Wenger surprised Rooney stayed

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he was surprised to hear that Wayne Rooney had agreed a new contract with Man. United.

When manager Alex Ferguson went public with the club’s dispute with Rooney, Wenger thought the England striker was likely to be sold in January.

“Once the club came out and said that they couldn’t find an agreement it was a message that they wanted to sell,” Wenger said.

“Certainly Rooney has got the guarantees he wanted – you can translate that like you want, but that’s it.”

Frenchman Wenger insisted that, unlike the rest of the football world, he was never fascinated by the saga.

“It was just a story that for me, from the start to the end, was of no interest to me. When I saw the headlines I just turned the page,” Wenger said.

“I was never really interested in that story because what happened with Wayne Rooney happens to every club, every year – plenty of times.

“Just because he has a different name it was certainly a good story, but it is a super-classical story which happens in every football club, every week, so I could never understand what was really special in this case.”