Why Mika Biereth left Arsenal and how he became one of Europe’s most in-form strikers

A combination of scouting and data led Monaco to identify Mika Biereth as one of the most efficient strikers in Europe.

They haggled Austrian club Sturm Graz down to a €15million (£12.6m, $16.2m) package and terms were agreed on a transfer in January — but there was one final piece of due diligence to check off before they concluded the deal.

Seeking to confirm he had the requisite mentality to fill the centre forward void left by USMNT forward Folarin Balogun, who suffered a shoulder injury in December, the Ligue 1 club asked how Biereth reacts to missing a big chance.

“I have the worst short-term memory in the world,” the striker replied.

It was a one-liner delivered with such chutzpah that the Monaco hierarchy were left convinced his goalscoring exploits in Austria would translate to France’s top tier.

But they did not expect it would do so this quickly, or dramatically.

The 22-year-old has scored 10 goals in his first 10 games, making him the joint-top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues in 2025, along with Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele.

Last Friday, in the Ligue 1 victory over Reims, Biereth made it three hat-tricks in February alone, becoming the first player to score three trebles in his first seven Ligue 1 appearances for 70 years.

As evidence of his ability to block out doubt after a misfire, his three strikes came after spurning two high-probability chances early on.

His mental fortitude is shining at a time when his former club Arsenal are trying to compete without a striker due to their front line losing four major players to injury.

The parallel narratives invite the question as to whether Arsenal were right to sell Biereth for £4million to Sturm Graz last summer, and whether the ruthless marksman they are seeking was right under their nose all along.

At the time of his Emirates exit, those close to Biereth believed the sale was the natural conclusion to three years of smart loan progression by Arsenal to make a trading profit on him, while negotiating a sizeable sell-on percentage.

Even now, they still believe it was the right decision by both parties and there are no hard feelings from the player’s side as he is thankful for his time at Arsenal.

“Making it at Arsenal isn’t the be-all and end-all of someone’s career,” Biereth told The Athletic in November.

“There are many ways of having a successful career outside of Arsenal.”

Yet, there is the temptation to retrospectively assess the current, fuller version of a player against a previous context. Arsenal had parted with two other academy strikers, selling Balogun to Monaco for an initial £25m in July 2023 and Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace last summer for another £25m.

They were healthy figures for two graduates a rung below what Arsenal required but it left only Kai Havertz and the injury-prone Gabriel Jesus as recognised centre-forwards.

Arsenal’s decision to sign Biereth from Fulham in 2021, aged 18, was based on the view he had the ability and personality to fit into the club but also that, if he did not grow to become a first-team candidate, he represented someone who would go on to have a good career elsewhere. It is the sort of development project that other major clubs have become skilled at, and which Arsenal are looking to do more often.   

Biereth made it onto the bench several times but he was not seen as being completely compatible with the all-round profile of striker Arteta likes. He was always a direct, powerful runner but there are some who have been surprised by how rapidly he has finessed other parts of his game.

There was little clamour among the fanbase for Biereth to be promoted to the first team, largely because he had gone under the radar since joining the club.

Biereth playing for Arsenal Under-23s in April 2022 (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Football is not an exact science. Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres is a comparison some make in how predicting the ceiling of strikers of this nature can be hard to pinpoint. The Swede has scored 80 goals in his last two seasons and is one of the most in-demand strikers in Europe but after failing to impress at Brighton, they sold him to Championship club Coventry City for £1m in 2021.

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It does not necessarily mean they did not spot his potential. Some players simply have had to drop a level or two to develop and build to a career at the very top level. At other times, specific clubs and styles suit a player more than others.

Biereth could have stayed at Arsenal for years playing Premier League 2 football, possibly benefiting from a greater internal spotlight, but he was hungry for first-team football. It is naive to think his trajectory would have been the same had he not gone out so early in search of senior game time.

His first loan came earlier than expected with Eredivisie club RKC in 2022 but he picked up three injuries as his body adjusted to the demands of men’s football and found game time limited.

Six goals and five assists in 11 league starts for Scottish Premiership side Motherwell the next season saw Arsenal cut short his season-long loan and move him to Sturm Graz. He could have chosen the safer option of English Championship football but with Biereth born in London to a Danish-German father and a Bosnian mother, he is open to exploring different leagues and cultures.

At Graz, his six goals and four assists helped them end the decade-long dominance of Red Bull Salzburg by claiming a league and cup double. His performances convinced the Austrian club to pay £4m to make the deal permanent with Biereth keen to play Champions League football. In the first five months of this season, he racked up 14 goals and five assists with strikes against Girona and Lille in Europe.

Biereth after scoring for Sturm Graz in December (DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)

Monaco invested heavily in Balogun but in late November, he re-injured his shoulder and required surgery, which meant they had to bring forward their plan to sign a striker in the summer.

Biereth was on their list but his rapid progression at Graz compelled them to move early. Biereth pushed for the move to happen and both sides were able to reach an agreement. It is anticipated Monaco could play both former Arsenal forwards together in the front line with Balogun peeling off to the left flank.

What has struck Monaco about his game is how he is always thinking about the transition. As soon as the side win the ball, he is lurking on the shoulder of the last defender looking to use his pace to run in behind. It is one of his main assets and why comparisons with Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy have been made in the past.

Biereth, in his usual colourful way, offered a different comparison. “I’ve said before, if I can compare myself to another player I’d say a s**t (Erling) Haaland and a s**t (Harry) Kane! A hybrid of them at a much worse level,” he told the i last year.

He is aware he may not possess the born talent of some others but he is said to be like a sponge when it comes to improving his game. You only have to look at how he has continually surpassed expectations to see that.

Biereth’s emergence at Fulham was stymied by the signing of now Birmingham City striker Jay Stansfield from Exeter when they were both 16, but his first under-18 season in 2020-21 was his breakthrough moment. He scored 22 goals in as many games and was offered a pro deal, but he was not offered a clear path to the first-team.

Arsenal swooped to offer him a deal, paying a sizeable six-figure compensation fee and by the end of his first season, he was captaining the under-21 side.

Biereth works hard to accentuate what comes naturally, which is inside the penalty box. His composure was captured when he effortlessly pulled the ball out of the sky against Reims last Friday and passed the ball into the net on the half-volley. His acrobatic volley to complete Monaco’s comeback against Auxerre was another highlight but he has a bundle of rebounds in his catalogue, too.

Framing him as a pure poacher would be unfair given he has two assists already, including a cute back heel against Lille to set up Takumi Minamino.

He still has to make his first touch more secure and improve with his back to goal in physical games, but Biereth’s goals mean Monaco are already expecting summer interest.

Purchased for an initial price of €13m, with €2m in performance-related bonuses, there is the headroom for Monaco to make a healthy profit on Biereth. The plan is for the striker to spend at least one or two full seasons but, as the trajectory of his career the past 18 months has shown, he has a habit of outgrowing timelines.

The next landmark is international recognition. He has six caps and one goal for Denmark Under-21s but he also qualifies for England, Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is best friends with Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala, who he went to school with in London but chose to represent Germany.

Biereth has yet to tie himself to one nation as he has not played a senior game yet. It is expected this will change in this month’s international break for a player who continues to level up seamlessly every six months.

(Top photo: FREDERIC DIDES/AFP via Getty Images)