The Gunners scored twice in injury time to claim a dramatic 4-2 victory against Leicester on Saturday (28.09.24) and the midfielder explained that the pressure not to drop points in matches is already taking a mental toll on the team - who trail leaders Liverpool by a point in the early weeks of the season.

Rice said: "Mentally, it’s tough having so many games to get up for.

"The anxiety is through the roof because you know the pressure of playing for Arsenal. If you want to win Premier Leagues you need to win, otherwise pressure mounts.

"We knew coming into this game how big it was. When it went to two-all, it was tough.

"You look up at the clock and think, ‘We’ve still got time here’, but you’ve also got another thought of, ‘We cannot drop points, we can’t lose this game, we have to keep going’.

"You can’t drop points if you want to compete at the end of the season and win the title. We kept going, kept believing and in the end the three points were massive."

Arsenal are now preparing for a blockbuster Champions League clash against PSG on Tuesday (01.10.24) and Rice admits that the team needs to be ready for the challenges that each game will pose.

The England international said: "It’s tough, but mentally we have to wrap our heads around the schedule and make sure we’re doing everything we can off the pitch to prepare and be ready.

"The games are coming fast, with so few training sessions to prepare.

"We always believe in what we do. That comes from the manager — that we keep pushing.

"The Champions League is a different format now. We’re excited because we’ve not played PSG before.

"It’s our second group game and it’s massive. You normally find these games in the quarter-finals or semi-finals."