Rio Ferdinand has no doubt Gabriel Jesus would be a fruitful addition to the Arsenal attack as the Gunners weigh up a summer transfer for the Manchester City forward.
Reports late last week claimed manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu harbour serious interest in the Brazilian, 25, and have been in contact with his representatives for some months. Jesus has been in and out of the City starting XI this season and his contract will expire in the summer of 2023.
However, he sent a timely reminder of his quality on Saturday when he scored four goals and assisted the other in a 5-1 thrashing of Watford in the Premier League. Jesus may well be the goalscorer Arsenal have sorely lacked throughout the second half of the season with Alexandre Lacazette struggling to fill the void left by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined Barcelona in January.
Ferdinand certainly believes the former Palmeiras prospect could be the remedy to Arteta's No. 9 deficiency as he "gets you goals". "You speak to players about him, they appreciate him because he puts a good workload in, he has got quality," the Manchester United legend said of Jesus on his Vibe with Five YouTube show.
"I think if he plays consistently in a team like Arsenal, I think he gets you goals." Ferdinand's praise for Jesus' work rate as well as his eye for goal echoes that of City manager Pep Guardiola after the emphatic victory over the Hornets.
"In this world of football, if there's one person, one player who deserves the best in life, it's Gabriel," the Spaniard said. "He fights for every single ball and helps the team all the time. One day, I'll have to ask him to play at right-back and he's going to give absolutely everything."
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Despite his glowing verdict on Jesus - who joined City for £27million in 2017 - Guardiola provided an uncertain update on the player's future at the Etihad. "I want to tell you something; Gabriel is our player," he said. "I don't know what is going to happen but he is a Man City player.
"When he has days like today, I am the happiest man in the world! Every player is happy when they play 90 minutes all the time but at the end of the season whether he wants to extend, stay or leave, I don't know and I don't care.
"We have less than one month [until the end of the season]. My only concern is that the players will do everything to try and win, after that no one knows what will happen."
