Arsenal’s advantage at the top of the Premier League has been cut to four points after a 1-1 draw with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Gunners took the lead through Noni Madueke, but Keane Lewis-Potter’s equaliser ensured the points were shared. With Manchester City winning their last two matches, the title race has tightened heading into the FA Cup fourth-round break.
Despite the pressure, Rice insists the squad must stay focused on what they can control.
“In this journey, you are never going to be at the level for 70 games of the season but you have to be at the best you can,” Rice said.
“The small details, the basics. This is a rollercoaster of a season. You can’t be naive to think this is going to be easy.
We have to keep pushing and believing in ourselves, controlling the controllable.
We have to block out the outside noise.”
Title Race Tightening
While Arsenal remain favourites — with the Opta supercomputer giving them an 85.8% chance of lifting the trophy — momentum is building behind them.
Mikel Arteta’s side have generally been ruthless when striking first this season. Of the 17 Premier League matches in which Arsenal have opened the scoring, Thursday’s result marked just the second time they have failed to convert that advantage into victory. The only other slip came in January’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United.
Rice also dismissed any suggestion that Brentford were an easy opponent.
“I’m not naive to think Brentford are a pushover. They are one of the best teams in the league and their recent form shows that. It’s a point gained in our journey, but we wanted to win the game.”
With City lurking and the margin narrowing, Arsenal’s title credentials are entering their sternest test yet. The message from Rice is clear: stay calm, stay focused — and ignore the noise.