Cristiano Ronaldo: Man Utd star silenced Thierry Henry & Arsenal in 2005 | OneFootball

A young Cristiano Ronaldo once showed Thierry Henry, Highbury Stadium and the entire Premier League that he was special.

It was 2005, and a 19-year-old Ronaldo turned out for Manchester United against their old nemesis, Arsenal.

You know how the matches between two of England’s most historic clubs often turn out, especially back then.

This was right in the thick of the Roy Keane vs Patrick Vieira rivalry, and even happens to be the exact same game the pair clashed in the tunnel before kick-off.

“I’ll see you out there,” Roy Keane bellowed to Vieira.

Which he certainly did, given United ran out 4-2 winners on the day.

But it wasn’t necessarily Keane that United fans had to thank for the hard-fought away win in London.

The young Ronaldo was involved in everything positive that came from Sir Alex Ferguson’s men that day, scoring a brilliant brace despite being bombarded with abuse from Gunners fans.

The flashy, over-confident Portuguese import was rattling Arsenal players from the off, even squaring up to the legend that is Henry at one point.

Yet, despite being booed constantly and even having items chucked at him from the stands, he still had the nerve to shush the home crowd after slotting two second-half goals past Jens Lehmann.

The absolute audacity, we love it. Check out the monumental performance Ronaldo put in below.

WATCH: Ronaldo’s iconic 2005 Arsenal performance

How anyone could have such a nerve at such a young age, we’ll never know.

But looking back now, it was just a sign of things to come.

Whilst nobody expected it at the time, those fans in Highbury were witnessing one of the greatest footballers of all time in action.

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And here we are now, 17 and a bit years on and Ronaldo is still a star for United at the age of 37.

Whether he’ll still be there at the end of the summer transfer window remains to be seen, but regardless of all that, CR7 will always be the crowning jewel in United’s roster of legends.