The ex-Arsenal man scoring goals for fun at Monaco

There is a player on the Gunners’ books who is now one of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers as Arsenal approaches the end of the season without a trophy or a recognized striker.

Since moving to Monaco in January after initially leaving north London for Sturm Graz for about £4 million including add-ons last summer, Mika Biereth has scored 13 goals in 15 Ligue 1 games.

The 22-year-old made his first senior cap for Denmark by winning three hat-tricks in just his first 10 games for Monaco in February.

Since Biereth arrived at Stade Louis II, only Kylian Mbappe, age 18, has scored more goals in Europe’s top five leagues.

Makeshift forward Mikel Merino, who had five goals in the same period, was Arsenal’s top league goal scorer.

Biereth, who never made a first-team appearance for the Gunners, tells BBC Sport, “I’m happy to find myself at Monaco and enjoying myself in life and football and everything is working really well.”

“I wouldn’t say that my career path has been the most predictable or intuitive.” There has been a lot of moving, visiting many different locations, and interacting with many different cultures, in my opinion.

When he caught the attention of scouts at Arsenal, Biereth scored goals for Fulham at the youth level.

In recent years, the Gunners have changed their academy recruitment strategy, focusing more on the signings of young players like Biereth and Tommy Setford, both of whom recently joined from Ajax.

Although the highly regarded Setford is a signing for the academy, Biereth was one of the club’s first signings in the 2021 class when he signed in 2021, while the 19-year-old has been training with the first team since he arrived and made his Carabao Cup debut earlier this year.

Along with his goal-scoring prowess, what Arsenal really liked about Biereth, who was born in London but also qualifies for Denmark, England, Germany, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, was his personality and traits.

However, Biereth joined when Mikel Arteta had established Arsenal’s possession-based approach, and the transition to the first team was challenging for a young forward who describes himself as an “old-fashioned striker.”

With the recent injury crisis facing Arsenal, Biereth would never have had a chance, which would have only made things worse for him.

He scored two goals in 13 games for Dutch top-flight RKC Waalwijk in 2022 before moving to Scotland with Motherwell the following year, where he added six goals and five assists in 11 league starts. He did so on loan to RKC Waalwijk in the following year.

Before Biereth permanently joined Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga last summer, he scored 14 goals in 25 games, two of which were in the Champions League. He then took a second loan spell at what he refers to as “the next level.”

Since making his Nations League debut for Denmark in March, his goalscoring exploits have been unparalleled since his arrival at Monaco.

I’m a fairly straightforward striker, but I’m a little too sappy in terms of not being particularly concerned about build-up play, looking pretty, and appearing in too many YouTube highlights, he says.

I do what I’m supposed to do, score goals, and do my job as effectively as possible.

Biereth says he was always in conversation with the club about getting loaned out, getting experience, and then returning to the building to see how things turn out, and that he is happy that he made the decision to test himself on loan at senior level while at Arsenal.

There was a feeling that there was no real opportunity, he adds when I was loaned out and returned to the building.

“I’m not one of those people who just wants to kick a ball around with the under-21s and hope for a few chances in training,” I said.

It is believed that Biereth’s decision to leave Arsenal had worked out for everyone, even though he might not have had the opportunity to do so at first-team level.

Arsenal believes Biereth received a solid football education and a strong profile, which allows an academy player to excel in senior football, another sign of success for young players, even if they don’t advance to Arsenal.

It demonstrated Biereth’s ability to excel at the highest level, and his Sturm Graz experience made him a desirable prospect for Monaco.

You believe that playing for Arsenal is the be all and end all, he says.

Would Biereth have had the opportunity to play under Arteta and, in the end, have scored the goals to prolong Arsenal’s lead in the Premier League title race, Biereth might ask himself?

“Yes, I believe that a small number of people are thinking that as well. Biereth explains that is exactly how football plays.

“When I was there, I didn’t really feel like I had a chance,” he said. I didn’t want to wait around and wait for a lucky outcome. I think I’ve done that in some ways, and I think I should just go out and prove myself.

Football is a strange sport, and you can always imagine what would happen if you didn’t do it.

What if I stayed and what if I thought about it is the way I think about things? We have just secured Champions League football for the following season because I’m playing really well here in Monaco and I’m really happy.

With Gabriel Jesus already sidelined for the season and Kai Havertz missing after winning 5-1 over Manchester City in February, Arsenal has only won four of their 12 Premier League games.

In that time, Biereth outperformed any other Arsenal player and scored more goals than any of his former teammates.

Despite circumstances, he might have had an opportunity to play for Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, but Arsenal would have entered the transfer market this summer in search of a new striker.

It’s unbelievable that, despite playing for one of the bigger teams in the Dutch league just two seasons ago, I couldn’t get a kick. However, “football really changes quickly.”

Next year, he will compete for Monaco in the Champions League while attempting to win the World Cup with Denmark.

“I’m really proud to move to a team in the top five league and then start playing well here,” Biereth says.

“It was a proud moment for both my family and myself because of the recognition,” the official said.