It’s hard thinking about one of the best players Manchester United have leaving to Arsenal of all clubs, but if Wayne Rooney wants to leave and the gunners are finally looking a team spending in order to get something out of next season, this previously unthinkable signing can actually happen.
While the gunners are about to complete the signing of Gonzalo Higuain for £22 million, Arsene Wenger is already looking ahead towards the next arrival, with the backing of his owners to spend the money at his disposal.
The argument over who is the one at fault for previous seasons being about under-spending and disappointing talent assessment can go on forever, but both minority shareholder Alisher Usmanov and Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis have spoken publicly about the chance Arsenal have this summer to re-join the big boys by spending quite large sums (£70 million spending account) on the best players available, something that hasn’t happened in a very long time.
Wayne Rooney still hasn’t sat down with David Moyes to discuss his future with Manchester United. The last we heard of him, as the season was ending and United were busy both celebrating their league title and mourning the departure of Alex Ferguson, he was handing in his transfer request.
A terrible season for Roony compared to his usual standards, he had grown tired of being pushed away from the position he would like to play in – a central forward role, instead used more and more by Alex Ferguson as a central midfielder and other positions all over the pitch, not to mention often being criticized for being out of shape and unprofessional off the pitch.
The benching in the second leg against Real Madrid was probably a huge part of Rooney’s decision. Somewhat of a humiliation move from Ferguson, only to throw Rooney back on the pitch when all hope was lost, needing something from him after making the mistake of not starting him.
At Arsenal, at least initially, there’s no doubt he’ll be treated like a star from day 1, and probably even get to play where he feels most comfortable, although it’s not certain that it his best position. Unless Wenger actually decides to spend that kind of money, and United withdraw from their attempts to keep Rooney on the team, we’ll never find out.