Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken of the importance of the Christmas period in terms of the Premier League title race, suggesting that the run of upcoming games has the potential to make or break the Gunners' challenge.
Wenger will send his team out five times in the Premier League between now and 3rd January. That's five game squeezed into just 21 days, where teams can easily gather momentum with multiple wins or risk getting left behind with a few bad results.
"Of course a title challenge can be made or derailed in this period. When you look at the teams around us, you can see that the margin of difference between the teams has shrunk a lot," Wenger is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
"The way you respond in every single game is absolutely vital. It's a very important period where everybody has to be absolutely focused on our results and the way we want to play."
Arsenal begin the run of festive fixtures against Everton at Goodison Park on Tuesday. A huge game with Manchester City follows at the weekend before West Brom visit the Emirates on Boxing Day.
New Year's Day will see Crystal Palace also play at the Emirates, while a trip to Bournemouth is marked on the calendar for 3rd January.
"We have not lost for a long time and that creates strength and belief and trust in the squad," Wenger said as he contemplated how his players will handle the intensity.
"But it's down to the quality of the players. It's nothing to do with psychology. It's down to how well the players play on the football pitch. We have to not go too overboard on [psychology].
"The strong mentality of the players is first down to the fact that we have more maturity in the squad. We have played for many years with a very young squad so, under pressure, they have been more vulnerable."
To continue the discussion on Twitter follow @jamiespencer155
Visit www.facebook.com/jamiespencer155