Theo Walcott admits Arsenal risk being left behind by the their immediate rivals. The loss at Chelsea has left Arsenal seven points adrift of the top four and a place in next season's Champions League.

It is a dire situation that has transformed Wednesday's home clash with West Ham into a must-win encounter as they attempt to claw back some of the ground lost on fourth-placed Tottenham.

"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."