Kylian Mbappe appears to rule out Arsenal move after claiming winning the Champions League is an 'obsession'

Arsenal hopes of a world-record deal for Monaco teenager Kylian Mbappe have been dealt a major blow after he revealed he is “obsessed” with winning the Champions League.

Arsene Wenger was pictured in Monaco last week with chief executive Ivan Gazidis which sparked rumours of a bid in excess of £100m for Mbappe, with Real Madrid also interested.

The Gunners finished outside the top four for the first time in 20 years this season, meaning they will be missing from the Champions League and have to make do with the Europa League.

While that didn’t have an impact on Manchester United’s transfer activity last summer as they signed Paul Pogba for a world-record fee, as well as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly, it looks like it will impair Arsenal’s ability to lure Europe’s top talents to the Emirates.

Mbappe revealed previously that he would have to be guaranteed first-team football if he made a move away from Monaco this summer, but he has hinted that it must also be Champions League football – something Arsenal cannot offer.

“[The Champions League] is a dream, a competition that everyone wants to win and that only a minority can win - the most important are the titles,” Mbappe told Telefoot.

“That would be much more of an obsession for me than the Ballon d'Or, for example. I want to touch the stars and, when you dream, you do not dream of playing the middle of the table or maintaining it.”