“I do think Arsenal will sign Mbappé. The problem is how much for. Mbappé has the potential to play for Arsenal and Wenger is the right manager to manage him.”
Those were the words of Robert Pirès, former Arsenal player and current ‘foundation ambassador’ for the club, towards the end of April in an interview with bwin.
At the time, many merely dismissed them as strong words to convince fans the Gunners were still capable of competing with the best on the transfer market (Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil prove they still can, at times).
Plus, back then, Arsène Wenger’s future was still up in the air, and confirmation of his new two-year deal was still to come.
However, now that’s out of the way and #WengerStays, it appears the French manager is keen to prove to the world that he still means business.
Late on Thursday night, L’Equipe revealed that Arsenal had made a €100m bid for Monaco’s 18-year-old prodigy Kylian Mbappé, and a large part of social media went into meltdown.
Not because of the amount (after all, we’re all used to today’s market by now), but because this bid, albeit impressive, came a few days after reports that both Manchester City and Real Madrid had made €130m offers for the same player.
If all of this did happen, and the Evening Standard have confirmed Arsenal’s bid, then logic states that if Monaco didn’t accept the two higher bids, why would they accept Arsène Wenger’s?
Since then, surely enough, news has emerged the bid has since been rejected, meaning Arsenal are going to, seemingly, have to do better than €130m if they want the France international.
After all, this isn’t the first time the Gunners have had difficulties trying to sign him, already attempting to do so last year.
At this point, it’s worth clarifying a few things.
Firstly, Vadim Vasilyev, Monaco’s vice-president, made it clear in early May that Kylian Mbappé was ‘priceless’, and he meant it.
While a lot of other clubs would have jumped at the chance to cash in such a lavish bid, Monaco really don’t need the money.
The Ligue 1 champions have already sold Bernardo Silva to Manchester City, and players like Tiémoué Bakayoko, Fabinho and Benjamin Mendy are all reportedly on their way out too.
Let’s say they all go for an average of £35m each.
That’s £140m the club can reinvest in young and talented players this summer, and you can be certain they won’t spend all of it either.
Furthermore, Thursday’s news that Radamel Falcao had signed a new contract with Monaco until 2020 says a lot about what the club have planned.
The Colombian star choosing to stay when he could have easily cashed in this summer and moved to China, for example, suggests Monaco presented him with a clear and ambitious project, one he felt matched his ambitions.
Secondly, it’s easy to forget that before the 2016/17 season started, only those who watched Monaco on a regular basis knew of Kylian Mbappé, and the 18-year-old only has half a season of regular first-team football under his belt.
The forward only really burst onto the scene in February, and while he’s done extremely well, consistent time on the pitch is what he needs.
The argument of many Arsenal fans when news of the €100m bid was ‘he’ll get it at Arsenal, whereas he wouldn’t at Manchester City or Real Madrid’.
Yes, he probably would, but, as things stand, he has everything he wants and needs at Monaco.
If Leonardo Jardim does stay, and Falcao remaining could very well be the first sign he will, Mbappé gets to play in a 4-4-2 system that suits him down to a T next to one of the best natural strikers in recent years (forget his two rather painful years in the Premier League).
While the body of the Falcao we all witnessed at Atlético Madrid might not be the same, the knowledge and the instincts are, and training alongside that for an extra-year will only make the youngster a better player.
Will he be able to do the same learning from Olivier Giroud? And before you say ‘Yes, but Alexis Sanchez’, we’re still to get confirmation the Chilean star is remaining at the Emirates next season.
Plus, and this isn’t a sly dig at Arsenal fans, it’s just the truth, he gets to play Champions League football with Monaco, which he won’t with the Gunners.
All these things need to be taken into account, and there’s more.
Thirdly, as previously mentioned, Monaco don’t need the money, and Mbappé is the same.
Much like Marcus Rashford, the young France international is one of the most level-headed teenagers you will ever hear, and comments like “The word footballer doesn’t rhyme with Ferrari” just emphasise this (also, he doesn’t have a driving licence).
Kylian Mbappé: “The word footballer does not rhyme with Ferrari. Not having a car is not a big deal. You just adapt to it.” (BeIN)
— Get French Football (@GFFN) 23 May 2017
Players his age tend to be blinded by the prospect of having everything they want, often pushed by his mates who also want to profit from his newfound wealth.
It seems Mbappé is the complete opposite of that, at a club who take extremely good care of him and his family.
This take us to fourthly: family is extremely important to him.
More often than not, when Mbappé is filmed off the pitch in his everyday life, his younger brother Ethan isn’t far behind.
The 11-year-old is a huge part of his life, to the extent that the striker made it clear that wherever he went, his little brother would go with him and integrate at that club too.
Kylian Mbappé: “If I move club my brother will come with me to that club.” (BeIN)
— Get French Football (@GFFN) 23 May 2017
And that celebration he does when scores that everyone loves (knee slide, arms crossed)? That’s what Ethan does to him when he beats him playing video games.
And finally, there’s the World Cup to take into account. The 2017/18 season will be a huge one for a lot of players, as a great campaign could be the difference between making their national team’s squad for the competition or missing out entirely.
As an 18-year-old, why take the risk of changing club now when, surrounded by a team you know and can trust, you stand far more of a chance of making the squad if you stay put just an extra year?
After that, sure, move, do what you want, but transferring to the Premier League, for example, could lead to him needing time to adapt to his new surroundings, to the style of football etc…
Some players, like Anthony Martial, adapt straight away, but others don’t.
It’s a gamble.
As well as talent, time is something Mbappé has a huge amount of, and there’s a feeling he and Monaco are very aware of that.
A transfer to wherever next season, at the age of 19, makes far more sense than rushing things now and having everything potentially crash around you if things don’t work out.
There’s always the chance Monaco flop next year without Bernardo Silva and co., but that seems unlikely.
Even if they don’t win the Ligue 1 next season, they’ll be up there, in the top three, and with the talent they already have in their squad, on top of the recruits they have already brought in (Tielemans and Jorge, for example) and those they are rumoured to be looking at, Mbappé will most likely continue to get all the chances he needs to put the ball in the back of the net.
Thus, the name Kylian Mbappé, already lauded across the globe, will still get its chance to live on an extra year until next summer.
After that, it’s down to him.
