Arsene Wenger admits that Arsenal will have to show mental strength to become Premier League champions after being "on the ropes" before earning a 1-1 draw in Sunday's North London derby with Tottenham.
Harry Kane put Tottenham ahead at the Emirates Stadium with a cool first-half finish after 32 minutes, but Spurs failed to make a host of second-half chances count before Kieran Gibbs levelled 13 minutes from time.
The Gunners went in search of a winner, but could not capitalise on Manchester City's draw at Aston Villa earlier on Sunday as Manuel Pellegrini's side stayed top of the table on goal difference.
"It was a very intense game with complete commitment from both sides. The team have shown great mental resource, we refused to give up," said Wenger, who revealed midfielder Santi Cazorla had been suffering from dizziness during the first half.
"When you are 1-0 down, it is a mixture or relief and regret because if we were really clinical we would have won it in the last 15 minutes -- [Olivier] Giroud had the chances to score. But if I try to be fair I must say the point is maybe a fair result."
Despite the frustration of not taking maximum points, Arsenal remain in solid Premier League form.
Wenger said: "If you look at a longer distance in the last six games we have had five wins and one draw. Overall I am disappointed that we haven't won the game, but if you look at the recent period as a block it can happen that in six games you can drop points.
"We have shown character today because we were a bit on the ropes and we responded. Every time we have a disappointment I feel we respond well in the game after.
"When you look at the results again today you see Aston Villa-Man City was 0-0, Liverpool lost [to Crystal Palace] and we played 1-1. It just shows you that the championship will be extremely difficult for everybody.
"The mental qualities can have a big influence in the future and I think we need these qualities."
Wenger hopes Cazorla will show no ill effects from his dizzy spell, saying: "I was sitting there thinking 'do I take him off or not?' You never know, maybe it will get better. At half-time I took him off, and in the second half we had a bit better balance.
"He is not sick, he was just dizzy and could not move, you could see that on the pitch, Cazorla, who is usually the guide in our game, didin't get the ball.
"I hope it is nothing bad, but it does not look like it, because he says he is alright now."
Wenger said of Arsenal's goal scorer Gibbs: "[His] movement is good. His timing in the box is good. Sometimes when he gets into a position he doesn't believe he can score."
Gibbs thinks that Sunday's draw showed how the Gunners are struggling with recent injuries, telling Sky Sports: "Goals don't come often for me but when they do hopefully it's enough to help the team. We know what the game means to everyone.
"We're struggling with injuries at the moment, players were tired from midweek. Obviously it's disappointing to drop points, especially when we're in such a strong position in the league."
Information from the Press Association was used in this report.