Arsenal to use Giroud as makeweight for top transfer target

Arsenal will make a second bid for Kylian Mbappe and hope to use Olivier Giroud as a makeweight in a deal to convince Monaco to part ways with the teenage wonderkid, reports London Evening Standard.

The Gunners have already failed with a €100m (£87.3m) bid for the Monaco striker but Arsene Wenger is determined to land the France international in a bid to dramatically turn his side into genuine title challengers next season.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is preparing for the potential departure of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, who are both in the last year of their current deals, but is ready to balance their exits with some high profile arrivals after earmarking the arrival of French trio Alexandre Lacazette, Thomas Lemar and Mbappe as the club's top transfer targets.

Wenger is prepared to sell Giroud this summer as he looks to revamp his offensive options and is now hopeful of including the 30-year-old in their improved offer for Mbappe. If that fails, they are also considering using the France international as a part-exchange for the considerably cheaper Lyon striker Lacazette.

Giroud has spent the last five years at Arsenal but only started 11 Premier League games last season and has already revealed he will not settle for another season watching on from the bench with one eye on the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

By contrast, Mbappe emerged as an integral part of Monaco’s Ligue 1 success last season and the 18-year-old, who is also wanted by Real Madrid, was reportedly due to sit down with the Monaco hierarchy to discuss his future at the club, with a view to being offered a contract extension with the French champions.

Mbappe made 29 league appearances last season, although only 17 of those were as a starter. In that time, he scored 15 goals and registered eight assists during a stunning breakthrough campaign.

For more stats on Kylian Mbappe, click here to visit his WhoScored player page