Usmanov wants Arsenal to get Rooney

The England striker is unsettled at Manchester United having had a transfer request rejected towards the end of last season.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has since expressed his admiration for Rooney, but United are reluctant to sell to a Premier League rival.

But that hasn’t stopped Russian billionaire Usmanov — whose stake in the club is almost 30 percent —dreaming of the move.

Usmanov told CNBC: “He is a great player and (joining Arsenal) would be great for Rooney, and Arsenal too.”

Wenger has a transfer budget of over £70m to spend this season with attackers the priority for the north London club.

Arsenal have agreed personal terms of around £150,000-a-week with Gonzalo Higuain ahead of the striker’s club record £22m move.

As Sportsmail revealed earlier this week, Arsenal agreed a £22m fee with Real Madrid for the 25-year-old.

That figure will smash the club’s current record of £15m — which they paid Zenit St Petersburg for Andrey Arshavin in January 2009.

The Real Madrid star has been told he is free to leave the Bernebeu.
Arsenal have kept close tabs on the 25-year-old forward ever since his breakthrough into River Plate’s first-team in 2004. — Mailonline.