Goalscorer Preview - Manchester United v Arsenal: Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is one of the Manchester United players that can be relied upon for this mega Premier League clash.

Rooney does not have the best statistics of any striker in England so far this season; he has scored once in the Premier League and once in the Champions League. However, he seems to be enjoying his football and also seems a single goal away from going on a very productive streak.

Rooney is most likely to play up front with Dimitar Berbatov during this game, which will help the way he plays. This 4-4-2 will allow Rooney to drop off from the very top of the attack and into the midfield to pick up the ball. This will make it difficult for Arsenal to pick him up and may stretch the Arsenal defence.

Rooney could lead the attack by himself if Sir Alex Ferguson feels that his side need an extra man in the middle of the pitch to counter Arsenal’s passing play. Rooney is fit enough to run the attack for the entire game but it seems pointless asking him to play by himself in a 4-5-1 instead of taking the initiative.

Playing Berbatov as the second striker will help Rooney because it will take a lot of the pressure away from the striker. Berbatov has enough skill and strength to keep the Arsenal defence occupied which means Rooney can pop up in more positions unmarked and likely to score. Rooney is at his best when he has a strike partner to shift emphasis.

Rooney scored on the last occasion that Arsenal visited Old Trafford. He is a great bet to do so again and is currently a best price of 5/1 to score the first goal of the game and 5/2 to score at any point during the match.