Rooney would strengthen Red Devils, says Wenger
Wenger noted the need for all high-profile young players to lead a "clean life", especially those whose private affairs are under close scrutiny.
He also believes Rooney will have to learn to cope with the burden of a huge transfer fee if he leaves Everton.
However, Wenger has been an admirer of the teenager's talent since he scored his first league goal against the Gunners almost two years ago.
The Arsenal boss admitted: "My intuition tells me he is more likely to move east (to Manchester) than north (to Newcastle). Then again, Roman Abramovich must be on holiday.
"But United will soon get Rio Ferdinand back and, if they sign Rooney, as well as having Gabriel Heinze and Cristiano Ronaldo back, then they would suddenly look much stronger on paper.
"I'm not worried though. I don't expect my main opponents to sit back in a chair and allow us to cruise through the league. They will try to build a big side."
However, Wenger is not planning a late swoop, stressing he already has enough forward talent.
"I rate Rooney. The talent is there for him to be a great player and, as he's 18 years old, his price looks quite normal for a striker," he added.
"But we have what we need because we have (Jose) Reyes, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie. So on that side of the game, I'm not looking for somebody."
Not only that, but Wenger's transfer budget was effectively used up with January's record swoop for Reyes.
However, the Frenchman seems to have no regrets at moving for the promising Spaniard rather than waiting for Rooney.
"I don't see it like that. I made my choice and you don't only compare the players, you also compare their prices," he said.
"One is €20m (just under £14m) and the other is £25m. There is no comparison. Jose can play left, right or central. I didn't look at whether it was better to buy Rooney or Reyes. I looked at what we were missing and I didn't think Rooney was available."
Having handed in a transfer request, Rooney is looking at potential moves to either Old Trafford or St James' Park.
Either way, he will be under pressure to deliver.
"That's part of his career to deal with that. At some stage, he will leave Everton and it can only be for a big fee. No big player has ever moved without a big fee on his shoulders," said Wenger.
Rooney's private life has also hit the headlines in recent weeks amid lurid allegations, and the Arsenal boss noted the importance of players' off-pitch behaviour.
"I don't know how he is behaving off the pitch. But at the top level, you have to deal with your private life. That's part of the success of being a big player - to have a clean life," he said.
"Jose Reyes lives around his family here as he doesn't speak English very well yet. That's a good natural control."
Reyes should return to Arsenal's starting line-up for this evening's visit to Norwich as the Gunners look to extend their unbeaten run, with Edu also back in the squad.
Indeed, Wenger maintains the Premiership remains his primary target, despite his desire to win the Champions League for the first time.
"The most prestigious competition is maybe the European Cup. But you can win that with a good draw and I still think the Premiership is the most important competition," he stressed.
Everton boss David Moyes insists he will block a transfer for Wayne Rooney before the deadline if he does not get the valuation he wants.
The Everton boss was reacting in the wake of Rooney's transfer request yesterday which heightens the prospect of him joining Manchester United or Newcastle.
Those clubs have had bids of £20m and £23.5m respectively turned down by Everton with the prospect now of the bidding war reaching a climax before Tuesday's deadline.
"Wayne has confirmed by putting in a transfer request that he would like to leave the club.
"I am obviously disappointed, he is a player we valued very highly and I think we showed that with the effort we put into offering him a contract.
"We are disappointed but at the moment he is an Everton player and he will remain that until we receive anything like what we think is a valuation. Until we get that valuation there will be no movement. I have always said I want to build a team, not sell one, and if that was ever taken away from me I would consider things.
"But he is not being taken away from me - he has stated he wants to go because mainly he wants to play European football.
"And we cannot offer that to him at the moment at Everton.
"We don't want unhappy people because that does not work but I want to make sure we get the right price for Wayne."
Arsenal are interested in Spanish midfielder Miguel Angulo - but insist a deal may still not be possible before the transfer window closes.
"Miguel Angulo is a player we are looking at but we are still far from completing a move," said Wenger.
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