Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he and his club are following the progress of Kylian Mbappe this season.
The Frenchman was speaking to the Ligue 1 official Youtube Channel, and confirmed that he was keeping close tabs on Monaco youngster Mbappe, who is flourishing this season.
The striker, who turned 18 in December, has bagged himself seven goals in all competitions so far this term, despite starting the majority of matches on the bench. He has been likened to Thierry Henry for his playing style, as well as the Arsenal legend having begun his senior career with the French club.
‘Mbappe is not exactly Thierry Henry but it’s true that he has similar qualities,’ Wenger said.
‘The future, the talent is similar. The potential is similar. After that, has he the same level of motivation, desire and intelligence that Thierry had? The next two or three years will tell us that.
‘The first signs you see are very similar, yes.’
The Frenchman added that he and his club are following his development in Ligue 1.
‘Yes, we follow him and we know him very well and he is developing well,’ Wenger admitted.
‘I think he has extended his contract last season at Monaco so it’s Monaco who will decide about his future.
‘We could have another Thierry Henry.’
Wenger clearly believes this youngster has the potential to hit great heights in the future, and if we are lucky, Mbappe will also view Thierry as somewhat of a role model, and may well wish to try and emulate his glory in an Arsenal shirt.
Should we try and tempt Monaco to part ways with their future star? Should we wait for him to prove himself further?
Pat J
If Wenger wants him Wenger will get him, but sometimes with French youngsters he seems to dither a lot before making up his mind.
I know he’s actually Belgian but Wenger should have plucked Hazard from Lille when he was a kid.
Another Sanogo? we should look on the bright side. Get Reus and Benzema and added to Alexis and Ozil that’s called AMBITION. G. Jesus? where he comes from ? Brazil. why our useless scouts just bring us crap to the team? they SHOULD BE FIRED. spend 60 millions in those 2 players and then a new coach too and We can talk about title contenders not with this bunch we got now.keep OG and Lucas as back ups and play the League Cup and FA cup. CHANGES CHANGES CHANGES and AMBITION FOR OUR BELOVED CLUB. get deadwood out and injury prones out of the payroll to pay stars how great we are.
Hard to get excited when the phrase ‘next Henry’ is heard about 10 different players every window.
Hairy custard has a point, was gonna say but did Wenger ever liken anyone to Henry before, but then remembered Theo was supposed to be the English version. Henry is huge shoes to fill, I think comparing youngsters with him would scare off more of them than it would netting them. He’d be a huge shadow looming over throughout the kids career, the only way to live with it would be to bang in 20 goal seasons. The youngster at Celtic is further along, he’s more of a box player I think, so I wouldn’t keep my hopes up on him. Whoever gets this one (Mbappe) will have to pay big, like with Martial, but the smart thing would be to hold off a little, remember Sanogo was the next big thing coming out of France, even rated above Pogba.