Robert Pires thinks Arsenal 'will sign' Kylian Mbappe and identifies two other forward targets

Arsenal legend Robert Pires is confident the Gunners will sign Monaco wonderkid Kylian Mbappe and believes Arsene Wenger to be the ideal candidate to oversee the teenage forward's development.

The football world is in awe of Mbappe, who only became a regular in Monaco's starting line-up at the turn of the year, and his form for Leonardo Jardim's side has garnered intense interest from a number of European clubs.

Real Madrid were believed to have had a £103m bid for Mbappe turned down by Monaco last month. Reports in Spain stated that the France international will only leave the principality for Zinedine's Zidane men, but Pires is confident his compatriot can be convinced to join Arsenal and hopes to see him link up with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, whose respective futures are far from clear.

"I do think Arsenal will sign him [Mbappe]," Pires was quoted as saying by Arseblog. "The problem is how much. Mbappe has the potential to play for Arsenal and Wenger is the right manager to manage him. Monaco and Arsenal are very similar in clubs, so it won't be much of a transition."

"Mbappe is a great player who has good potential. Of course he is very expensive but now in the UK anything is possible. The most important thing is to keep Sanchez and Ozil and if they buy [Alexandre] Lacazette and Mbappe.

Despite their failure to qualify for the Champions League, Pires believes Arsenal have the power to keep hold of Sanchez and Ozil, both entering the final year of their current deals in north London, and add further quality to their forwardline.

Alexandre Lacazette, valued at £60m by Lyon, has long been linked with a move to The Emirates Stadium while Ousmane Dembele's form for Borussia Dortmund has led to speculation surrounding his future. Pires spoke of his admiration for the pair and is hoping to see the French attackers, along with Mbappe, rock up in north London this summer.

"Arsenal can do both – they can extend the contracts of Sanchez and Ozil and why not buy two or three players?" Pires added. [Alexandre] Lacazette is a great player, and I love Ousmane Dembele at Dortmund, too."