Theo Walcott has warned his Arsenal teammates they are in danger of losing the battle to finish in the Premier League's top four unless they play with more urgency.
Arsene Wenger's side head into tonight's London derby against West Ham on the back of successive league defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea, which have left their challenge to qualify for the Champions League in crisis.
The Gunners, languishing in sixth spot, trail fourth-placed Tottenham by seven points and sit 11 points adrift of third-placed Chelsea. "There are a lot of teams that have got stronger this year, so we need to step on the gas. We don't want to be playing catch-up. We want to get points on the board," Walcott said.
"We have a tough game at home against West Ham so we need to be ready. It is a massive game, we have home support and we need to start clocking up points there.
"We have been hot and cold at home of late, so we must be very positive and if we show the commitment that we did in the second half against Chelsea we should be fine. We need to show that character to win from the start, not when we concede a goal."
If Arsenal are to win their game in hand on Tottenham, they need a big performance from England international Walcott, who last week ended months of speculation about his future by agreeing a new contract.