Arsenal find themselves in a familiar spot after losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Gunners are now in second place in the Premier League, two points behind three-time defending champions Manchester City, with just six matches left on the schedule. It's a similar situation to last season when Arsenal led for most of the campaign only to lose out to City in the final weeks.
They now must try to regain their position atop the standings knowing that City control their own destiny, and one of the newer players on the Arsenal squad was left to reflect on the heartbreaking fashion by which his side fell to visiting Villa on Sunday.
"It's tough, really tough to take," Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said to Sky Sports of the late collapse that saw the Gunners allow two goals in the final six minutes of play.
"Especially with the chances we had in the first half, the spaces there [were]. We had to take one of them because in the Premier League, teams will come back to bite you and hurt you.
"That's what Villa did in the second half."
While Rice rued his team's lack of precision in front of goal, he also gave credit to Villa for the way they came out in the final 45 minutes to seal the result in their favour.
"We've been so dominant in games but Villa have got some unbelievable players, technically unreal and Ollie [Watkins] up front is a constant goal threat," he said.
"If you can't win games of football, don't lose. Look up at the clock with 15 [minutes] to go and it's 0-0, if you aren't going to win then you take a point, especially in these situations.
"So to lose is a real kick in the teeth."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta echoed Rice's post-match sentiments, but also stressed that he wants a positive reaction from the side in the remaining matches. Arsenal have a Champions League quarterfinal match later this week and Arteta wants his players to use that game as a catalyst for another run of good form.
"We can't control [Manchester City]," Arteta told Sky Sports. "What we can control is that when we have the run we had when you win, win, win, win, it's easy. The moment is now. After this blow, it's how we react.
"We have the best opportunity to react against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The team has to show it. If you want to win, you have to overcome these situations.
"With the games we had, this was going to happen. It is now about how we react. This is in our control."
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