Wayne Rooney has revealed that he enjoyed playing with Danny Welbeck when the both were at Manchester United. However, the partnership came to an end in 2014 when Welbeck decided to switch to Arsenal in the search of regular first-team football. The transfer created a lot of ripples in the football industry, as very few players have made the switch between Arsenal and United. The duo were expected to be a great partnership particularly due to their connection with the England national team. Yet, Welbeck was often seen as a backup to an established set of strikers.

Welbeck started featuring more in the Manchester United first-team only after the 2011-12 campaign. Even then, he was not able to manage more than 30 Premier League games in a single campaign. He also failed to double figures during this period. Partly, this was due to being played as a winger by former manager Louis Van Gaal. Rooney has revealed that Van Gaal was a huge fan of Welbeck and that the manager did not want the player to leave the club.

The move, however, did not pay dividends for Welbeck, who has suffered from several injuries. Even though he started off well with his best campaign for the Gunners coming in the 2017-18 campaign, injuries meant that the striker could only featuring eight games in his final season before making the switch to Watford.

“I loved playing with Danny and for England. His best quality was winning the ball back quickly after we lost it. It was a shame, because I don’t think he really wanted to leave. Obviously Louis van Gaal had a way he wanted to play and got rid of Danny, but it was a shame because I know he loves the club and he didn’t want to go,” said Rooney.