Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal must be in contention for world-class signings but has cast doubt on the chances of Kylian Mbappe signing for the club, after the announcement that the forward will leave Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer this summer.
Mbappe has confirmed his decision to leave PSG as a free agent at the end of the campaign, with arguably the world’s finest footballer set to be available in July.
The France captain has scored a club-record 243 goals in 290 games for the Ligue 1 champions and has this week been linked with Arsenal.
However, Real Madrid remain frontrunners to sign Mbappe and have been long-term suitors, having submitted several bids in recent transfer windows.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Burnley in the Premier League this weekend, Arteta said Arsenal must always ‘be in the conversation’ for players of Mbappe’s talent but cast doubt on the North London side’s hopes of bringing him to the Premier League.
“When there is a player of that calibre we always have to be in the conversation, but it looks a different way.”
Arteta provided an update on the fitness of his Arsenal squad and said he is ‘positive’ the Gunners will have a ‘few players’ back available for the trip to Burnley.
“Some of them have been progressing more than others, we have got a training session today and I am positive we will get a few players back tomorrow.
“We have to go game-by-game and in the last few weeks we have had to play other players and we have not had players to do so, certain players we have tried to manage that in the best way.”
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