Who should replace Wayne Rooney against Arsenal?

Louis van Gaal is facing a decision ahead of the Arsenal game that has been questioned ever since a revelation he made at the start of the season in regards to his starting line-up.

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The manager revealed on Friday during his press conference that Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw wouldn’t be fit to play in the final home game of the season, it left fans asking the question – who will replace Wayne Rooney?

At the start of the season, van Gaal revealed that Rooney got ‘privileges’ for his selection after being named captain. That means that whenever he’s fit, he plays for van Gaal. While he’s missed the odd game through suspension and/or injury this season, the answer has always been a simple one. With van Gaal tending to opt for a two-striker system at the start of the campaign, the replacement was more obvious.

Since the beginning of van Gaal’s use of his preferred 4-3-3 system, Rooney has been an ever-present.

While he hasn’t always played up front, he’s always been in the side. Until now. With his injury and all other striker options fit and raring to go with something to prove, van Gaal has a decision to make which could say more about the future of the club than just the single game.

Radamel Falcao has had the worst season of his professional career since joining Manchester United on deadline day last year. Four goals for the whole season mean than Falcao’s chances of extending his stay at Old Trafford beyond June are incredibly slim, however there are some reports that Louis van Gaal is considering it.

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The Colombian did well against Chelsea, hitting the post and having a goal disallowed for offside and while he still doesn’t look to be at his world-class best it’s obvious there’s so much more to come. Whether it’s at Manchester United or elsewhere next season, van Gaal could be tempted to give Falcao an Old Trafford farewell on Sunday against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal as the Reds continue to chase third place.

Another option for Louis van Gaal is youngster James Wilson. The 19 year-old striker has two goals this season, against Cambridge United and Queens Park Rangers, and hasn’t featured much for the first time since the turn of the year. While Wilson is the least likely to start the game of all the available options, van Gaal has shown faith in the youngster in big games before. He started the 3-0 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier in the season, while he also made substitute appearances against Manchester City and Chelsea.

His pace and movement is excellent for his age, while he showed his finishing ability during the Under 21’s 4-0 thrashing of rivals Manchester City this week. The fact he played in that game means he could make the subs bench for the game but it would be silly to rule him out of a starting berth completely.

Finally for van Gaal, is his option to go with Robin van Persie. The former Arsenal captain will be the favourite for the starting berth (and the captains armband) with the Dutch striker the second highest scorer this season despite missing large chunks through injury and struggling with poor form.

While van Persie’s record against Arsenal since joining from the Gunners is rather good, it’s more likely to be another one of van Gaal’s preferences that gets the 31 year old the nod on Sunday.

Prior to Manchester United’s clash against Chelsea last month, van Gaal revealed that he always likes to select players against their former clubs when discussing Juan Mata, which leads us to believe that he will continue to follow suit and start Robin van Persie. His movement looked much sharper during the defeat to West Brom and he was unlucky not to score, so he’ll be hoping to add to his tally before the end of the season.

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