Theo Walcott believes that Arsenal have the quality within their squad to challenge for honours next season.

The Gunners' wait for a trophy will stretch into an eighth year, but the England international said that the team has shown what they are capable of this season, just not on a consistent basis.

"We need to be having a bit more of a go at the league, definitely," the 25-year-old told Sport magazine. "We want to compete, and we can do it. You saw when everyone was against us we had a great result like the one at Bayern - winning 2-0 away from home and then doing the same at Swansea. So we can do it; it's in us.

"We just haven't been at that consistent level to do it at times. We did need a little kick up the backside to get us back on track. But, lately, I think we've worked harder as a unit, kept more clean sheets - everyone is in their positions and there's more communication.

"I think you can see that the players want it a bit more because they want to prove people wrong. We want to show that we're still a top four team. Next year, though, we want to be right up there."

Walcott joined Arsenal from Southampton in 2006.