Just a few days after Arsene Wenger expressed his eagerness to rope in England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney this summer, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has given the green signal to bid him.
The 27-year-old footballer, who has been sidelined ever since Robin van Persie joined Manchester United, has reportedly placed transfer request to Sir Alex Ferguson. He could well leave Old Trafford after nine years if the new coach David Moyes fails to convince him in the coming weeks.
"I don't know what his fee would be. I'm talking about an extra £70m of additional, high-margin revenue - so of course we could do that. We could do more than that," Gazidis told The Sun when asked if the club could afford the expensive England striker.
"We are beginning to see the escalation in our financial firepower. That's going to happen partly next season, it's partly available now. It means we can spend more on transfers and wages. We can look at options that weren't previously in our financial capability," he added.
Arsenal, who are known for their rigid pay structure, reportedly earned £300m in revenues, giving them more option to buy big stars which the fans have been deprived of for a long time.
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger had earlier hinted his eagerness to rope in Rooney to his team.
"Rooney could be an interesting player for everybody in the world, who would turn him down? David Moyes' first challenge is to go in to Manchester and bridge the gap between him and Rooney. If that is feasible or not depends on his personality. We will see. It will be interesting to see how that will be handled," Wenger told The Sun.
Arsenal have to battle out with clubs like Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich even if Wayne Rooney is given the green signal to leave Manchester United, as they are reportedly interested in signing the England striker.
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has also expressed his wish to welcome former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas back home.
