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Who Is This 21-Year-Old French Attackcer That Arsenal Are Monitoring? Everuthing You Need To Know

One change that has been evident in Arsenal’s style of play this season is the absence of a striker up front. Arsene Wenger has changed his system and now made it more fluid with Chilean powerhouse Alexis Sanchez playing in a role up front, instead of Olivier Giroud. The move seems to have paid dividends as it is bringing the best out of Alexis, who has been in fine form this season. Another player that has benefitted from this is Mesut Ozil, who has already scored 7 goals in what has been an impressive season so far.

Spaniard Lucas Perez was brought in during the summer transfer window to provide competition to the players in Arsenal’s frontline, but he hasn’t done much so far in terms of Barclays Premier League action. Perez scored a brace in the league cup, but that has been his only noteworthy performance so far. Clearly, Arsenal needs something more. The presence of Theo Walcott certainly helps, but he is not a candidate to lead Arsenal’s line and has gone back to his previous position, out wide.

The return of Danny Welbeck from injury might help Arsenal and give them some much-needed squad depth at a difficult time of the season, but should Arsene Wenger dip into the transfer market again to bring in a forward?

Recently, Arsenal are linked with a move for AC Milan forward M’baye Niang, who is a 21-year-old who has been in The Eternal City since age 17. Prior to making the move to Milan, he had impressed at a very young age for his native club Caen, where he had already scored 5 goals at the tender age of 17.

His move to Milan has not gone as he had planned, as he struggled for game time in his first 3 seasons at the club when he was also loaned out to Montpellier and Genoa for short loan spells, where he impressed with a few goals. In his initial few seasons with AC Milan, he was afforded decent playing time but perhaps there were too many players ahead of him and that didn’t let the Frenchman truly express himself.

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Leicester City were linked with a bid for him in January of this year, but their 16 million bid was rejected by the AC Milan chiefs, who obviously see Niang as a big part of the club going forward. Their hesitance to sell their young striker also means that they see him having a role at the club. But things could change if it is Arsenal that comes calling for Niang’s signature.

Style of play

Standing at 6’1, Niang has sufficient height to become an aerial threat in the English league. He is also renowned for being a pacy customer and likes to take opposition defences on. Niang is described as a ‘Phenomenon’ and a ‘striker out of the blue’ at times as he is that kind of striker, which has led to comparisons with his former teammate Mario Balotelli. Niang usually prefers to operate as a centre-forward, but his influence can stretch out to the wings as well as the attacking midfield position. Having played in Italy with Milan and Genoa, he will also be adept at playing the second striker role well.

What he could bring to Arsenal

With Arsenal now boasting a more fluid frontline, Niang would have little trouble fitting into any of those positions. Arsene Wenger will be delighted to work with a young compatriot of his and mould his career in the right fashion like he has done with several great players. Niang would also add considerable pace and power to the Arsenal frontline, a combination of which they lack at the moment. Moreover, he would bring serious goal threat if he were to make the move as Niang has shown to be a good presence in the box.