- Piers Morgan stated that Cristiano Ronaldo would flourish at current Arsenal
- He pointed out the Gunners’ main weakness after the 2-0 home defeat to Villa.
- IAN LADYMAN and CHRIS SUTTON weigh in on the Premier League Player of the Year – Listen to the everything is beginning podcast
Piers Morgan has identified Cristiano Ronaldo as a player who would “score 25+ goals” for Arsenal following their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
The Gunners have been one of the leading contenders to win their first Premier League title since 2003-04 after a strong campaign under manager Mikel Arteta, but their agonizing home defeat to the Villans put them in the spotlight.
Arsenal were frustrated by Unai Emery’s men, who shocked the home fans with two late goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins to hand the initiative in the title race to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for Arsenal this season – they scored 75 in total, just one less than rivals City – but after drawing a blank against Villa, famous Arsenal supporter Morgan described their attacking force as a weakness.
He said former Man United striker Ronaldo, who now plays for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, would thrive under Arteta given the number of opportunities they create, and described what the Spaniard’s “big blind spot” is.
Piers Morgan believes Cristiano Ronaldo would ‘score more than 25 goals’ in this Arsenal team after their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa
Morgan often speaks highly of Ronaldo and has described him as a player who could help Arsenal.
The TV presenter also pointed out Mikel Arteta’s “big blind spot” this season
Your browser does not support iframes.
After one fan joked that he should “ask Ronaldo to come help,” he responded: “I think @Cristiano would score more than 25 goals a season in our team with the service he would receive.”
“Arteta’s refusal to prioritize a top striker is his main blind spot.”
Saka has been Arsenal’s top scorer in the league this season with 14 goals, despite playing on the wing, followed by left-back Leandro Trossard with 13 and midfielders Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz with 10 each.
Arteta used Gabriel Jesus as his main centre-forward against Villa, but the Brazilian has only eight goals this season and has only scored 19 times since his £50million transfer from Man City in 2022.
Morgan, who accused his beloved Gunners of “suffocating” against Villa, also claimed the team would have won 3-0 had they had Watkins in their side.
The Gunners were left toothless against Villa after firing a blank shot on an agonizing afternoon
Arsenal’s lack of a suitable striker has come back to haunt us. Many opportunities in the first half, but none taken. “If Watkins had played for us, we would have won this one 3-0.”
Morgan’s affinity for Ronaldo comes after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner gave an explosive interview to the presenter at the end of 2022, accusing Man United of “betraying” him and claiming he did not respect former boss Erik ten Hag.
The interview would be crucial in sealing his exit from Old Trafford by mutual consent, paving the way for him to join Al-Nassr soon after.
At the end of last season, Morgan claimed that if the club signed Ronaldo after he left the Red Devils, they would have won the title instead of City.
He wrote: “Make fun of it all you want, but if we had signed Ronaldo when he left United, until the end of the season, as he wanted to do, by the way, we would have won the League.” He knows how to win big trophies and how to score goals when it really matters.”
