Jurriën Timber believes Arsenal must confront the “anxiety” creeping into their performances if they are to sustain their Premier League title challenge.

The defender was the match-winner in a tense 2-1 victory over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, a result that preserved Arsenal’s five-point lead over Manchester City. Yet the closing stages exposed familiar frailties rather than title-winning authority.

Chelsea were reduced to 10 men for the final 20 minutes after Pedro Neto’s dismissal, but instead of exerting control, Arsenal retreated. David Raya was forced into a superb stoppage-time save to deny Alejandro Garnacho, and Liam Delap saw a potential equaliser ruled out for offside, leaving the home crowd gripped by nerves.

Timber did not attempt to disguise the problem.

“You feel it, especially at the end,” he said. “We stopped playing, which was unnecessary, especially when we had a man up. It’s something we need to work on, and talk about as well. It has happened a couple of times this season already. We got through it before but there have been a couple of times we didn’t.”

For Timber, the issue is as much psychological as tactical.

“It is part of the game, the energy within the players, the crowd, the anxiety,” he explained. “It’s something we need to address and talk about, but we handled it well today.”

Arsenal now head to Brighton as they enter the final nine league fixtures of a campaign that could end a 22-year wait for the title. The schedule is unforgiving. Mikel Arteta’s side remain alive in all competitions, with a Carabao Cup final against Manchester City looming and places secured in the last 16 of both the Champions League and FA Cup.

Timber is acutely aware of the physical and mental demands.

“From the beginning of the season every performance and every three points count,” he said. “I heard it is just nine games to go, but it feels like we are still so far off because we are playing in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

“There are so many games to play, and if we look too far ahead it becomes a bit too much. So for now, we recover and look at Brighton.”