Mikel Arteta settles Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo GOAT debate while naming dream five-a-side team

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta settled the GOAT debate when asked to name his dream five-a-side team.

Over the years, football fans have been arguing over whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest footballer of all time.

After leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022, many feel Messi is now the undisputed GOAT of football.

However, fans of Ronaldo’s will always back the Portugal legend.

Speaking in a recent interview with Planet Football, Arteta seemed to have settled the GOAT debate when he was asked to pick his dream five-a-side team.

He said: “The No.1 and I didn’t play with him or manage, it would have to be Leo Messi.

“That’s for sure because he’s been in my opinion the most influential player ever in the history of football. We’ve never seen someone do what he has done on the pitch for that many years.”

Arteta continued: “Then with Ronaldo I would do the same thing and I would put the other [Brazilian] Ronaldo because since I was a kid I was in love with him.

“Then I would put Johan Cruyff there for sure because of his intelligence and what he did for the game and they are all attacking players.

“But the other one I have to do is Maradona because of my family and the Argentinian origin I have as well because of my wife. The way he transformed football and Barcelona during that period, he has to be there.”

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The Arsenal boss went on to explain his decision to not include any defenders or goalkeepers.

Arteta added: “No defenders! We don’t have goalkeepers, it’s five-a-side. No goalies.

“If it’s six-a-side then I have to go for a friend, Pepe Reina. I’ve played with him since I was 16 years old in Barcelona and now, last week, he became the Spanish player with the most European caps in our history. He’s 41 and still playing. An amazing career.”