Wayne Rooney rues Man Utd’s £79m transfer mistake also made by Arsenal with ‘arrogant’ star | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney thinks his former club and Arsenal made a mistake by not targeting Liverpool standout Hugo Ekitike in the summer.

In last summer’s transfer window, most of the Big Six clubs were focused on signing new No.9s, and some shared the same targets.

This includes Man Utd and Arsenal, who had their eye on Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko in the summer.

In the end, Arsenal decided to prioritise Gyokeres, and this left the door open for Man Utd to sign Sesko ahead of Newcastle United.

However, Gyokeres and Sesko have had their issues this season and have certainly been outshone by Liverpool star Ekitike, who joined them for around £79m from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Ekitike has 15 goals and four assists in his 32 appearances for Liverpool this season and has also shone with his general play, so Rooney thinks Man Utd and Arsenal would have been better off with him than Gyokeres and Sesko.

“We saw what Gyokeres did at Sporting, I know it was obviously a different country but he was scoring more goals than anyone and was absolutely on fire,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney show.

“I’ve backed Gyokeres this season and people have given me a bit of stick but I still think he’s making a different to Arsenal, I really do.

“He’s occupying defenders and that’s helping the team. I know he’s not got the goals or assists you’d want from your centre forward but I still think he’s having an impact.”

Despite this, Rooney also insisted that he has been more impressed with Liverpool’s summer signing Ekitike.

When asked whether he would take the Arsenal striker over Ekitike, Rooney replied: “No.

“Ekitike and [Granit] Xhaka at Sunderland have probably been the two best signings in the Premier League. I really enjoy watching Ekitike play.

“His second goal [against Newcastle] in particular was brilliant, it reminds me of Romario. A little toe-poke goal but it’s instinctive.

“He is the type of player I like to watch. He’s not a number nine, he’s not a number 10. He drifts out wide, he gets on the ball, brings players into the game and he can score goals.

“So he’s got a bit of everything really.”

Rooney has also explained why he gives the edge to Ekitike over Man Utd forward Sesko.

“I really enjoy watching those type of players [like Ekitike]. He’s got that arrogance and confidence,” Rooney added.

“If you look at Sesko for instance, he looks like he needs a bit of guidance and a bit of help when he’s on the pitch.

“I know he scored the winner today thankfully but he looks like he needs a bit of guidance whereas Hugo Ekitike it looks like you can just put him on the pitch.

“He’s got that swagger about him which I think you need to be at that top-level.”