Raymond Domenech has told Patrick Vieira that he needs to be playing regular football at club level if he is to fulfil his dream of leading France at the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer.

Vieira, the Internazionale midfielder, is keen to rejoin Arsenal and is waiting to hear whether the manager, Arsène Wenger, will offer a short-term contract. One of the chief considerations for Vieira will be where he can expect to play the most football this season; he was restricted through injuries and inconsistent form to 10 Serie A starts last time out.

Vieira has played in three friendlies for France since the 2006 World Cup, he missed Euro 2008 and is still to feature in the current World Cup qualifying campaign. Although he has enjoyed his fullest pre-season for some years at Inter, Domenech omitted him yesterday from the France squad that he will take to the Faroe Islands for a World Cup qualifying tie next Wednesday, claiming that he needed players who were "operational". The manager called up Toulouse's 19-year-old central midfielder Moussa Sissoko for the first time.

"You'd have to ask Pat whether Arsenal was the right choice for him," said Domenech. "I really hope he will start playing, whether it's at Arsenal or Inter. He has to be playing [at club level]. To perform well in the French team, you have to be playing. Pat needs to play a lot to feel good, to get back to his best level, which is that of the captain of the French team. We know it and Pat knows it, he has to be playing game after game to get back to his level."

Meanwhile, the Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has accused his club of pricing him out of a "dream" move to Arsenal. Although the 25-year-old youth-team product has 12 months to run on his contract, Bordeaux have sought €18m (£15m) for his signature. "What the club are asking for is not fair," said Chamakh. "I am angry, even disgusted."