Cristiano Ronaldo has lauded the impressive work being done by Mikel Arteta at Arsenal - and admitted that if Manchester United cannot win the Premier League title, then he 'hopes' the Gunners do.
Ronaldo has made plenty of headlines this week courtesy of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, where the Portuguese superstar has lifted the lid on some of the controversies that have plagued him so far this season.
Already this week, Ronaldo has taken aim at Erik ten Hag, the Glazer family and even some of his former United teammates after admitting he feels like a "black sheep" at the club he returned to just last summer.
But the 37-year-old had some far kinder comments for United's old rivals Arsenal. And he confessed to Gunners superfan Morgan that he'd be "happy" if the Londoners won the title this year - but only if his own team were out of the race.
Asked if he would like to see Arsenal win the Premier League he confessed: "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."
While United floundered in the early weeks of the season, the Gunners enjoyed a remarkable start under Arteta - just months after the Londoners spectacular late implosion in the final weeks of the 2021/22 campaign saw them miss out on banking a top-four finish and a return to the Champions League.
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However, Arsenal now look primed to go one better than a top-four finish and instead challenge Manchester City for the Premier League crown. The Gunners have won 12 of their 14 league matches so far this term, losing just once, and headed into the mid-season break with a healthy five point advantage over Pep Guardiola's side.
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.”
