Arsenal: Kylian Mbappe Showing Maturity Only Raises Excitement

Kylian Mbappe has stated that he is staying grounded amid transfer links with Arsenal and Manchester United. Such maturity only raises excitement.

The acquiring of young players in the transfer market is a risky business. Players develop at very different rates. Some rely on their overly-advanced physical power at youth level, which is far less of an advantage at the elite level. Others utilise their technical prowess and wait for their athletic traits to catch up with them. For Arsenal, they have experienced many of the difficulties on numerous occasions.

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Perhaps the most famous of which was the move for Francis Jeffers in 2001. Signed as a fresh-faced 20-year-old after an impressive stint at Everton in which he scored 20 goals in less than 40 starts, it was hoped that Jeffers would develop into the ‘fox-in-the-box’ type player that Arsenal needed at the time.

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That was not to be the case. Thanks to injuries and immaturity, Jeffers was never able to deliver on his natural talent and has since become the butt of many a footballing joke. The example of Jeffers is why the recent comments from Kylian Mbappe are so exciting.

The young Monaco forward has been heavily linked with a move to England, with both the Gunners and Manchester United touted as possible destinations. However, when asked about the speculation that his young career is being increasingly encircled in, Mbappe stated that he is remaining grounded, focusing on improving himself, rather than the talk of the papers:

"“I do not look at what the English press say. I remain very calm around this attention I get. I get up in the morning and I go to practice [train] like everyone else. I try to work to improve myself every day and I try to do on the pitch what I do in training. For now, it works well. I would not say that what I do is extraordinary. I would not say it’s amazing but I’m on a good run.”"

It is rare for a young player – Mbappe is just 18, having broken into the Monaco first team just this season – to show such experience and maturity. Mbappe clearly has inexorable talents.  He has now scored 19 goals in 32 games for Monaco, including playing 980 Ligue 1 minutes this season; scoring 12 and assisting five. That is direct involvement in a goal every 56.65 minutes. Moreover, only Dele Alli and Timo Verner have scored more goals (both with 14) this season across Europe’s top five leagues aged under 21.

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Such incredible statistics show the quality that Mbappe that boasts and the potential that many clubs would be blessed to unlock. However, Jeffers also had outstanding statistics to vindicate his talents. What makes Mbappe so exciting is the combination of his talent and his maturity. And that is a very rare breed.