Arsenal almost signed Kylian Mbappe before he joined Monaco in 2013 revealed former scout, Gilles Grimandi.
The French striker is currently one of the best in the world and probably the most sought-after player. Currently playing in PSG on an extremely lucrative contract, the 24-year-old would cost any interested club a world-record fee.
Read More: Gary Neville says that he has sympathy for Manchester City after FFP charges🤔
But it could have been so different, according to former Arsenal scout Gilles Grimandi, the Gunners almost signed the youngster when he was 13.
‘The job of scouting is about finding but also missing players. For me, it is Kylian Mbappe. We just could not convince him,’ he told The Sun.
‘He was out of contract in June 2013 and we met him in February. If we could have convinced him to join, he would have changed the club — but he then decided on Monaco.
‘Arsenal were not always playing their best so it was quite complicated. At first it was easy, as soon as we talked to a player he wanted to sign it.
‘However, if you are not getting results it is difficult to bring top players to help the team.’
This isn’t the first name that Arsenal ‘almost’ signed, they were interested in Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he was at Ajax and infamously Cristiano Ronaldo before he moved to Manchester United.