Manchester United and England legend Rio Ferdinand (Picture: YouTube)
Rio Ferdinand says the Arsenal players cannot afford to get ’emotional’ despite seeing their lead in the Premier League title race cut by Manchester City.
Arsenal were minutes away from boasting a huge nine-point lead at the top of the table as Man City trailed Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield earlier this month.
But Pep Guardiola’s side produced a stunning late comeback to win 2-1 and, in the eyes of many pundits, keep the Premier League title race alive.
Man City subsequently thumped Fulham 3-0 and then watched on as leaders Arsenal dropped two points in a 1-1 draw with Brentford.
Those results mean Arsenal, bidding to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004, lead Manchester City by four points with 12 games remaining.
Arsenal visit basement boys Wolves on Wednesday night before taking on north London rivals Tottenham in a huge derby this weekend.
Manchester City, meanwhile, who have won six of the last eight league titles, return to Premier League action on Saturday against Newcastle United.
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Brentford v Arsenal - Premier League
Arsenal drew with Brentford last time out (Picture: Getty)
Ferdinand still believes Arsenal will end their long wait for a Premier League trophy but says it is imperative that the Gunners ‘react’ to the Brentford draw in the right manner.
Six-time title winner Ferdinand acknowledges this is not a guarantee given the lack of previous winners in the Arsenal squad and for that reason says Gabriel Jesus could play a ‘critical’ role.
Jesus won four Premier League titles with Manchester City before his £45m move to north London in 2022.
Arsenal v Wigan Athletic - Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round
Gabriel Jesus won four league titles at Man City (Picture: Getty)
The 28-year-old missed the start of this season through injury but has shown glimpses of his previous form since returning, scoring four goals in his last six appearances.
‘If I take myself back to the moment of being in the changing room during a title challenge, it’s a decent result against a hard team to play against,’ Ferdinand, speaking on his podcast, said of Arsenal’s draw with Brentford.
‘Forget the name or the status of the club, each season teams become a different version of what we knew them as. Brentford is a hard place to go this season.
‘I would have been in the Arsenal changing room and saying, “boys, it’s a point away from home, we move on”. As much as fans might get emotional, the players can’t do that.
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‘The biggest point will be, what was the conversation and the reaction like after that result? Was it a feeling of, “guys, we’re letting it slip, we’ve been here before” and a bit of fear creeping in or did a few of the players rally around the troops and remind the group that they are going to drop points, and it’s about how you react.
‘Who is having those conversations? That’s where experience comes in and that’s where Gabriel Jesus might be critical right now because he’s one of the only ones in that dressing room who has won something.
‘The players are going to be looking for answers and guidance.’
Assessing Arsenal and Man City’s run-in, Ferdinand added: ‘The thing that can mess things up is the mental games now… who’s playing first each weekend because that creates a different pressure.
‘I’ve looked at both of the run-ins and I don’t think there’s much difference. I don’t think anyone is majorly more difficult than the other.
‘I think it’s a good run-in, I’m glad that Arsenal are getting pulled in just to make it more interesting because they were starting to run away with it, I was getting a bit scared of that.
‘I’ll be celebrating if Arsenal win the league from afar. I’ll be happy if they win it and I’ll send a few of the players a text and be happy because it means Man City or Liverpool haven’t won it.’
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