Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been urged to break the bank for Wayne Rooney by Alisher Usmanov, the Gunners' No.2 share-holder.
Wenger is already closing in on the £22million signing of Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain.
Landing £30m-rated Rooney too would give the Gunners one of the most formidable strike-forces in the Premier League.
The arrival of the Manchester United and England star would get the club's fans dreaming of a long-awaited title challenge instead of their increasingly familiar fight with arch-rivals Spurs for fourth place.
Usmanov, who owns 29.9 per cent stake in Arsenal, has given his backing to a high-profile summer spending spree.
He said: "[Rooney] is a great player and [joining Arsenal] would be great
for Rooney, and Arsenal too."
Rooney is said to be unsettled at United and is desperate to play as a central striker instead of the deeper-lying midfield role in which he was often deployed under Sir Alex Ferguson last season.
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are both monitoring developments with the 27-year-old marksman, who is understood to be concerned that he is being forced out of Old Trafford.
Arsenal staged a late rally to finish fourth in the Premier League after a poor start last season.
But they were put out of the Capital One Cup by then-fourth-division Bradford and were sunk in the FA Cup at home by Championship side Blackburn before losing in the knockout stages of the Champions League to the eventual winners Bayern Munich.
Rooney's capture would back up claims from the club in recent weeks that they are finally ready to re-establish themselves as a Premier League superpower.
Speaking to CNBC, Usmanov added: "It is high time for the club to win the highest trophies, in the Champions League, but I believe in the club's future.
"Arsene knows better than me what should be done. Of course, we as shareholders point to some drawbacks in the management of the club but he is a great coach and the club is progressing in the commercial sense."
Rooney is set for talks with new United boss David Moyes ahead of the new season.
But Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has already declared that the north Londoners are enjoying an "escalation of financial firepower" which would enable them to compete for players of his ilk.
Speaking earlier this month, Gazidis said: "We could do that, we could do more than that.
"We have a certain amount which we've held in reserve and we also have new revenue streams coming on board. All of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you. We can think about all kinds of things."
Rooney's uncertainty at United follows claims from Sir Alex Ferguson back
in May that the striker had handed in a second transfer request.
The claim was denied by Rooney's camp.
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