Mikel Arteta already has his own Kylian Mbappe as new Arsenal undroppable emerges for Burnley

The likes of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and William Saliba have all become extremely important for Mikel Arteta in the 2023/24 season and new name could now be added to that list. The trio have all featured for over 2,000 minutes in Premier League action this season and have become the spine of Arteta's young and exciting rebuild.

Injuries have plagued the Gunners this season, but both Saliba and Rice are yet to miss the start of a game through injury, while Saka has been absent for just one match because of a muscular issue. Last weekend, in the 6-0 demolition of West Ham, all three were on the score sheet with Saka netting a brace.

Goals had been hard to come by for Arsenal in the first half of the season however 16 have since arrived in four Premier League games since the turn of the year. One of those fixtures was against Liverpool with Arteta's side riding out 3-1 winners and thus inserting themselves back into the title race.

Signing a new forward has been an aim for Arteta and Edu and the most high-profile name they could welcome would be Kylian Mbappe. While a transfer to Real Madrid appears the likely outcome, upon the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, Arteta has hinted Arsenal should be in the race for his signature.

«When there is a player of that calibre we always have to be in the conversation,» he boldly admitted on Friday. «But as you said it looks in a different way.» Adding Mbappe to his Arsenal frontline would be a sensational coup from Arteta however he may already have an attacker that is very close to Mbappe in terms of efficiency.

From half the amount of minutes as Mbappe, Leandro Trossard is near the World Cup winner in terms of his attacking output. From just over 2,200 minutes in Ligue 1