Wayne Rooney addresses brutal ‘we’d batter them’ Arsenal comment immediately after defeat to Man United

Wayne Rooney did not have to say anything further to boost his argument that the current Arsenal crop aren’t anything special.

Prior to Arsenal’s midweek Champions League victory over Inter Milan, Rooney was asked whether this iteration of the Gunners would fare against the 2008 Manchester United side, which won the Premier League and Champions League.

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Wayne Rooney’s ruthless verdict on Arsenal’s hopes against the 2008 United team

Rooney didn’t waste a second as he immediately replied: “We’d batter them.”

The Red Devils hero added: “I think we would, I think we would. I have to be honest.”

Legions of Arsenal supporters disagreed with Rooney’s comments, especially given the defensive prowess of Mikel Arteta‘s side.

However, Rooney’s argument was made for him without even needing to utter a word when Arsenal slipped to a shock 3-2 loss to United on Sunday.

Unsurprisingly, United’s record goal scorer cut a smug figure in the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show.

When he was reminded of his comments in the aftermath of Arsenal’s defeat, Rooney said: “I don’t really think I need to actually explain that.

“I think it’s quite evident, what I said there.”

Gunners endure night to forget against Red Devils

It was an uncharacteristically poor defensive display from the Gunners, who shipped three goals in a match for the first time in 121 games.

A misplaced pass from Martin Zubimendi gift-wrapped Bryan Mbeumo’s goal while Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha buried stunning strikes from distance.

Although the result did not nudge Arsenal from top spot in the Premier League, the gap to Manchester City and Aston Villa, who are second and third respectively, has shrunk to four points.

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The defeat to United was also Arsenal’s third league fixture without a win having been held to scoreless draws against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

Are the Gunners starting to wobble?

Despite the momentary wobble coupled with City and Villa keeping the pressure on in the title race, Gunners boss Arteta does not believe the nervousness from the fans at the Emirates Stadium transmitted to his players against United.

“I don’t know, but we have to understand that we all want to win, and the crowd is trying to be behind the team to make the best decisions and to win the game, and we need to go through that,” Arteta said.

“We know what the players need, and we’re going to be playing much better in the next game, like we did two and a half days ago, one of the best and toughest places in Europe to go, like against Inter Milan, so we know that we’re below par, especially in certain individual standards, and when that happens, the margin becomes very, very close, and today they made those margins bigger because the individual quality that they have made a difference in the game.”

Arsenal will have the chance to put the United loss behind them as soon as Wednesday as they welcome Kairat to the Emirates for a Champions League clash.

The Gunners then travel to Elland Road on Saturday for a showdown against Leeds United, who have not lost at home since November.