been told by the medical team that there is no concern in the long-term. He is just still recovering from his inflammation. It is hard [to hold Jack back] but we have 25 players in the squad and we can deal with that problem."
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also a contender for England's World Cup squad but he is not likely to play again this year.
"He had no real setback but I believe he is still at least one month away from competition," said Wenger. "The new year is a reasonable target."
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