Gazidis "Gunners must deliver"

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has told the young squad at Emirates Stadium that the time to deliver trophies is approaching.

Much was made of a supposed lack of experience in Arsene Wenger's squad last season as the Gunners were made to sweat before beating Aston Villa to fourth place in the Premier League.

Arsenal also failed to win a piece of silverware in 2008/09 to stretch their trophy drought to four years since winning the FA Cup.

And while Gazidis recognises qualifying for the UEFA Champions League with the fourth-placed finish was positive, he is eager to see success in North London.

"Fundamentally we believe in the squad that Arsene has been developing," he said Gazidis, speaking in an interview with the Arseblog website.

"I certainly acknowledge this is a big year for us - and it is a big year for those players. We talk about potential, but at some point potential needs to deliver."

Gazidis added: "At the end of the day it is not enough for Arsenal to be just competing and reaching the top four.

"I do believe that it is a very creditable performance by a group of young players, but at the same time I also think that every player in our squad, our manager, and me, has higher ambitions. We need to keep hungry in that way.

"If we ever felt that coming in the top four was good enough, then we should not be doing what we are doing."

Source: Skysports.com