A victory against Brentford would have seen Arsenal restore their six-point lead over Manchester City. They could have even extended the gap to nine points with a win against Wolves, before Manchester City played Newcastle in the 27th round. However, at Gtech Community yesterday, they only managed a 1-1 draw with the hosts, reducing their lead over Manchester City to four points.

Arteta believes Arsenal remains in the most favorable position and needs to maintain composure, avoiding panic as the race intensifies. "We have to do that", he said after the draw with Brentford. "The entire squad will prepare to win one game at a time. The only thing we can do is focus completely and elevate our collective and individual performance to outperform opponents every week".

Manager Mikel Arteta reacts after Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford in the 26th round of the Premier League at Gtech Community, London, England on 12/2. Photo: AFP

When asked if frequently playing after Manchester City creates additional pressure, the Spanish coach responded: "I don't think so. This season, we have played after them many times and still won. The race will continue like this until May, regardless of whether we play before or after them".

In the third minute of stoppage time, Arsenal had an opportunity to seal a victory against Brentford. However, substitute Gabriel Martinelli was slow in his execution and failed to beat goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Arteta emphasized that these situations can make a difference in the title race. "If you want to win here, you have to be ruthless in both penalty boxes, and today we lacked that", he said. "They excel at what they do. The chaos around set-piece situations makes defending very difficult".

Similarly, Declan Rice views the remaining journey with caution and wants Arsenal to stay calm, discarding external noise.

"You cannot maintain peak performance throughout 70 matches of the season, but you must always be at your best. Details, the fundamentals, these are the decisive factors", he stated. "This has been a roller coaster season. It would be naive to think everything will be easy. We face the strongest teams every week. The entire squad must continue to move forward, believe in themselves, and control what they can control".

On 15/2, Arsenal will return to their home ground, Emirates, to face Wigan in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Hong Duy compiled