Former Arsenal scout details how Gunners missed out on Kylian Mbappe despite transfer looking ‘easy’ to add to Lionel Messi and Jude Bellingham blows

Arsenal have made a habit of missing out on future superstars and the latest appears to be Kylian Mbappe.

There has been an almost endless list of global stars that the Gunners could have signed but ended up losing out on, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

But the latest edition will rankle among the fanbase after former scout Gilles Grimandi, who also played more than 100 times for the club between 1997 and 2002, revealed how Arsenal missed out on Mbappe when he was a teenager.

At just the age of 14, the French wonderkid was already making a huge impression and Grimandi has recalled the club’s pursuit of the youngster that looked like an easy deal at one point but ultimately failed.

He told The Sun: “The job of scouting is about finding but also missing players.

“For me, it is Kylian Mbappe. We just could not convince him.

“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.

“That’s why it is important to stay at the top for as long as possible. It is so much easier.

“Yet the likes of Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah, who I watched develop, prove you should never forget the talent you have inside your club, even in difficult times.”

Grimandi’s confession follows shortly on from another ex-Arsenal scout Francis Cagigao, who revealed how close the club came to signing Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi.

The 54-year-old told AS: “I saw [Bellingham] for the first time when he was 16 years old.

“I wanted to sign him for Arsenal, but he was already too expensive.

“Messi’s situation was not regulated and it was impossible for him to have a work permit in the UK.”

It will never be known how Arsenal would have got on with Bellingham, Mbappe and Messi in their ranks but Mikel Arteta has managed well enough without for now.

The Gunners sit atop the Premier League and are five points clear of Manchester City with over half the season played as they look to win their first league title in 20 years.