(Reuters) – Arsenal must maintain the intensity for a full 90 minutes if they are to challenge for the Premier League title, forward Gabriel Jesus said after they squandered a two-goal lead in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at West Ham United.
Arsenal were rampant early on and looked well placed to restore their six-point cushion over Manchester City after Jesus tapped home in the seventh minute and Martin Odegaard doubled their lead with a volley three minutes later.
However, Arsenal then lost their momentum and the hosts fought back through Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen. Bukayo Saka missed a second-half penalty for Arsenal, who lead Manchester City by four points but have played a game more.
Arsenal also let a 2-0 lead slip against Liverpool earlier this month and Jesus told the club’s website they had to stop letting opponents off the hook.
“Once again, the three points were in our hands,” he said. “The game is 90 minutes, it’s not 20, in this case, today, 30 minutes. As a team, we have to raise the level and come back to our principles.
“We know our strength, we know what we can do. Where we want to attack the opponent, in the first 10 to 20 minutes we did so good, after that we dropped our level and that obviously cannot happen if you want to fight for the title.”
Arsenal host Southampton on Friday before travelling to second-placed City on April 26.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
