How Signing Rooney Could Completely Transform Arsenal's Fortunes

In his first press conference as Manchester United manager, David Moyes was clear on one thing in particular: United do not want to sell Wayne Rooney.

However, despite it being his first month in the job, Moyes is no novice. He understands the politics of the transfer market better than most and will know that Rooney’s destiny will be decided by one man and one man alone: Rooney himself.

We live in an era of player power. If Rooney insists that he wants to depart, United will be forced to sell. There is no merit in keeping an unhappy player.

Should Rooney go, Arsenal have been mooted as a possible destination. The Daily Mail have suggested the Gunners intend to pursue both Rooney and Real Madrid’s Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain.

Signing Rooney would transform Arsenal.

First and foremost, it would instantly change external perceptions of the club. Arsenal are not known for signing the game’s greatest names. In recent seasons, Gunners fans have become more accustomed to losing top players than acquiring them.

Currently, Arsenal’s record signing is Andrey Arshavin. At the time he joined, the Premier League represented a significant step up from the Russian league. Similarly, Arsenal’s previous record purchase, Jose Antonio Reyes, came from impoverished Sevilla.

Rooney plays for one of European football’s giants: Manchester United. To poach a star player from a club of that size would immediately establish Arsenal’s renewed ambition and financial potential.

However, Rooney’s biggest impact would surely be on the pitch.

Since losing Robin van Persie, Arsenal have lacked a goalscoring figurehead. Rooney would be both target man and talisman in a new-look Arsenal team.

If Rooney can stay fit, his ability is undoubted. He has the versatility to play both as a traditional No. 9 or a deep-lying No. 10, making him the perfect lone striker for Arsenal’s system.

Injuries and motivation have been problems for Rooney, but Arsene Wenger has shown in the past that he is able to coax the best out of such players. When Wenger signed Kanu from Inter Milan, many had written off the Nigerian striker as finished. Similarly, Wenger transformed an injury-prone Marc Overmars into one of the Premier League’s most consistent performers.

If Rooney were to sign for Arsenal, he’d be joining a growing English core at the Emirates Stadium.

In England’s recent friendlies with Ireland and Brazil, Rooney displayed a tantalising ability to combine well with Arsenal wingers Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Add Jack Wilshere, Carl Jenkinson and Kieran Gibbs to that mix and you potentially have the core of an Arsenal and England team for years to come.

The arrival of Rooney would announce the start of a new era at Arsenal.