Arsenal fear they will lose out to Real Madrid in the race to sign wonderkid Kylian Mbappe this summer.

The Monaco striker is the club’s No 1 transfer target but there is a growing realisation that signing the 18-year-old will be a bridge too far given Real Madrid’s stature and the fact Arsenal have not qualified for the Champions League.

Arsenal’s interest in Mbappe remains concrete, but the north London club understand the lure of Madrid - and the opportunity to continue his Champions League career - will be hard for the France international to reject.

Arsenal hoped to convince Kylian Mbappe to reject interest from Real Madrid and join them

The Gunners are ready to ramp up their efforts to sign Alexandre Lacazette

As a result, Arsene Wenger is set to accelerate his interest in Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette a year after he launched a failed £35m bid to sign the player.

Lacazette scored 37 goals in 45 games for Lyon last season including 28 in Ligue 1 and looked set to leave for Atletico Madrid before a transfer embargo was imposed on the Spanish club.

Arsene Wenger is looking to bolster his squad in order to convince Alexis Sanchez to stay

Arsenal had set aside a world-record sum to sign the 18-year-old Monaco striker

The 26-year-old has already confirmed his desire to leave the club and has also suggested Arsenal losing their Champions League status would not necessarily stop a deal.

Lyon will demand significantly more than the £35m Arsenal offered last summer and president Michel Aulas would have taken notice of their offer to pay a world-record fee for Mbappe.

Mbappe’s team-mate Thomas Lemar is also a target for Wenger but it is unclear whether Monaco will allow any more players to leave following the departure of Bernardo Silva and the likely exit of Tiemoue Bakayoko.