Wayne Rooney has identified a major difference between Manchester United supporters and Arsenal fans after the Manchester City result at the weekend.
Arsenal remain top of the Premier League table, but the Gunners have suffered back-to-back setbacks in their race for the title under manager Mikel Arteta.
Manchester City closed the distance on Arsenal after Pep Guardiola’s men inflicted an important 2-1 Premier League defeat on the Gunners at the Etihad on Sunday.
The loss to Man City comes on the back of Bournemouth’s sensational 2-1 Premier League victory over league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates earlier this month.
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Former Manchester United players and Sky Sports pundits Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane are pitchside ahead of the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford in 2024 in Manchester, England.
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Michael Carrick watching his Man Utd side play Leeds
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Wayne Rooney claims that Man Utd fans don’t ‘boo’ their team in the same way that Arsenal have done
Manchester City have a Premier League match in hand and Pep Guardiola’s side are only three points behind Arsenal in the 2025-26 league title race this season.
Speaking on his podcast, Wayne Rooney pointed to the Red Devils fans’ support for Manchester United in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at the Premier League club.
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The 40-year-old legendary former Red Devils striker claimed that United fans would “very rarely” boo their team off, whether under Erik ten Hag or Ruben Amorim.
“Of course they want to win the league and they’re desperate to win the league, but I think they need to understand they’ve got a role to play,” he said on The Wayne Rooney Show, as per BBC Sport.
“If you look at Manchester United, for instance, when over the last few years, they have been going through a tough time with Eric ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, the fans were right behind the manager and backed the manager at the stadium.
“They were constantly singing and getting behind the team and very rarely booed the team off.”
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Here’s how the Premier League table looks now this weekend’s games are complete – Confident??
There's no way United will blow a top five place!
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Man Utd icon Wayne Rooney sends a warning to Arsenal fans over their actions against Bournemouth
Arsenal have reached the Champions League semi-finals and the Gunners still remain in the Premier League title race amid their recent slip-ups in the league.
United legend Rooney explained that Arsenal fans booing the Gunners after the Bournemouth match at the Emirates would have impacted Mikel Arteta’s men.
“Arsenal have been top of the league all season, they’re in the Champions League semi-finals and they lose against Bournemouth and they get booed off?” Rooney asked.
Man Utd’s all-time record scorer continued: “The fans need to be better for the players and back the players a little bit more because that will have hurt the Arsenal players, 100 per cent.”
Man Utd are third in the Premier League table and the Red Devils are nine points behind second-place City and 12 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.
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