L'Equipe journalist Vincent Duluc says Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe "loves Arsenal" and was very close to joining the Gunners last summer.
The 18-year-old is again being heavily linked with a move to the Emirates with recent reports claiming that Arsenal have already tabled an £87million offer to secure his services.
Monaco has rejected the offer as they want to wait to understand what other offers they will receive throughout the summer.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have all shown interest in signing the youngster.
The French giants have already sold Bernardo Silva to Manchester City for £43million and Silva believes Mbappe could be next to leave the club.
"Honestly, I think even he does not know if he's going to stay or go," he said.
"He's a fantastic player who had an incredible second half of the season. I think he is [happy] in Monaco, but if he goes to a big club to play, it's also very good for him.
"He's very young, and it would be nice to stay a year longer, but his age is incredible, so you never know."
