Santi Cazorla says Arsenal need to aim higher than a top four finish by being more consistent next season. A run of two wins in eight games in the autumn put paid to the Gunners' chances in the Premier League, while back-to-back home defeats in February meant the end of their cup hopes.

Cazorla told the club website: "The aim is to win trophies. Unfortunately Arsenal has gone eight years without a trophy, which is a long time for such a huge club that's always up there fighting with the other big clubs.

"This year we haven't been able to, for various reasons. I hope next year will be another story. We want to be fighting for the Premier League and all the tournaments we enter. We're a great team and I'm sure we will.

"What I've taken from this year is that as a team we weren't very consistent for half of the season, which cost us in terms of reaching the higher positions in the league.

"Now we're a lot more consistent and that's the form we were lacking before - being consistent and getting the three points whenever we could.

"We're a long way off the top because of this lack of form, even though it was only for half the season."