Manchester United Transfer Rumors: Wayne Rooney Open To Arsenal Move If Chelsea Transfer Falls Through

Wayne Rooney remains in the spotlight during the 2013 transfer window and as the 27-year-old forward continues to mull over what his future holds, a move out of Old Trafford is certainly a possibility.

According to Daily Mail, even though the Liverpool, England native has a strong desire to join Jose Mourinho at Chelsea for the start of the upcoming season, Wayne Rooney would not be against a move to Arsenal if a transfer to Chelsea falls through.

Rooney has 2 years remaining on his contract and even though his contract demands seem to be overwhelming - he earns £240,000 a week - Arsenal isn't shy about meeting his financial number especially since they're prepared to enter somewhat of a bidding war with Chelsea to land the player.

CaughtOffside.com reports that after Sir Alex Ferguson was replaced by David Moyes after retiring as manager, Wayne Rooney has grown upset with Moyes after the coach stated that Robin van Persie is his top striker and that Wayne Rooney's reputation is not going to automatically put him with the first team.

Open to the idea of matching Rooney's weekly salary demands, ESPN.co.uk indicates that Arsenal is also ready to match or surpass Chelsea's existing offer of about £26 million.

Arsenal continues to pursue Luis Suarez as well and the belief is that the club will only have the financial capacity to sign one of the 2 players, leaving many to believe that if Chelsea does not up their current offer for Rooney, he'll begin the 2013-2014 campaign as a member of Manchester United.

Another obstacle Rooney would have to overcome before joining Chelsea would be the fact that Man U may be reluctant to send its star forward to a fierce rival, a team The Independent views as the biggest threat to take the Premier League crown away from Old Trafford.

Rooney is understood to have made Chelsea his preferred destination, but United are particularly reluctant to sell to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.

Chelsea is considered a more direct threat to [Manchester United's] ambitions of retaining their Premier League title.