Campbell: The players have to respond next season

Defender Sol Campbell, currently out of contract with the club, has said that the young players at Arsenal need to 'step up and deliver' next season.

We came up short again this season, eventually finishing third after mounting what seemed to be a title challenge riding on the periphery of Manchester United's and Chelsea's.

Speaking to the official site, Campbell said: "We have had some big, big injuries which hampered us for sure in some key positions. But next season the players have to respond.

"We have a responsibility to give 100 per cent in every game and go for it. That's the Arsenal way, that's the only way really to play football - to go for it and play to win. The gaffer prepares the team to win and we've got to step up and deliver."

"I think football has changed, but one thing is never going to change and that's the ingredients you need to win championships and cups.

"You can be 16 years old or 40 years old but you still need the strength, the power, the skill, the intelligence, the desire, the heart and the soul. You need all those things to become a top sportsman."

Fans are calling for manager Arsène Wenger to sign Campbell for next season, seeing that his experience has been invaluable in the dressing room since his arrival as a stop-gap signing in January.

The defender himself is confident that he will still be at Arsenal next season, adding: "I want to stay and I want to give it my all for at least another year. I could do two but the manager never gives out two. We always want a little bit more!

"Give me one year and I'll work every day and try to win a trophy and bring some kind of glory back to Arsenal.

"Deep inside I feel I've got two real gritty years left in me, the years in which I can affect things. If I'm in the team I can really make a difference. I know that. And after two years I will look at it again and we'll see."

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