Rio Ferdinand believes Gabriel Jesus’ title-winning exploits could prove invaluable as Arsenal prepare to take on Manchester City for the Premier League crown once again.
Rio Ferdinand says Gabriel Jesus will play a big role for Arsenal as they aim to win the title (Image: 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Plc)
Rio Ferdinand believes Gabriel Jesus will be a key figure off the pitch for Arsenal in the coming months as one of the few players in Mikel Arteta’s side with title-winning experience.
The Gunners are four points behind Manchester City in the Premier League summit, but dropped a point against Brentford last week. They have not won a domestic title in over 20 years and, importantly, have been under manager Josep Guardiola in the post for two of the past three seasons.
City are looking set to make a comeback in the Championship round of the title race, with their presence behind Arsenal causing talk of anxiety among Londoners.
However, Ferdinand said in the latest Rio Ferdinand Presents video that he believes Jesus could be a valuable source of wisdom in the Arsenal dressing room, given his pedigree, which saw him win four titles with City.
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The former Manchester United defender opined: “If you think back to the moments when you were in the changing room during the title challenge, you had a decent result against a difficult team to play against. Forget the name of the club or the status, Brentford are a difficult place this season, so each season the team will be a different version of the one we knew.”
“I would have been in the Arsenal dressing room and said, “Guys, we’re one point away from home, let’s move on.” Even if the fans get emotional, the players can’t do that.
Ferdinand backs Jesus as he plays a key role off the pitch for Arsenal (Image: Getty)
“I think the biggest thing is, what was the conversation and reaction after that result? Was it a little bit of fear creeping in, like, ‘Guys, let’s just miss it, we’ve been here before,’ or did some of the players rally around the unit and remind the group that they were going to drop points? That’s how you react.”
“Who’s having those conversations? That’s where experience comes in and Gabriel Jesus could be in an important position right now because he’s one of the only guys in the locker room who has won something.”
“The players are going to be looking for answers and guidance.”
Jesus won the Premier League four times with Manchester City.
Jesus was sidelined for much of the 2025-26 season after undergoing knee surgery, but has appeared fit to return to the squad, while summer signing Victor Goqueres has established himself as Arsenal’s first-choice striker.
Arsenal begin their shock campaign with a double-header against bottom club Wolves on Wednesday night, before facing Tottenham in a north London derby on Sunday.
The Wolves have won just one game all season and look destined to fall into the Championship, but Jesus isn’t taking them lightly. “We’re not thinking about the derby, we’re only thinking about Wolves on Wednesday and it’s going to be a tough game away,” he said.
“We know the situation they are in, but they are a great team, a great club and we know they need a point to get out of that situation.
“So our focus is to go to Wolves and get the three points and that’s it.”
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