Arsenal considered £80m Kylian Mbappe bid but Real Madrid forced them to give up - report
ARSENAL considered making an £80million bid for Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe but Real Madrid's interest forced them to sign Alexandre Lacazette instead, reports claim.
Monaco star Kylian Mbappe's brilliant back-heel sets up goal
Mbappe is wanted by Europe's elite after scoring 26 goals for Monaco last season.
La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have both been tipped to go head to head for the France international after Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain.
And PSG themselves have been tipped to raid their Ligue 1 rivals, with Unai Emery determined to secure another marquee transfer despite shelling out £198million on Neymar.
Arsenal were in the mix for his signature at the start of the summer, before eventually cooling their interest.
Arsenal were keen to sign Kylian Mbappe before Real Madrid came along
And the Daily Mail say the Gunners considered making a huge £80m offer.
Previous reports have claimed Arsene Wenger wanted Mbappe last summer before placing his faith in Lucas Perez, who arrived from Deportivo La Coruna.
Yet the reason Wenger opted against a bid was down to Real Madrid.
Los Blancos have a unique pulling power and, even with Barcelona and PSG also rivalling them, the 19-year-old is widely expected to move to the Bernabeu either this summer or next.
GETTY
Arsenal nearly made an £80m bid for Monaco star Kylian Mbappe
GETTY
Arsenal signed Alexandre Lacazette instead of Kylian Mbappe
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Instead, Arsenal then shelled out £52m on Alexandre Lacazette, who became their record signing.
The Daily Mail add Manchester City also retain an interest in Mbappe.
Pep Guardiola has Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero at his disposal but is eying more reinforcements as he aims to win the Premier League title for the first time.
