Manchester United: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Wayne Rooney?

Make no mistake, Wayne Rooney is one of a select group of players in the Premier League capable of carrying a team on his back and not look fazed by the weight of it.

Last season he seemed to sleepwalk his way to 27 league goals, his highest tally at Old Trafford—and this all whilst spending most of his time in a far deeper-lying position, roaming the middle of the park like a young Paul Scholes.

For so long, the hopes of the Old Trafford faithful have seemed to rest on his shoulders.

But one £24 million transfer later, everything suddenly feels different.

It is surely too soon to tell if Robin van Persie's arrival this season will help or hinder the English striker, but if pressed for an answer, I would favour the latter.

I must stress that, in splashing out on the Dutchman's signature, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had—and still has—every intention of playing the duo in the same team.

Otherwise, what would have been the point?

That's not to say that Rooney shouldn't be worried by the arrival of van Persie.

To use a hackneyed expression, the transfer is the equivalent of Fergie pushing his chips all-in: his final double-or-nothing push for glory late in the game.

The "Robin van Persie experiment" has to work, with or without Rooney on board.

But with Hugo Rodallega having inadvertently opened up a gaping gash on the Englishman's thigh Saturday, such plans to replicate the prolific Cole-Yorke partnership of '99 will have to be put on ice.

It may pain me to say, but having seen the flourishing partnership of Shinji Kagawa and van Persie work so effectively in the first half, perhaps having Rooney on the sidelines for a month may not be such a bad thing after all.

With Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia combining with Kagawa and Anderson and Tom Cleverley in the midfield, United looked capable of creating chances with ease.

The arrival of forwards Danny Welbeck and Rooney on the scene in the second half only served to complicate matters, and from that point on control of the game was quickly lost.

Rooney looked unfit and uninterested in trying to add to his team's tally.

I would argue that he hasn't really been consistently world class since the 2009-10 season, where he assumed the role of sole striker quite magnificently.

But it was in that season that United was pipped to the post by Chelsea, whereas the following campaign, when United did manage to claim league glory, 12-goal Rooney was far overshadowed by the contributions of Dimitar Berbatov and Nani.

He has shown flashes of genius since 2010—the 8-2 mauling of Arsenal immediately coming to mind.

But at times, his ability has been based more on reputation than reality.

That is not to say that his ability is overrated, only that it is not always evident on the pitch.

However, let me make one thing clear—if you think that this article is building up to me making the stunning assertion that Sir Alex should sell Rooney, you'd be wrong.

Bringing in van Persie and flogging Rooney would be a move more akin to fantasy football, than reality.

But if he and van Persie are to function together effectively, it must be as an out-and-out partnership, not with Rooney sat behind the Dutchman in the trequartista role.

After all, Kagawa is far more effective there anyway.

Where that leaves the Japanese midfielder though is another question.

He and Cleverley were impressive in the preseason friendly with Hannover 96 as the two traditional central players in a 4-4-2 formation, but the consequence was that very little protection was offered to the back-line.

Nevertheless, with the gaping gash on Rooney's thigh unlikely to heal before the league clash with Liverpool on September 23, these are issues that can be put to one side for now.

And an injury that would have sparked concern and panic for the United faithful in the past, now looks like being a blessing in disguise—words I thought would never come from the lips of a United fan.

But it is moments like these that test the real character of the player—Rooney needs to fight for his place in a team than no longer looks like needing him.

Beause in the the end, it will be solely up to Wayne to become a part of the solution, rather than the root of the problem.