Arsenal blew the chance to restore their six-point cushion at the top of the Premier League following a pulsating draw at Brentford.
Noni Madueke had headed the Gunners ahead during the second half before they were pegged back by Keane Lewis-Potter just 10 minutes later. Gabriel Magalhaes was also fortunate to avoid a red card and both teams squandered opportunities to win the thrilling contest at the death.
The gap between Arsenal and Manchester City, who meet at the Etihad Stadium in April, has now been cut to four points. If this was a sign of things to come, north Londoners are going to go to hell and back over the course of the next 12 matches.
Since the Gunners wiped the floor with Sunderland last weekend, City have executed a remarkable late fightback at Anfield and stuck three goals past Fulham to crank up the temperature on their rivals.
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And on the basis of Thursday night's evidence, their advances are beginning to get under Arsenal's skin. Mikel Arteta's men never truly got going in west London despite Madueke's opener.
Lewis-Potter quickly equalised for the hosts and in the end, the Premier League leaders were incredibly fortunate to escape with a point. Several late Brentford chances went begging and Cristhian Mosquera produced a stunning last-ditch intervention to dispossess Igor Thiago before the 17-goal frontman also blasted a separate chance over.
In the end a draw actually felt like a good result even though Gabriel Martinelli could also have won it at the death because Gabriel could also have been sent off.
Arsenal's start was undoubtedly tinged with nervousness. Inside the opening three minutes, Gabriel misplaced a routine pass back to David Raya which scuttled behind for a corner.
The big Brazilian central defender - playing alongside Cristhian Mosquera in the absence of the sick William Saliba - was then booked for clattering compatriot Thiago. It was starting to look like a long night for the Gunners when Raya then miscontrolled inside his own six-yard box before rushing a throw.
The Spaniard swiftly redeemed himself though following a stunning close-range save to keep out Thiago's powerful header. Up the other end, Arsenal were struggling to crack Brentford's resolute and organised defence.
They were desperately short of creativity and you couldn't help but feel the scene was set for Eberechi Eze, making his first Premier League start since December 13, to take centre-stage. One of the key factors behind Arsenal's decision to snatch Crystal Palace's FA Cup-winning hero from the clutches of arch-rivals Tottenham was his ability to pick holes in deep blocks.
But Eze badly struggled to affect play and Arteta was not willing to waste time, replacing him with returning captain Martin Odegaard at the break. The change immediately sprung Arsenal into life and they broke the deadlock on 61 minutes when Noni Madueke planted a brilliant header inside Caoimhin Kelleher's post.
Piero Hincapie sent in a looping cross and the England international timed his jump to perfection before guiding home. Prior to the goal, substitute Bukayo Saka was being readied - presumably to replace Madueke - but was told to sit down.
He was summoned shortly after, however, as the Bees forced themselves level through Lewis-Potter. The warning signs were certainly there given Lewis-Potter narrowly headed wide prior to netting the equaliser.
Michael Kayode launched a long throw into the box, Sepp van den Berg applied a crucial flick and the 24-year-old winger did the rest. Gabriel was fortunate not to receive his marching orders after hacking down Dango Ouattara.
Arsenal dug deep to survive a late barrage, though Kelleher also made a fine stop to deny Gabriel Martinelli in stoppage time.
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