Arsene Wenger was reportedly keen on bringing Kylian Mbappe to Arsenal before he made a name for himself at Paris Saint-Germain, only for the star striker to disrespect the Premier League titans
Kylian Mbappe’s alleged claim that Arsenal were a “stepping stone” club backfired ruthlessly after the Gunners knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League.
Arsene Wenger was keen on bringing the 26-year-old to the Emirates Stadium in 2017, as he was rising through the ranks of AS Monaco. The Frenchman bagged 27 goals in 60 appearances for the Ligue 1 side as clubs worldwide fought for his signature, with Wenger even calling him personally to discuss a transfer, reports L’Equipe.
While very little detail is known about the conversation, it is understood that Wenger plotted out a career path for Mbappe. However, Le Parisian claimed that Mbappe saw Arsenal as a mere stepping stone rather than a long-term prospect, as he aimed to play for Barcelona or Real Madrid before turning 22.
Wenger’s hopes of acquiring the services of Mbappe dwindled further when Paris Saint-Germain secured a loan move for the youngster for the 2017/18 season, which led to a mandatory purchase in the region of £154million. After scoring 256 goals and providing 107 assists for PSG over six years, clinching six league titles and nine domestic cups, Mbappe moved to Real Madrid on a free transfer last summer.
And while he finally got his dream of playing for Los Blancos, his opinion of Arsenal from eight years ago has seemingly come back to haunt him in the worst way. Real Madrid headed into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday evening with a 3-0 deficit.
The two sides initially met last week, where Arsenal ran out winners courtesy of a Declan Rice brace and an additional goal from Mikel Merino at the Emirates. And Madrid were ultimately unable to turn the tide at the Bernabeu, once more being handed a bitter defeat by the Gunners.
Despite scuffing a penalty in the first half, Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for Mikel Arteta’s side on the 65th minute with a well-worked ball into the box from Merino. However, Madrid were quick to respond to going a goal down, as Vinicius Junior caught William Saliba in possession in his own box before tucking the ball into the back of an empty net.
Gabriel Martinelli sealed the deal for the visitors in stoppage time, bursting through the centre of the pitch in a last-minute counter before slotting it home past Thibaut Courtois to advance to the semi-finals with an aggregate of 5-1 over two games.
It could turn out to be one of those seasons for Mbappe at Real Madrid. Los Blancos missed out on the Supercopa de Espana in January thanks to a 5-2 thrashing from Barcelona. They face the same side in the final of the Copa del Rey later this month. They currently lag behind their rivals in La Liga by four points with just seven games remaining.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will go on to face PSG in the semi-finals of the Champions League, with hopes of playing either Barcelona or Inter Milan in May’s final. With just six games remaining in the Premier League, they’re currently 13 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, and the Champions League is Arteta’s last hope to win silverware for the season.
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