Exclusive: Arsenal fear for Rooney and Higuain

Arsenal fear being hijacked by richer rivals in their bid to sign Wayne Rooney, 27, from Manchester United and 25-year-old Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid.

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.

Chelsea retain a strong interest in the unsettled United ace and Roman Abramovich has made it clear to new boss Jose Mourinho he would back him with hard cash for big-name signings.

With Monaco and Paris St-Germain also in the market, all three can stretch their budgets to land England hitman Rooney.

That would again leave Arsenal looking at the second tier of transfer targets at a time when they are desperately trying to retain their status at the top table of the European game.

Rooney has spoken with Moyes to discuss his future at Old Trafford, as Starsport exclusively revealed last month.

And today, when Moyes officially begins work as United boss, one of his first tasks will be to find out whether he should plan for the former Everton striker to be part of his first-team squad.

United are reluctant to sell to any of their Premier League rivals, making a move abroad more likely. But Moyes also wants to avoid blocking a move and then being saddled with a disgruntled Rooney.

Adapted from Daily Star