Arsenal and Manchester United have shared a fierce rivalry for several decades now.
The two clubs had some iconic battles in the past, when Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson were at the helm in North London and Old Trafford respectively.
United are nowhere near Arsenal in the Premier League right now, but the Red Devils remain one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Many Arsenal players would’ve looked up to Old Trafford greats when they were growing up. Ethan Nwaneri is one of them.
Ethan Nwaneri says Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo is his idol
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
The Portuguese superstar achieved greatness at Manchester United under Ferguson before moving to Real Madrid and becoming an icon there.
Then, Ronaldo moved to Juventus and performed brilliantly in Italy as well.
In the summer of 2021, a fairytale return to Manchester United became a possibility, and the Red Devils got it done. He was the best player in that campaign.
Just 15 months later, however, Erik ten Hag fell out with Ronaldo, and the latter was released after he sat down for a controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr on a free transfer in January 2023, and despite being 40 years old, he is still going strong in Saudi.
Nwaneri has now revealed that Ronaldo is his idol.
On Dazed’s social channels, Maxine Williams asked the youngster: “If you could swap bodies with any celebrity for a day, who would you pick and why?”
Nwaneri replied: “Ronaldo. That’s my idol!
“I’d just go throughout my day and just be Ronaldo. Maybe I’d just go into the streets and see what it’s like.”
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Ethan Nwaneri stats before they turned 18
Ronaldo is an icon of the game, and we may never see anyone like him.
The consistency he showed for over two decades in different countries is just remarkable, and Arsenal ace Nwaneri is right to look up to him.
But how do the Arsenal youngster’s stats compare to Ronaldo’s before they turned 18?
| Games | Goals | Assists | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo before turning 18 | 19 | 5 | 4 |
| Ethan Nwaneri before turning 18 | 3` | 8 | 1 |
It means absolutely nothing, but Nwaneri played more games and scored more goals at club level than Ronaldo before turning 18.
That is a remarkable statistic, and the teenager clearly has the potential to become a superstar in the coming years.
It will be interesting to see how his numbers will compare to Ronaldo’s in a few years’ time.
