Mikel Arteta gives Arsenal fans hope of stunning Kylian Mbappe transfer

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has opened the door to a stunning deal for Kylian Mbappe this summer.

The Paris Saint-Germain star has informed the French club of his decision to leave this summer as a free agent.

Real Madrid lead the race for his signature but Arsenal have been touted as serious suitors and Arteta says the Gunners should always be in the conversation for players of Mbappe’s quality.

«When there is a player of that calibre, we always have to be in that conversation,» Arteta told his pre-match press conference on Friday.

«But it looks in a different way, that’s what I would say.”

Arteta's comments reflect the progress being made at the Emirates Stadium.

Few would have considered that arguably the best player in world football would be an option for the north London side.

While Mbappe is likely to favour a move to elsewhere, Arsenal fans will be hopeful their side can continue to attract the attention of the world's top talent in the years to come.

Mbappe appears to be heading in the direction of Real Madrid after a long-drawn out saga, spanning eight years.

The Frenchman entered discussions with the La Liga giants shortly after making his debut for Monaco in the 2015/16 season.

A move to the Bernabeu failed to materialise and instead, Mbappe completed a £153million switch to hometown club Paris Saint-Germain.

The forward has become one of world football’s biggest stars despite playing his entire career in Ligue 1.

At 19, Mbappe lifted the World Cup with France, scoring in the final in a 4-2 win against Croatia.

Incredibly, he repeated the feat by netting a hat-trick in the 2022 final against Argentina but was on the losing side following a tense penalty shootout.

Despite breaking a host of domestic records and picking up