Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he tried to bring France under-19 international Kylian Mbappé to the Emirates last year but the player opted to stay at Monaco.
Speaking to French television earlier in the week, the boss admitted he’d been following the progress of the 18-year-old striker who has six goals and seven assists to his name this season.
Asked about the prospect in his pre-Chelsea press conference, Wenger reiterated his belief that Mbappé shares qualities with Thierry Henry and that he’d tried to sign him.
“Yes, he has similarities to Thierry Henry. First of all, he’s from the Caribbean as well and he has a huge talent. He plays for Monaco, Thierry Henry played for Monaco. From when I was at Monaco I could see in Thierry similarities.
“After that, what makes the career is the mental aspect that Thierry had. This young boy has to show that he has similar qualities on the mental front that Thierry had.
“It was at stake last season [a move to Arsenal] but he decided to stay where he was.”
Mbappé appears to be on the radar of a number of clubs now, including the likes of Borussia Dortmund.
In light of the huge transfer that Anthony Martial made to the Premier League last season it’s fair to say that despite his tender years the lad probably wouldn’t come cheap.
It’ll be interesting to see how he develops and whether we ever make another approach.
Its unlike arsene to drop hints let alone admit interest in potential signings. I reckon we’re probably going for mbappe’s strike partner instead 😀
Yep, I agree……Wenger is normally very coy about his transfer dealings. when Arsene admits it in a press conference like now, it signals he definitely won’t be going again for that player.
it usually means he tried and failed lol. ”I tried” aka Kante aka a big list
if wenger is saying something about transfer of a player either we are very close to agreeing a deal with him or we or not interested in him at all. wenger never says anything if its not concrete.
Mbeppe, dubadoo Mbeppe
Dubadoo dop
Duba yeaaah Mbeppe
I’m reminded of how many times Wenger tried to sign Pires before he eventually came. If this guy is good enough perhaps we’ll be back for him this summer.
Every time I hear wenger say we tried to sign someone that went elsewhere and would have made the difference for us (Kante now !) it makes me want him to leave even more ! The team of players wenger tried to sign is mental yet he stuck with coq instead of going all out for kante!
Where did ya here it pal? Yer Da shouted at the tabloids headlines on Facebook?
Hmmm, I’m super cool with buying potential. No problem with it at all. Especially at a reasonable price. But I think we’re looking at the better part of £25 million. Why not push the boat out and go hard for an easy fit, risk free no brainer. Besides at some point we gotta give Akpom, Nketiah, Mavididi, Malen and Willock etc an opportunity.
Mate, the guy is really special but he will cost more than £50m. And it will be a bargain for whoever buys him! I.e. Not us!!!
We’ve missed a creative striker. Speed, height and technical skills but also the mental ability of Henry. He’s that much quicker in thought than those around him. Whether this fella can develop that is the big question but the prerequisites are there. Agree might have some heat on hi and will affect price but we have to pay higher these days and can. The other question then is if he sees Wenger as someone who can develop him like Henry and if Monaco would sell to us over some of the 6-7 other teams who will be willing to fork… Read more »
I’m sure Steve Bould will have special influence to do this deal.:D
We need to get this guy. If Wenger is speaking about trying to sign him he’s probably confident that he can get him at a later point.
Basically you can’t only have talent. You also need to be a cunt. Let’s face it, most world class strikers act like cunts. But focused and talented cunts.