Arsenal are apparently willing to offer Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe the number nine shirt if he chooses a move to north London this summer.
- Mbappe teammate: He doesn’t know if he’s going to stay or go
- French journalist: Mbappe feels ‘close’ to Arsenal
- Arsenal have record-breaking Mbappe bid rejected – report
- 18-year-old to be handed number nine shirt at Arsenal
While Mbappe has said apparently that he ‘feels close’ to Arsenal, he has always insisted that Real Madrid are his ‘dream club’. Therefore, right now, the La Liga giants a major obstacle in the way of Arsene Wenger’s move for the striker.
The way in which the Frenchman hopes to tackle this, other than offer Ligue 1 club Monaco £87m+ for the 18-year-old, is hand Mbappe the number nine shirt at Arsenal. Well, according to Kike Marin, anyway.
This is something Real Madrid won’t offer.
The number nine shirt is usually reserved for more established players with the likes of Alan Smith and Nicolas Anelka previously wearing it. However, at Arsenal, it’s developed a reputation for being cursed considering the likes of Paul Merson, Julio Baptista, and famous ‘flop’ Francis Jeffers, among numerous others, donned the number.
Considering that shirt is currently held by Lucas Perez who looks likely to leave in the summer, the curse looks set to continue…
