Arsenal fear being blown out of the water in their bids to sign Wayne Rooney and Gonzalo Higuain, The Daily Star reports.

The Gunners have talked big over the summer about being able to compete to land football’s biggest names – and have backed that up by offering £20m for United star Rooney.

With £19m also on the table for Real Madrid ace Higuain, boss Arsene Wenger had been hoping to capture two new strikers before the squad returns for pre-season training next week.

But Rooney and Higuain are now both being tracked by some of Europe’s biggest clubs and Arsenal are concerned they won’t be able to outbid their rivals, or come close to matching the wage deals on offer elsewhere.

Argentina ace Higuain had seemed destined for the Emirates a fortnight ago.

But that deal has stalled amid interest from Juventus and London rivals Tottenham. And they now know that if they are to complete an audacious bid for Rooney, they are going to have to shatter their wage structure to compete with other clubs’ ­packages.