Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger admitted on French TV that Paris Saint-Germain’s £166m signing of Kylian Mbappé was simply too high for the Gunners to match.

Despite admitting his interest in the forward on multiple occasions, Arsène Wenger and Arsenal didn’t make a move for Mbappé in this summer’s transfer window, and in the end the Monaco striker ended up joining PSG on a loan-to-buy deal.

Making an appearance on French TV show Téléfoot, Wenger revealed that the reason for this was financial, saying: “€180 million (or £166m) is a bit high for us”. It’s hard to argue with that statement.

When it comes down to it, there isn’t a club in the world that have come close to matching the fees that Paris Saint-Germain are spending on players. Paul Pogba’s transfer to Manchester United last summer was a world record fee at a reported £89m, and that figure has been blown out of the water since.

So if even the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea struggle to put together that much money for one player, despite their frequent heavy spending, it’s no surprise that Arsenal would be in the same situation.

That doesn’t stop it being disappointing to Gunners fans that it’s money holding them back once again, after so many years of tight budgets due to the stadium move. But it seems Mbappé was unfortunately out of reach this summer.