Arsenal: Missing Kylian Mbappe A Costly Mistake

Arsene Wenger has revealed that he attempted to sign Kylian Mbappe last season. Failing to bring him to Arsenal is a costly mistake, quite literally.

Meddling in the transfer window is a difficult and uncertain task. Players, especially young and foreign players who have little experience, are rarely known commodities when they arrive on English shores. Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have been on the short stick of this issue many times before.

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Signings such as Francis Jeffers, Gervinho and Andrey Arshavin all point to the unknown nature of investing in the transfer window. It is difficult to predict the futures of young players, their development or their failures, both in signing and fail to sign players.

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One such example this season is Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe. Touted as a possible star last year, Mbappe broke into the Monaco first team this season, establishing himself as a star at the highest level, scoring a wonderful finish against Manchester City in the Champions League among other goals. In his pre-match press conference before Arsenal’s hosting of Lincoln City, Wenger revealed that he made an approach for Mbappe last summer, with Monaco rejecting any advancements:

"“I approached him last year because I really believe that he has an exceptional future ahead of him. Unfortunately today, all these young players are in full view from very, very early on and all the big clubs want them. I hope the fact that everybody is already talking of nobody but him isn’t going to have a negative impact on his future.”"

That is a disappointing statement to hear. Mbappe has shown he has the natural skills to develop into a sensational player; his blend of pace and power as he drives forward with purpose, committing defenders in wide areas and creating space centrally for his teammates as a result make a phenomenon at just 18 years of age.

However, if Arsenal are still interested in acquiring his services in the summer, having failed to do so the year previous. Mbappe will likely cost north of £30 million, a significant fee for a player who, while talented, is still yet to prove that he can consistently be an attacking force at the top level.

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Perhaps a more ruthless manager in the transfer window would have forced a successful move for Mbappe. It was a mistake from Wenger to fail to secure his signature, and it could well be a costly one for the Gunners.