Cristiano Ronaldo has praised Mikel Arteta for his outstanding job at Arsenal and has revealed that he ‘hopes’ the Gunners win the Premier League title if Manchester United is unable to.
Ronaldo’s bombshell interview with Piers Morgan this week, in which the Portuguese superstar revealed some of the scandals that have dogged him thus far this season, has generated a ton of headlines.
Ronaldo admitted he feels like a “black sheep” at the team he returned to just last summer and has already taken shots at Erik ten Hag, the Glazer family, and even some of his former United teammates this week.
The 37-year-old, though, was much more kind of United’s former rivals, Arsenal. He also admitted to Arsenal superfan Morgan that he would be “happy” if the Londoners won the championship this year, but only if his own team was eliminated from the competition.
When questioned whether he wanted to see Arsenal win the Premier League, Ronaldo admitted: “I hope so”, before quickly adding: “Manchester [United] first, and if not, Arsenal is some team that I like to see play.”
He continued: “I like the team. I like the coach. I think they have a good team and if Manchester United don’t win the Premier League, I will be happy if Arsenal do.”
After the Londoners’ shocking late collapse in the closing weeks of the 2021–22 season cost them the chance to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League, the Gunners have had an impressive start under Arteta. United struggled in the early weeks of the season.
Arsenal now appears prepared to push Manchester City for the Premier League championship rather than settling for a top-four finish. The Gunners entered the midseason break with a commanding five point lead over Pep Guardiola’s team after winning 12 of their first 14 league games this season.
But Arteta played down talk of a title challenge after Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Wolves last weekend. He said: “Our focus is to be better everyday and we still have things to improve. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in this position.
“It’s a full transformation from the fans energy and passion that they’ve transmitted to these players. The unity from the top to every single member of the team and the staff, they [the fans] are the soul of this football club.”
He added: “We have to stay calm, it’s a long way to the end of the season; we play every game as a final and that’s all.”
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