Arsene Wenger has said he expects Kylian Mbappe to remain at Monaco and confirmed Arsenal had not made a world-record bid for the teenage striker.
Mbappe, 18, has been linked with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City as well as Arsenal this summer after scoring 15 goals as Monaco won the Ligue 1 title and a further six as the club reached the semifinals of the Champions League.
Wenger had shown interest in signing Mbappe but said it seemed unlikely that the player would move.
“It looks like that,” Wenger told a postmatch news conference when asked if he expected Mbappe to stay at Monaco. “Maybe he had too much choice, so in the end people don’t move.”
There were reports that Arsenal had made a world-record bid for the France international, which Wenger denied.
“That’s not true,” he said. “People have big imaginations. What we know now with Mbappe is it’s over £100m, after that it’s free for everyone to imagine.
“But we have not made any offer. I think he will stay, it looks like that, for one more season.”
Wenger also said he expects Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to be at the club next season.
“Yes, 100 percent I expect him to stay,” he said. “There is no speculation — no matter what happens he will stay.”
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