Arsene Wenger said it was hard to overstate the importance of Arsenal's comeback after the dramatic 2-1 win over Leicester on Sunday.
Instead of being eight points behind Leicester -- as they were when trailing 1-0 at half-time -- Wenger's men are now just two just two points back with 12 games to go.
It was clear from the immediate reactions to Arsenal's that the result could have a massive impact on the Premier League title race -- not least because of the psychological impact it might have on the two teams.
"A loss would have been massive, yes," Wenger said. "You get all the negative vibes, the belief goes down, it would have been much more difficult. We would not have given up, but eight points is three games to come back. We would need to win three, they would need to lose three."
Thanks to Danny Welbeck's winning header in the final moments of injury time, the pressure on Leicester is now much greater as Arsenal and Tottenham are both ready to pounce on any slip-ups by the leaders. Arsenal trail their North London rivals on goal difference after second-place Tottenham beat Manchester City away on Sunday.
"I thought if Leicester got a point, their belief would be bigger," said Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech, who knows about title-winning campaigns from his days at Chelsea. "It is a big difference if you wait for your opponent to lose points, so now we are only two points off the top, so it is a good spot to be in. We have plenty of difficult games to play but we had to win the game and we managed to do it."
The game against Leicester was Arsenal's second straight win in the league after going four straight games without a victory to close out a disappointing January where the Gunners fell from first to fourth in the standings. Per Mertesacker, who started against Leicester in his first game since being sent off in a loss against Chelsea during that stretch, said it is vital for Arsenal to go on another run.
"There was a drought in January with the results but we came back strongly against Bournemouth," Mertesacker said. "We need it, if you want to challenge for anything in this league you need to win. We proved it on the pitch today and when we look at training sessions everyone is focused on what is coming up."
Arsenal play Hull in the FA Cup this upcoming weekend before hosting Barcelona in the Champions League, meaning the Premier League title race will have to take a back seat for now. But Wenger said it's crucial that Arsenal keep up the same energy and mentality they showed against Leicester in what looks to be an unpredictable finish to the Premier League season.
"You have Man City, Tottenham and of course Leicester are in it, so at the moment it is very tight," Wenger said. "What we want to do is to create a consistency to have a chance to do it. We are conscious we have some big games to come up. It is down to how much can we put that kind of energy into every game."