Why Arsenal shouldn’t even entertain the idea of signing Cristiano Ronaldo

“Arsenal is a team that I like to see play. I like the team, I like the coach. I think they have a good team. If Manchester United don’t win the Premier League, I will be happy if Arsenal do.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has a crush on Mikel Arteta, pass it on. But hey, can you blame him?

Ronaldo’s praise of the Gunners and their boss came amid an interview entrenched in infamy. Sitting opposite a brownnosed Piers Morgan for the newly-established TalkTV ( a ‘news’ channel presented by some of the wisest thinkers of our time such as Jeremy Kyle, Sharon Osbourne and Vanessa Feltz), Ronaldo dished the dirt on his second stint at Manchester United.

For some, it was the kick up the arse that the club needed. But for most, gauging Ronaldo’s intentions was tough. Everybody knew that he wanted out – that was made clear in the summer – and surely there was a better, slightly more dignified way for the all-time great to go about things.

Anyway, that’s not what we’re here to discuss.

On Tuesday, just a couple of days into the 2022 World Cup, Manchester United announced, to the surprise of nobody, that Ronaldo would immediately be leaving the club by mutual agreement. The 37-year-old is now a free agent, and with Arsenal potentially a couple of players away from sustaining their title bid amid stiff competition from Manchester City, could the Gunners commit to the unfathomable and sign the man whose legacy has been defined by producing when it matters most?

Why Arsenal shouldn’t even entertain the idea of signing Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo’s next club will undoubtedly become a topic of initial intriguing discussion before it quickly drags into an insufferable saga. Vincent Kompany has brutally ruled Burnley out of the running, with Chelsea, Sporting, Newcastle, and Napoli among the favourites for his signature. Interest will undoubtedly emerge from the US and Saudi Arabia, but Ronaldo’s pride won’t allow him to settle for one final payday.

The 37-year-old very much believes that he can still compete at the highest level, and Todd Boehly may well agree with him. His 18-Premier League goal campaign upon his return to the Theatre of Dreams would suggest that Ronaldo’s indefatigable self-belief would be far from delusory, but there’s no denying the great man’s demise.

For Arsenal, entertaining a move for the Portuguese superstar shouldn’t cross the minds of Edu and company. As the newly appointed Sporting Director projected, Arteta’s rebuild has exploded in the Spaniard’s third full season at the club. They headed into the World Cup break five points clear at the top of the Premier League table and poised for a deep European run. Their success, meanwhile, has been built off the ideals which has seen Manchester City emerge as an imperious force under Pep Guardiola.

Arsenal’s youthfulness and the manner in which they’re winning football matches has seen them evolve from banterous to serious. They’re a team the neutral can get behind, even if a title challenge is beyond them this season. However, given their advantage at the top with 24 games left, some, especially the aforementioned Piers Morgan, believe that the addition of Ronaldo would catapult them to glory come the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

For those in favour of acquiring the declining megastar, his fetish for big moments just can’t be overlooked. He’ll be remembered alongside Michael Jordan and Tom Brady as one of the clutchest athletes of all-time, and the Gunners will undoubtedly need to produce some improbable goals and results if they’re to pip City to an unlikely title. Ronaldo has delivered at a relentless rate in the past, perhaps he’s gone one last hurrah left in him?

However, that’s merely the viewpoint of the rather unwise Arsenal fan or Ronaldo stan. Simply put, this is never, ever going to happen. Edu has proven himself to be too savvy to facilitate a move that would likely wipe out all the excellent work he and Mikel have done in building a formidable Arsenal side once again.

Tactically, Ronaldo brings about more problems than he solves, and his arrival would batter the club’s wage structure – an issue only recently solved.

The 37-year-old certainly has value as a poacher, but he offers little else at this stage of his career. Reminders of his greatness are starting to arrive at a more infrequent rate, with comparisons I’ve seen to Ozymandias – the Greek name for Pharaoh Ramses II who’s subject of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem which discusses the ephemeral nature of his power – becoming cannier by the day.

For Morgan and other Ronaldo apologists, the idea of Arsenal, a club that hasn’t won the league since 2004, brushing aside an all-time great may be tough to digest. But football has moved on, and the 37-year-old no longer sits alongside his Argentinian rival at the summit of the sport. Arteta’s emphasis on the collective has no room for the ultimate individual.

"“Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal Wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away.”"