The 30-year-old captain of Arsenal in their last-ditch defeat in the snow at Everton on Sunday, admits the Gunners will be fighting to hold on to third place when they return to Merseyside at Anfield in a fortnight.

The clash with Liverpool on March 31 will be the next match for both the Gunners and Rafael Benitez's side.

And Gilberto insists Arsenal will have to do a lot better than they did at Goodison Park, where Andrew Johnson's late strike just compounded the misery of the North Londoners, who lost in three cup competition in recent weeks.

Arsenal's season has been in tatters ever since, and pride and third place is all they have to play for now.

Gilberto said: "We let our concentration slip in those last minutes against Everton, but the game has gone now.

"What we must do now is concentrate on our next game which will be at Liverpool. We need to have that in our mind and we know we need to do much better there than we did at Everton.

"We need to come back stronger from the international break. I will be with Brazil playing in Sweden, but that will have to be put to the back of our minds on our return.

"Sometimes when you have a bad result it helps to play again straight away, other times you need a break.

"But I hope this time the break will help us because these last few days and weeks have been very hard and very painful for us."

He added: "I have had to play central defence recently, that has been hard for me because it has been a long time since I played there. But I have to do it because of injuries and suspensions.

"I would expect that for the next game at Liverpool I will be back into my midfield role. I would rather be playing there because it is my natural position.

"I have spoken with Arsene (Wenger) about it and I accepted that I had to help the team by playing in defence.

"Every game is important and everybody has to co-operate with the manager. It has not only happened to me, with so many strikers injured or suspended there have been other players asked to play in different positions and everybody is trying to do their best for the team.

"It is the same for me. When Arsene said could I play at the back, of course I have done it for the team. I have tried to do my best.

"Now it is the time to stick together, especially after the hard weeks we have had recently.

"The next game now is the most important. At Liverpool the outcome will be decisive over who finishes third. We know that at Liverpool it is always hard, and we need to keep our shape as a side and we cannot afford to lose our concentration like we have done in a few important games recently.

"I hope that after this break, everybody will be very focused on our run-in to the Champions League next season. All we can do in every game is our best."

Arsenal may have beaten Liverpool three times already this season, but Gilberto always knew that Goodison would be a tough place for Wenger's men.

He said: "It is always difficult when you play at Everton, it is always hard against them.

"We played quite well, controlling possession for a large part of the game. But in injury time we lost concentration and were punished.

"We are struggling a bit because we are without so many strikers, Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie, (Emmanuel) Adebayor, it has been hard to have to play without such talent up front.

"But the players we have in the side are trying to do the best that they can. But it is not so easy, we try and things do not work the way we plan."

He added: "But we need to keep our focus, we are still in a good position to qualify for the Champions League next season, that has to be the aim.

"We are conceding goals from set-pieces and it is something we must control. And when they scored it was a crucial moment in the game, what we must do is to be alert all the time.

"We must do our best to defend better, particularly against teams who are strong in the air."