Ranveer Singh reveals love for Arsenal; ‘The ‘Invincibles’ made me fall in love with football,’ says Bollywood star

Bollywood star Ranveer Singh opened up about his admiration for the Arsenal football club ahead of the Gunners’ Premier League 2022-23 clash against Chelsea on Tuesday.

Ranveer Singh, the brand ambassador of the English Premier League in India, was present at the Emirates Stadium for the Arsenal vs Chelsea game. There, the Indian actor met Arsenal legends Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fabregas pitchside for a Sky Sports interview and shared his views on the popularity of the EPL in India. Chelsea icon Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was also in attendance.

“Since we are born and raised in India, cricket is sort of like a religion for us. It’s in our blood,” Ranveer Singh said. “But after cricket, if there’s anything else, it’s football. Football is huge in India.

“The English Premier League came (in India) at the turn of the century, around the year 2000. A whole generation got hooked onto this high-quality football. It was around then when I was watching the Invincibles play football. And that’s what made me fall in love with the sport and Arsenal.”

The Invincibles was the nickname given to the 2003-04 EPL title-winning Arsenal team, which recorded 26 wins and 12 draws to go through the season undefeated. The feat has never been emulated in the Premier League era.

Interestingly, Patrick Vieira, who played for Arsenal from 1996 to 2005, was the captain of the Invincibles team. Vieira’s French colleague Thierry Henry, meanwhile, was the top goalscorer in that Premier League that season with 30 goals.

Fabregas, then just 16, was also a part of the Gunners squad but didn’t play in the league that season.

“When I first saw Patrick Vieira here (at the Emirates Stadium) I was with my best friend who is also an Arsenal fan for 22 years,” Ranveer said. “And we were like schoolgirls. And six years ago I met my hero, Thierry Henry!”

At the time, Dutchman Hasselbaink played for Chelsea. During the 2003-04 season, Hasselbaink scored 17 goals in all competitions to emerge as the top-scorer for his club for the third time in four years. Chelsea finished second behind Arsenal in the EPL in the Invincibles season.

“The way (Hasselbaink) used to celebrate on the pitch, we would be running around the room in front of the television set with that same emotion (celebrating),” Ranveer recalled.

“So we have so much love as Arsenal fans, football fans and fans of the Premier League and for your (Hasselbaink) contribution to the sport.

“My friend (fellow Bollywood actor) Arjun Kapoor is a brand ambassador of Chelsea in India. And we keep bantering about Arsenal vs Chelsea,” Ranveer added.