Arsenal Transfer News: M'Baye Niang Trial Will Pay off for Gunners

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger continues to work the transfer market with hopes of finding players who can boost the team's attack now and in the future. Right now, he's keyed in on M'Baye Niang, who is on trial with the Gunners.

Jamie Sanderson of the Metro reports the trial will last a week as Wenger gets a closer look at the 17-year-old French striker. The Gunners are hoping to land him for about £5 million if everything goes as planned, but his current club is seeking nearly £9 million, according to the report.

Niang has spent the first two seasons of his professional career with Caen in France. He's scored five goals in 30 games, showing off his terrific combination of size and pace that should eventually make him extremely dangerous.

Instead of making a straight offer based on that untapped potential, Wenger made the right decision to arrange a trial first. It's always difficult to get a good read on a player when they are going up against inferior competition, such as Ligue 2.

Wenger has been around the game long enough to know talent when he sees it. After getting a closer look at Niang over the next week, he should have a pretty good idea of what type of player he would be right now and what type of ceiling he has.

It also works in reverse. The trial gives Niang a chance to meet Wenger and his staff. If he's going to leave his current team, he has to make sure it's to a team that will give him the best chance to keep his development on track.

So it's really an ideal scenario for everybody involved and put the Gunners on the inside track to get a deal done once the trial ends.

With the Robin van Persie saga still ongoing, Arsenal would definitely benefit from starting to look toward the future of the striker position. The team has already brought in Olivier Giroud in the same sense. Niang would be another nice pick-up.

The Gunners do face some competition for his signature, though. Both of the powerhouse Manchester clubs and Juventus are among the teams with some level of interest in him, according to the report. That means Arsenal will need to lock him up quickly if the coaches like what they see.

Once the trial ends, everything should happen relatively quickly, so it's a situation worth watching.