Rooney's Arsenal Remarks Were True, and It's Up to Them to Prove Him Wrong

With the much-anticipated Premier League showdown between Manchester United and Arsenal just four days off, Wayne Rooney saw an opportunity to fire the first shot across the bow.

“We’re obviously capable of beating Arsenal. We’ve done it many times in the past,” he told United’s official website. “They’re on a good run of form at the moment and are top of the league, so we know it’s going to be a difficult game.”

He added: “We’ve seen before that they’ve been in the top two until February or March and then faded away...We’ll have to wait and see where Arsenal are in March.”

On the face of it Rooney’s comments would seem a tad disrespectful given the Gunners’ superb start to the season that has seen them establish a five-point gap atop the table—never mind an eight-point lead on United.

The summer acquisition of Mesut Ozil has infused some much-needed magic into manager Arsene Wenger’s squad, and with Aaron Ramsey playing the best football of his life and Olivier Giroud thriving on quality service, it would hardly be a surprise if Arsenal came away from Old Trafford with at least a share of the points.

And yet, nothing Rooney has said is actually untrue.

Arsenal have, time and again over their eight-and-a-half-year trophy drought, dropped out of the title race after Christmas, and United’s record against them during Rooney’s nine seasons at Old Trafford has been impressive.

What was fascinating about Rooney’s comments, however, was that they so closely mirrored those so often spouted by the man and manager he routinely sparred with after arriving from Everton in 2004: Sir Alex Ferguson.

Just over 12 months ago the former United boss played some of his classic mind-games with his Arsenal counterpart, categorically dismissing the Gunners from the title race and opining that “Chelsea, Manchester City and ourselves seem to be creating that little gap from the rest.” (ESPN FC)

He took similar pot-shots during his long tenure at Old Trafford, and Rooney’s remarks wouldn’t have seemed at all odd coming out of his mouth.

The only difference, of course, is this time United are in the unfamiliar role of playing catch-up, and Sunday’s encounter will be far more important to them than to their North London rivals.

Still, it’s up to Arsenal to prove Rooney wrong—to demonstrate that what he said, although it may have been true in the past, is no longer so.