Arsenal's anxiety highlights the intense psychological battle they face. The Gunners have reason to be concerned, not only because Liverpool secured a point, but also due to how their rivals achieved it. Once again, the greatest challenge for Mikel Arteta's squad in their quest for a first title in over 20 years lies in their mental fortitude.

Fragility has begun to emerge. As the stands grew quiet with apprehension, hesitation spread among the Arsenal players. This was evident in a pivotal moment during the first half.

After about 30 minutes of complete dominance, Arsenal lost control within one or two minutes. When Liverpool gained better possession, the atmosphere on the pitch immediately shifted. Fear crept in, leading to errors from William Saliba and goalkeeper David Raya, allowing Conor Bradley to chip the ball against the crossbar.

Arsenal escaped that scare, but subsequently failed to create significant pressure. The home team waited until the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time to take their first shot since late in the first half – a period of 55 minutes without an attempt. Only in the final few minutes did a brief surge of pressure revive the excitement among the fans.

The question remains whether the crowd should energize the players, or if the players themselves must maintain intensity to inspire the supporters. This remains a subject of debate. However, Arsenal clearly played with heavy minds. Nevertheless, a draw was a fair result, and in the context of the title race, it is still an acceptable outcome. Yet, pressure on Arsenal will intensify in the final stages, and how they confront and overcome this psychological challenge will determine their championship ambitions.

Manchester United squandered a chance to enter the top 4. If Shea Lacey's stoppage-time shot had found the net against Burnley instead of going wide, it could have been a fairytale moment for Manchester United. A young talent, whom fans hoped former coach Ruben Amorim would give more opportunities, could have become a hero.

Lacey's appearance on the field stemmed not only from Darren Fletcher's desire to uphold the tradition of using young players, but also from a need to boost the attack.

Visiting fans reacted positively, chanting the names of Fletcher, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Michael Carrick – names competing for the interim manager position until the end of the season. But at this moment, Manchester United needs more than emotion. Their goal is a Champions League spot.

Manchester United drew their last three matches against Wolves, Leeds, and Burnley, dropping points against all seven bottom-placed teams since November. Had they secured just five more points in their last three games, they could have broken into the top 4.

The sense of regret grows with two tough challenges ahead: Manchester City and Arsenal. However, if Fletcher improves the team's atmosphere and Benjamin Sesko maintains his scoring form, Manchester United still harbors hope of turning this season into a step forward, rather than a missed opportunity.

Manchester City's struggling attack poses difficulties. Pep Guardiola's team endured a tough start to 2026 with three consecutive draws. Manchester City also received bad news regarding their squad, as Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, and winger Savinho suffered serious injuries. This forced Manchester City to field a center-back pairing of Abdukodir Khusanov and Max Alleyne against Brighton.

Although Brighton missed several clear chances early in the match, the makeshift defense was not the reason Manchester City dropped points at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola expressed regret over his team's wasted opportunities, not only in the draw against Brighton but also in previous matches against Sunderland and Chelsea.

In the second half, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland – who had just ended a three-match scoring drought – and Rayan Cherki all missed favorable scoring opportunities. Manchester City consequently extended their drawing streak to three matches, continuing to drop points in the title race.

"The draw reflects what happened", Guardiola said. "I am not one to say we were unfairly treated. One point each, it's that simple. I am very happy with how we played, we did many good things, but we did not score. Too many clear chances were missed. It wasn't just one or two players, but all the attacking players. Unfortunately, we could not score, and scoring is part of the job. That is why we did not win".

Chelsea's discipline issues. New manager Liam Rosenior witnessed a serious weakness in Chelsea firsthand: a lack of discipline. Marc Cucurella deserved a red card, with the only debate being whether the foul occurred outside or inside the penalty area. However, the nature of the situation showed Chelsea once again putting themselves in a difficult position.

That was Chelsea's seventh red card across all competitions this season – four more than any other Premier League team. In the top English league alone, they are just one card shy of equaling the unfortunate record of six red cards in a season, with the season only halfway through.

After the match, interim manager Calum McFarlane suggested the red card did not necessarily reflect a lack of discipline, but admitted the subsequent yellow cards required review. This is an issue Rosenior must address immediately upon taking over at Stamford Bridge.

Manager Frank in peril. Beyond the controversial image of him holding a cup with an Arsenal logo, manager Thomas Frank faces significant pressure due to Tottenham's poor playing style. This continued with a 2-3 defeat at Bournemouth.

Tottenham fans have little left to hope for. So little that even Micky van de Ven, one of their most beloved players, had a heated argument with visiting fans at the Vitality Stadium. This is understandable, as Tottenham has scored only one goal from open play in their last seven matches combined.

Last season, Frank helped Brentford score more open-play goals than Chelsea, ranking fifth overall in goals scored and creating an expected goals (xG) metric only about 1,5 goals less than Arsenal for the entire season. But at Tottenham, all attacking metrics have declined.

With both results and style disappointing, pressure on Frank is inevitable. He must find a way to turn the situation around – and quickly – before things spiral out of control.

Crystal Palace: Aston Villa's nemesis? The match at Selhurst Park presented a tale of two different halves on the pitch, and two completely contrasting moods from the managers in the press room.

Unai Emery, still frustrated that VAR did not review a late penalty appeal for Aston Villa, asserted that his team still showed positives after the draw. However, his annoyance was clear through the Spanish manager's body language.

A win would have seen Aston Villa leapfrog Manchester City into second place. Instead, they once again dropped points against Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner appeared enthusiastic in his press conference. Crystal Palace is enduring a difficult period, suffering from injuries, absences due to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and transfer rumors surrounding captain Marc Guehi. Despite this, the team played resiliently and could have even left with more than one point.

Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten run against Aston Villa to seven matches across all competitions, with six wins and one draw. Football is unpredictable, but Crystal Palace consistently causing problems and frustrating Aston Villa now seems inevitable.

Newcastle and Leeds create a Premier League classic. The clash between Newcastle and Leeds could have been remembered as a classic, even without Harvey Barnes' decisive goal in minute 102.

Before that, with Bruno Guimaraes' penalty in minute 91, Newcastle had, for the first time since 1996, come from behind three times in a single Premier League match. That alone provided enough drama.

But Barnes' decisive right-footed strike, amidst a swarm of blue-shirted defenders, secured Newcastle a 4-3 victory and etched this match into history.

For neutral spectators, this relentless back-and-forth battle was an antidote to the many interrupted, set-piece-dependent matches seen in the Premier League this season.

The goal tally could have been even higher. The woodwork was rattled three times, numerous scrambles in front of goal, crucial saves by goalkeepers, and decisive interventions at the back. A match worth savoring – though certainly not a pleasant memory for Leeds fans.

Manager Nuno Espirito Santo's ironic statistics. This season, the Portuguese manager has suffered two defeats in the same fixture, but in two different roles. In Premier League matchday 3, while managing Nottingham Forest, Nuno and his players lost 0-3 to West Ham.

By matchday 21, the situation reversed. Nuno was now on the West Ham bench, but again suffered a defeat, this time a 1-2 loss to Nottingham Forest itself.

This result has severely jeopardized Nuno's position. Since his appointment in September, Nuno has only secured two wins in 16 matches with West Ham. In this context, West Ham is reportedly targeting two experienced managers: Slaven Bilic and Harry Redknapp.

Hong Duy

Photos: Reuters, AP