Arsene Wenger says his Arsenal players must forget about the World Cup and focus on club success.
Arsenal suffered a dent to their title hopes after Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Sunderland left them eight points behind league leaders Chelsea.
They were without a number of stars including Holland forward Robin van Persie, who damaged ankle ligaments while on international duty.
One piece of good news was the return of Theo Walcott against the Black Cats and he will be available for selection against Standard Liege in the Champions League on Tuesday.
national team
While he, Van Persie and other members of the Gunners squad will have their eyes on a place at next summer's World Cup Finals in South Africa, Wenger has told them that glory for Arsenal domestically and in Europe in the main focus right now.
"For me, the big season is with Arsenal, not at the World Cup," Wenger said. "We do not pay players to go to the World Cup - we pay the players to do well for Arsenal. The first pride of a man is to do well for the guy who pays you in life, not to go to the World Cup."
Captain Cesc Fabregas accepts performing consistently for Arsenal can only help his bid to become first choice for Spain.
He said: "I can understand the boss' point. He is the manager and wants Arsenal to do well, the national team is secondary.
"Sometimes I don't play for Spain, I am on the bench so definitely I want to play well for Arsenal to start in the World Cup.
"My first priority is to play for Arsenal, to play well and to win titles. Definitely on my mind in a World Cup year is to play well with Arsenal and be a starter for Spain."
