Wayne Rooney has warned Arsenal and Manchester United that they will not kick on unless they build their team around a proper No.9.
The Gunners and United played out a 1-1 draw on Sunday, but a point suits neither team with Arsenal now 15 points behind Liverpool in the title and United still languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Both teams have struggled for goals in the league of late and are expected to be in the market for a new striker this summer.
Rooney feels they have the same problem in terms of goalscorers and pointed out how Liverpool have managed to keep the goals flowing even though their No.9 – Darwin Nunez – has also failed to score goals on a regular basis this season.
“I always feel the teams with the best number nines have the best chance of winning things,” Rooney said on Match of the Day 2.
“Liverpool are probably an exception to that, with the way they rotate the player they use through the middle, rather than having a regular number nine that the team is built around.
“The number nine is still so important for them, though. Mohamed Salah, cutting in from wide areas, is their main goalscorer but, whether it is Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota or Darwin Nunez in the centre, they all chip in with a good amount of goals.”
The Gunners decision to not sign a striker in January has been questioned by fans and pundits alike, particularly after Gabriel Jesus was ruled out for the season through injury.
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Mikel Merino once again played up front as an emergency striker and Rooney added: “A proper number nine – a forward who has played there his whole life – brings something different to any team.
“I am talking about that natural goalscoring instinct, which a player who is trying to learn the position probably doesn’t have. A midfielder playing forward like Merino can get hold of the ball and bring others into play, but what a goalscorer brings is that selfishness of wanting to be in the penalty area to finish chances.
“As we saw on Sunday, Rice was trying to help Arsenal to fill that position, as the player who was always making forward runs and arriving in the box. He did really well in that advanced role, but he cannot always be there.”
Rooney did, however, defend Rasmus Hojlund, who had a couple of half chances after replacing Joshua Zirkzee in the second half. He said of the Dane:”I’ve got faith in him. He’s a good player who works hard, which is really important. He needs that bit of luck as well, but once he gets a break then more goals will follow.
“As a striker for Manchester United, when you are not scoring goals there is a lot of pressure and a lot of people questioning if you can do it for United.”
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