Arsenal missed out on Kylian Mbappe transfer after Gunners' poor form scuppered deal

Arsenal were on the verge of signing Kylian Mbappe as a teenager before his career-making move to Monaco, only for the Gunners' underwhelming form to scupper the deal

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Arsenal nearly signed Kylian Mbappe in 2013

Kylian Mbappe is seen by many as the spiritual successor to Thierry Henry - and the passing of the torch very nearly happened within the walls of the Emirates Stadium.

You see, Arsenal missed out on the chance to sign a 14-year-old Mbappe back in 2013, shortly before his career-making move to Monaco.

Former Gunners scout Gilles Grimandi says the club were confident of landing the prodigiously-talented youngster following several positive meetings with the Mbappe family, but that the senior side's lack of success at the time put him off the move.

"[Mbappe] was out of contract in June 2013 and we met him in February. If we could have convinced him to join, he would have changed the club - but he then decided on Monaco," Grimandi told The Sun.

"Arsenal were not always playing their best so it was quite complicated. At first it was easy, as soon as we talked to a player he wanted to sign. However, if you are not getting results it is difficult to bring top players to help the team.

Arsenal were at the tail-end of an eight-year trophy drought when they tried to lure Mbappe to north London, and hadn't been Premier League champions for nearly a decade.

However, after winning back-to-back FA Cups they decided to have another go, with manager-at-the-time Arsene Wenger visiting Mbappe's home to try and convince him to join, but the future World Cup winner said no.

His decision paid off as he broke into Monaco's first XI later that season, and within a year he'd secured a blockbuster £160m move to PSG - just as Arsenal began their six-year Champions League hiatus.

C'est la vie.