Everton defender Phil Jagielka has challenged his side to rise to the occasion of facing Arsenal tonight in a clash between two sides chasing Champions League qualification.

The Toffees sit just three points off fourth place ahead of this evening's trip to the Emirates Stadium and have won four of their last five Premier League games.

Jagielka has conceded that Everton have failed to win vital matches in the past and is desperate to put that right against the Gunners.

He told The Guardian: "We didn't crack on last year in the semi-final and we probably had one of our worst performances against Wigan Athletic, so you can see why there is scope for people to come at us and say that. Results speak for themselves.

"You couldn't argue against that and say they are wrong because unfortunately we haven't turned up in some really big games. That's the challenge now. There is only one way to change that. But if we don't come away from Arsenal with a win we still can't regard it as a negative. We are going to keep kicking on and kicking on.

"I watched the Wigan game [while injured] and the boys were not horrific, but for five minutes of the game we were absolutely blown away. Then we couldn't find a goal that would have got us back in it. You have these sorts of games unfortunately. It has happened in a few of our bigger games in the last couple of years and we would like nothing better than to lay that to rest at the Emirates. But it is not always as easy as that."

David Moyes's side continued their fine recent form last weekend with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers.