Kylian Mbappe is considered one of the best players on the planet, but Arsenal fans should be glad they never landed the Real Madrid forward. There was a time when virtually every club in world football would have jumped at the chance to secure his signature. For Arsenal supporters particularly, there has long been an allure surrounding the Frenchman, prompting some of the more optimistic corners of the fanbase to ask 'What if we signed him?'
Perhaps it stems from the fact Mbappe remains the closest thing football has seen to a Thierry Henry successor since the King of Highbury retired in 2014. The two Frenchmen share several parallels, including growing up in Parisian suburbs, blistering speed, dazzling skills, enjoying World Cup glory early in their careers, and carrying an undeniable aura on the field. Mbappe was raised in Bondy idolising the Arsenal legend, having confessed to watching 'everything Henry did.' What proved even more fascinating to Gunners fans everywhere was the widely-shared photograph of a young Mbappe wearing Arsenal's 2003/04 yellow kit, with Henry's name and iconic No.14 on the back.
He came closer than most are aware to becoming an Arsenal player in the summer of 2016. Then-manager Arsene Wenger famously travelled to his home in France while he was still at Monaco in a bid to persuade him to move to N5 following a 26-goal breakthrough campaign. But the teenage prodigy stayed at Monaco for another term and ended up signing for PSG the following summer, initially on loan, before sealing a £165million permanent transfer. The Gunners simply couldn't compete with PSG's financial muscle when they came back with an offer in 2017.
For years, they would lament Wenger's unsuccessful pursuit of another of Clairfontaine's most sought-after talents, watching from a distance as he shattered record after record for the Parisians while Arsenal fell out of the Champions League. However, the Mbappe dream has finally been shattered over the past 18 months – and few around the Emirates Stadium would genuinely want Mikel Arteta to bring him in now to play ahead of Viktor Gyokeres.
For years, Mbappe-led PSG failed to secure their first Champions League crown. Last term, in their first campaign without the Frenchman, Luis Enrique's side adopted a notably more team-oriented approach and won the trophy. Mbappe, in contrast, set the record for the most goals scored by a player during their debut season at his dream club, Real Madrid, but failed to secure any of the major team honours. That only reinforced the perception that the France captain played purely for himself and made his team worse overall.
That narrative has increased tenfold over the past month, with Madrid's second season without a trophy leading to a toxic circus around the club and dressing room infighting. Mbappe sits at the heart of that turmoil, having come under fire for suffering an injury at a pivotal point in the campaign and heading to Italy to spend time with his model girlfriend while his team-mates faltered on the pitch. This reached a head when an online 'Mbappe out' petition amassed over 70million signatures, although the legitimacy of those signatures is questionable. Mbappe was booed by his own fans when he made his return from injury against Real Oviedo on Thursday and became embroiled in a public row with Los Blancos manager Alvaro Arbeola, having claimed the Spaniard told him he was the fourth-choice striker at the club.
The significance for Arsenal is that the north Londoners have finally arrived at a point where they can look at Mbappe's situation at Real Madrid and view the entire saga as a dodged bullet. That's because they now have a striker in Gyokeres who can score goals and play for the badge. Arteta has led his team to this year's Champions League final and topped the Premier League table for the majority of the campaign by sticking to several core principles, which boil down to no individual being more important than the collective. The French superstar, while undeniably a superior individual talent to Gyokeres, would have ruined everything Arteta has built due to his ego.
Arteta can actually depend on £64m summer signing Gyokeres, who embodies all of his values in every moment of every match, putting his body on the line with every challenge and loose ball pursued. That same mentality has seen the Swede undergo a remarkable transformation in recent weeks, one which has seen him register five goal involvements in his last six Premier League matches. Gyokeres faced criticism and was even mocked for extended periods of the season but he never sulked or aired his grievances to the press. Despite his shortcomings, his commitment and work ethic have clearly paid off as he now fluidly links up with team-mates and scores vital goals to edge the Gunners towards a potentially historic double.
There are whispers that Mbappe could even be on the market this summer – but Arsenal would be sensible to steer clear. As such, it's fair to say words which were inconceivable before the turn of the year: Arsenal don't need Kylian Mbappe – Viktor Gyokeres is doing what is required of a No.9 to finally get the club over the line.
