Gunners after Michu

The Gunners manager has put a new first-choice centre-forward at the top of his summer shopping list, with Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic and Rooney all high on it.

But Sportsmail can reveal a shock move for Swansea’s prolific striker has been discussed by Wenger and his scouting team.

The Spaniard enjoyed an excellent debut English Premier League season, scoring 22 goals after his £2m move from Rayo Vallecano.

His impressive displays at the start of last season prompted Arsenal into an extensive scouting mission on the 27-year-old.

And Arsenal, who are also set to sign Michu’s team-mate Ashley Williams, have a concrete interest in the striker. The club, who also retain a long-term interest in Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, are exploring numerous striking options ahead of next season as they look to land a new world-class centre-forward.

Meanwhile, Wenger has given a clear indication that Arsenal will be part of the race to land Rooney, should he leave Manchester United this summer.

Sportsmail exclusively revealed last month how the Gunners were prepared to smash their financial boundaries to land Rooney this summer. Arsenal hope a package of around £170 000-per-week and a multi-million pound signing on fee — plus the security of a five-year contract — could persuade Rooney to take a pay cut from his current £250 000-per-week deal at Old Trafford, that has two years left to run.

And speaking to Al Jazeera, Wenger said: “Rooney could be an interesting player for everybody in the world, who would turn him down?

“David Moyes’s first challenge is to go in to Manchester and bridge the gap between him and Rooney.
“If that is feasible or not depends on his personality and if Rooney bears a grudge or not, we will see. It will be interesting to see how that will be handled.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal have begun their summer cull, which could save around £350 000-per-week in wages, by terminating the contract of midfielder Denilson.

“I can confirm Denilson and Arsenal have agreed to terminate his contract at the end of this month,” said his agent Alexandre Soares. — Mailonline.