Manchester United Transfer Rumors 2013: Wayne Rooney Headed To Arsenal?

Wayne Rooney will likely leave Manchester United this offseason. However, the striker may be staying in England.

Reports indicate that Arsenal may be ready to make a big push for the Englishman. According to UK's The Mirror, "Arsene Wenger is ready to smash Arsenal's wage structure to bring in a stellar signing like Wayne Rooney."

The publication notes that the club could potentially pay Rooney more than 150,000 pounds per week to bring in the star.

If Arsenal enters the fray, Wenger will have to compete with Paris Saint-Germain. The French side has reportedly extended an offer that would pay Rooney around $377,000 per week. ESPN recently reported that Rooney was interested in the potential of playing in Paris.

Rooney is coming off a subpar season with Manchester United. He put up 12 goals in 27 games for Manchester United after scoring 27 in 32 matches the year before. A major reason for his production's decrease was the addition of Robin Van Persie. The Dutchman became the Red Devils' top scoring option and relegated Rooney from franchise star to second option. While Rooney did possess good chemistry with Van Persie, the Englishman was often overlooked by manager Sir Alex Ferguson in favor of the Dutchman. Rooney was benched for the start of the second leg against Real Madrid in the Champions league Round of 16.

Rooney eventually manifested his discontent with Ferguson and chose to sit out the final matches of the season. "I don't think Wayne Rooney was keen to play, simply because he's asked for a transfer," Ferguson revealed. "He wants to think it through in his mind, which is a good idea. We are not going to let him go but he is a little bit frustrated at being taken off once or twice in the last few weeks."