Arsenal Reportedly Have £87M Kylian Mbappe Transfer Offer Rejected by Monaco

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Monaco have reportedly rejected a €100 million (£87 million) bid for Kylian Mbappe from Arsenal. 

According to the Telegraph's Jason Burt, the Gunners' bid is one of three the Ligue 1 side have turned down for the forward, while Real Madrid's even higher offer of €120 million (£105 million) still failed to make the grade.

The identity of the third club to make an offer has not been confirmed, but Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are all said to be interested.

Per L'Equipe (h/t Burt), Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wanted to make Mbappe the "centrepiece in his team."

Football writer Liam Canning took the report as further evidence of the Frenchman's frugality in the transfer market, while Arsenal legend Ian Wright dismissed it out of hand:

However, as Burt noted, Arsenal may have "structured their deal differently."

For example, they could have offered a larger sum up front or included bonuses on top based on goals, appearances, silverware or individual awards.

Further, the Gunners could offer the 18-year-old a bigger role in the team and therefore a better platform to develop his game than he might receive at Real, who are already well-stocked with world-class attacking talent.

Bleacher Report's James McNicholas argued as much, though he too wasn't surprised by Arsenal offering a lower fee than Madrid:

Mbappe, who only turned 18 in December, burst on to the scene with an incredible year for Monaco, bagging 26 goals and 14 assists in all competitions. Having played a total of 2,633 minutes, he contributed one or the other every 66 minutes on average.

The France international looks the real deal, and while it seems incredible that a player with one excellent season in Ligue 1 could be worth nine figures, such is the way of the market now.

Monaco have so far proved resilient to some sensational offers already, so they may well get their wish of keeping Mbappe for another year at least.

But if he decides to move, it will be difficult for Arsenal to land his signature given the level of competition they will face, especially since they have missed out on the Champions League for the coming season.