Why Piers Morgan Believes Arsenal Should Have Signed Cristiano Ronaldo
Piers Morgan, a well-known Arsenal fan and TalkTV host, still believes that the Gunners should have made a move for Cristiano Ronaldo after his dramatic exit from Manchester United. The footballing superstar left Old Trafford in November following an explosive interview with Morgan in which he slammed the club and manager Erik ten Hag. Despite Ronaldo making the switch to Al Nassr and Saudi Arabia at the beginning of 2023, Morgan insists that signing him would have been a smart move for Arsenal.
The Winning Mentality
Morgan has cited Ronaldo’s ‘winning mentality’ as something that could have offered Arsenal a huge boost towards glory. Speaking to talkSPORT, he backed up his previous idea of such a transfer: “Arsenal fans laughed at me last year when I suggested that Ronaldo would be a great signing for the rest of the season when he left United. Are they laughing now? Do we not honestly think someone like Ronaldo in that run-in, when [Gabriel] Jesus got injured, that Ronaldo couldn’t have led our line and perhaps got us over the line?”
Morgan believes that Ronaldo’s presence in the dressing room would have had a positive impact on the young players, who would have gravitated towards his winning mentality. He also thinks that Ronaldo’s goalscoring ability would have been a huge asset to Arsenal’s title challenge.
Choking Under Pressure
Arsenal went on to lose the title to Manchester City, and Morgan has blamed their failure on a lack of mental toughness. “Looking back at the season, I like the rhetoric coming from [Mikel] Arteta about how painful it’s been. I like it from [Martin] Odegaard as well, the captain saying how painful it’s been and that’s great, I’m sure we’ll learn from the pain. But let’s be under no illusion here, we chucked the title, we had it, it was ours to lose, we choked, and that is a mentality thing.”
Morgan believes that Ronaldo’s winning mentality would have helped Arsenal to avoid choking under pressure and secure their first Premier League title since 2004.
Ronaldo’s Form Since Leaving Manchester United
Since leaving Manchester United, Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in 19 appearances for Al Nassr. Whilst he continued to find the back of the net in the second half of the season, Arsenal were on their way to a first Premier League title since 2004. However, results towards the back end of the campaign saw them fall off top spot, with City claiming a third consecutive crown and a historic treble.
Conclusion
Piers Morgan still believes that Arsenal should have signed Cristiano Ronaldo after his dramatic exit from Manchester United. He thinks that Ronaldo’s winning mentality and goalscoring ability would have been a huge asset to Arsenal’s title challenge. Morgan has blamed Arsenal’s failure to win the title on a lack of mental toughness and believes that Ronaldo’s presence in the dressing room would have had a positive impact on the young players. Despite Ronaldo’s fine form since leaving Manchester United, Morgan insists that signing him would have been a smart move for Arsenal.