French football expert Jonathan Johnson has explained how he could see a path towards Kylian Mbappe giving serious consideration to a transfer to Arsenal.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Johnson explained that Mbappe’s dream is very much to play for Real Madrid some day, and that’s been mapped out in his plan for his career.
However, Johnson also gave some insight into how Mbappe’s camp might react if Real were seen to be putting pressure on the player to make a decision on his future quickly this January, and it seems this wouldn’t be well received.
The France international is nearing the end of his contract at PSG, making him potentially the most high-profile free agent in world football next summer, but it’s not yet been ruled out that he could sign a new deal to stay at his current club.
Johnson expects that if Mbappe leaves PSG it would be for a move to Madrid, but if Los Blancos were to perhaps overplay their hand or somehow harm their chances of getting a deal done, it seems that Mbappe would also be ready to think about a move to Arsenal, as he’d also like to play in the Premier League at some point in his career.
This is a complicated saga, however, as Johnson also says Liverpool’s interest in Mbappe has been more long-standing and more serious than the Gunners’, who have only been linked with the 24-year-old fairly recently.
“I think Arsenal are an attractive project now, and I think if an offer was there and Real Madrid took themselves out of the equation, then Mbappe would give it serious consideration,” Johnson said.
“I think the interest from Liverpool, however, has been more long-standing and more serious, but at the same time Liverpool are also going through something of a transitional phase, so neither club look an obvious destination for Mbappe at this moment in time – only Real Madrid really fit the bill in that respect.”
He added: “I wouldn’t completely rule Arsenal out, and the same goes for Liverpool, but I think those teams would be a distant second to Real Madrid, and it’s also not the case at this moment in time that he’s definitely decided he’s done and dusted with PSG either.
“A lot can change in the coming weeks and months, but I think the next key step is to see how Real Madrid approach this deal. Let’s see how they make their next charm-offensive, and what that could mean in terms of Arsenal or Liverpool becoming more serious destinations for Mbappe.”
The proper team for Mbappe is real Madrid I agree and you have to admit that it’s the player’s feelings for
to fit them
If he wants to be known as a world class player he needs to play in the best league in world witch is the premier league and the right team for him in the premier league is Arsenal