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I beg to STRONGLY disagree....
Cant see the "current" Sol locking down Rooney....
Arsene Wenger is adamant defender Sol Campbell can stop in-form striker
Wayne Rooney when Arsenal meet Manchester United on Sunday.
The Gunners boss will hand Campbell, 35, a first Premier League start since rejoining the club if Thomas Vermaelen does not recover from a knee injury.
"Sol can cope with Rooney. He is ready if he has recovered well," said Wenger.
"He has experience and he likes the big games. He can turn up if needed and experience helps in these games."
Rooney has dominated the headlines in recent weeks after scoring four goals against Hull last weekend and heading the winner against Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
The England striker has scored 19 goals in the Premier League this season, prompting boss Sir Alex Ferguson to hail him as "world class".
Campbell spent four months out of the game after quitting League Two side Notts County in September, but following a lengthy period training with his old team Wenger signed the centre-back until the end of the season.
The former England international made his second debut in last weekend's FA Cup defeat at Stoke before coming on as a substitute in the 0-0 draw with Villa following the injury to Vermaelen.
And Wenger will assess whether Campbell has recovered sufficiently to play three games in a week prior to naming his side.
The Frenchman will also run the rule over 24-year-old Vermaelen, who was originally feared to have fractured his leg at Villa Park.
"The good news we have on Vermaelen is that there is no fracture," Wenger said of the Belgian, who has been a key figure since arriving from Ajax for £10m in the summer.
"We have to assess his knee today, there is still a small chance that he plays on Sunday.
"We will do the maximum to get him fit, but at the moment it looks unlikely.
"It should be a very short-term injury, and at the latest he should be ready for the Chelsea game."
Wenger acknowledges Rooney will pose a substantial threat for United but he refuses to focus solely on shutting out the striker
"I don't think they are over-reliant on Rooney, they changed their system a little bit the other day against Manchester City and didn't play with two strikers," said Wenger.
"They played with only Rooney up front and then of course he becomes the focal point of the game. But they have plenty of players, for example, in the game on Wednesday, Ryan Giggs was as well very influential.
"Rooney was at the end of things but Giggs created a lot of things in the game."
The tie against United could prove to be a pivotal game for the Gunners, who are two points behind leaders Chelsea and one point behind the Old Trafford outfit in the Premier League.
"I believe that no matter what happens we will still be in a position where we will have a chance after these games, but it can put us in a very strong position and that is what we want," said Wenger.
"We know that to be successful in this period we have to be more of a team than the other teams. We have to think how strong and how much solidarity it takes to get through a period like that. That is what we want to show on Sunday.
"We love being in the race. Of course it was our dream to be in this position in this period of time."
In another Arsenal-United twist this week, Ferguson beat Wenger to the signing of highly rated Fulham defender Chris Smalling.
Both managers had made bids for the 20-year-old with Smalling eventually joining United for a fee of about £7m.
Arsene Wenger is adamant defender Sol Campbell can stop in-form striker
Wayne Rooney when Arsenal meet Manchester United on Sunday.
The Gunners boss will hand Campbell, 35, a first Premier League start since rejoining the club if Thomas Vermaelen does not recover from a knee injury.
"Sol can cope with Rooney. He is ready if he has recovered well," said Wenger.
"He has experience and he likes the big games. He can turn up if needed and experience helps in these games."
Rooney has dominated the headlines in recent weeks after scoring four goals against Hull last weekend and heading the winner against Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
The England striker has scored 19 goals in the Premier League this season, prompting boss Sir Alex Ferguson to hail him as "world class".
Campbell spent four months out of the game after quitting League Two side Notts County in September, but following a lengthy period training with his old team Wenger signed the centre-back until the end of the season.
The former England international made his second debut in last weekend's FA Cup defeat at Stoke before coming on as a substitute in the 0-0 draw with Villa following the injury to Vermaelen.
And Wenger will assess whether Campbell has recovered sufficiently to play three games in a week prior to naming his side.
The Frenchman will also run the rule over 24-year-old Vermaelen, who was originally feared to have fractured his leg at Villa Park.
"The good news we have on Vermaelen is that there is no fracture," Wenger said of the Belgian, who has been a key figure since arriving from Ajax for £10m in the summer.
"We have to assess his knee today, there is still a small chance that he plays on Sunday.
"We will do the maximum to get him fit, but at the moment it looks unlikely.
"It should be a very short-term injury, and at the latest he should be ready for the Chelsea game."
Wenger acknowledges Rooney will pose a substantial threat for United but he refuses to focus solely on shutting out the striker
"I don't think they are over-reliant on Rooney, they changed their system a little bit the other day against Manchester City and didn't play with two strikers," said Wenger.
"They played with only Rooney up front and then of course he becomes the focal point of the game. But they have plenty of players, for example, in the game on Wednesday, Ryan Giggs was as well very influential.
"Rooney was at the end of things but Giggs created a lot of things in the game."
The tie against United could prove to be a pivotal game for the Gunners, who are two points behind leaders Chelsea and one point behind the Old Trafford outfit in the Premier League.
"I believe that no matter what happens we will still be in a position where we will have a chance after these games, but it can put us in a very strong position and that is what we want," said Wenger.
"We know that to be successful in this period we have to be more of a team than the other teams. We have to think how strong and how much solidarity it takes to get through a period like that. That is what we want to show on Sunday.
"We love being in the race. Of course it was our dream to be in this position in this period of time."
In another Arsenal-United twist this week, Ferguson beat Wenger to the signing of highly rated Fulham defender Chris Smalling.
Both managers had made bids for the 20-year-old with Smalling eventually joining United for a fee of about £7m.
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