Mikel Arteta says Arsenal “have to be in the conversation” as a possible destination for Kylian Mbappe.
The France international is set to leave Paris St Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid looking the most likely destination for the 25-year-old.
And Arteta acknowledged that Mbappe is likely headed elsewhere, though says the Gunners deserve to be recognised as a club that could sign him.
“When there is a player of that calibre, we always have to be in the conversation but as you say it looks in a different way,” Arteta said.
Arsenal travel to Burnley on Saturday looking to make it five Premier League wins in a row and having thrashed West Ham 6-0 in their last outing.
But Arteta stressed the importance of his side maintaining their recent levels if the Gunners are to win a first Premier League title since 2004.
“It’s the most important part of the season,” Arteta said.
“We know that every single fixture is going to play a significant role in what we want to achieve and Burnley is the most important one at the moment, a team that is extremely difficult to beat.
“You look at the results and how teams have beat them or drawn with them and it’s been through very small margins.
“They are extremely well coached and it’s a team that is very competitive so we know that we have a very tough match and that’s the only focus for us, to continue to play with the same energy, the same enthusiasm and compete in the game in the best way possible, and the rest will come.
“We want to be there (in the title race) and that means we’ve done a lot of things right during the season and we have learnt a lot of things from last season.
“We have shown a level of consistency and good things in the team, and now we want to go another step forward and maintain that consistency, continue to play the way we are playing and let’s see where we get.”
