It’s something playfully easy what Danish Mika Biereth does during the day. – As if it were the easiest thing in the world, he knocks in goal after goal for Monaco. His play and impressive 13th goal in 15 games has Monaco qualifying for the Champions League next season.
On the same day that it became clear that Saint-Étienne with former Brann coach Eirik Horneland will be relegated from Ligue 1, it became clear that Monaco with 3rd place has secured a place in Europe’s most prestigious tournament.
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With Arsenal nearing the end of the season without a trophy or a recognised striker, a player who was on the Gunners books 12 months ago is now one of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers. Mika Biereth has scored 13 goals in 15 Ligue 1 games since joining Monaco in January, having left north London to join Sturm Graz for around €9 million including add-ons last summer. – a player that Transfermarkt now believes is worth more than double.
The 22-year-old scored three hat-tricks in February alone, registering 10 goals in his first 10 games for Monaco and as a result was picked up for a first senior game for Denmark.
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Only Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, with 18, has scored more goals in Europe’s top five leagues since Biereth arrived at the Stade Louis II. -In fact, in a few short months he has climbed up to 8th place on Ligue 1’s top scorers list.
Arsenal’s top scorer in that period is provisional striker Mikel Merino, with five.
“I’m happy to find myself in Monaco and enjoy life and in football, and everything works out really well,” Biereth, who never played first team for the Gunners, told BBC Sport.
“I wouldn’t say my career path has been the most linear or easiest to predict. I think there has been a lot of moving and many different places and many different cultures.
“It helps when you manage and move to Monaco – you can adapt very quickly and things go very well.”
Biereth’s journey to Monaco
Biereth scored goals for Fulham at youth level when he caught the attention of scouts at Arsenal.
The Gunners have changed their academy recruitment in recent years, adopting a more targeted approach when signing young players, with Biereth and goalkeeper Tommy Setford, who joined from Ajax, exemplifying this.
The highly-rated Setford may be an academy signing, but the 19-year-old has been training with the first team since arriving and making his Carabao Cup debut earlier this season, while Biereth was one of the early changes to the club’s recruitment at that level when he signed in 2021.
What Arsenal really liked about Biereth, who was born in London but in addition to Denmark also qualifies for England, Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina, was his personality and qualities alongside his goalscoring ability.
But Biereth joined when boss Mikel Arteta had established Arsenal’s possession-based style, and the road to the first team was tough for a young striker who describes himself as an “old-fashioned” striker.
That’s not to say Biereth would never have had a chance, especially with the recent injury crisis Arsenal have suffered, but it would only have been harder for him.
He went on loan to Dutch top club RKC Waalwijk in 2022, scoring two goals in 13 games in a period he says was “not the most ideal”, before moving to Scotland with Motherwell the following season, where he scored six goals and provided five assists in 11 league starts.
Another loan spell at what he calls “next level” came with Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga before Biereth joined permanently last summer, scoring 14 goals in 25 games, including two in the Champions League.
His goalscoring exploits since joining Monaco saw him make his debut for Denmark in the Nations League in March.
“I’m a pretty simple striker, a bit old-fashioned when it comes to not caring so much about build-up plays and looking pretty and appearing in too many YouTube highlights,” he explains.
“I stick to my job and try to do it as efficiently as possible, and that’s scoring goals.
“A lot of my goals aren’t the prettiest, probably rebounds inside the five-yard line and very close to the goal. That’s exactly how I play.”
Mika Biereth never played a senior game for Arsenal
Biereth is glad he made these decisions to test himself on loan at senior level while at Arsenal, saying he was always in conversation with the club with the idea that he would “go on loan and gain experience and then come back into the building and see how it goes”.
“I think every time I was loaned out and came back into the building, there was a feeling there that there was no real possibility,” he adds.
“I’m not one of those people who is just going to hang around and kick a ball around with under-21s and hope for a little chance at practice.”
While Biereth might not have found the chance to break through at first-team level with Arsenal, it feels like the deal for him to leave is one that has worked for everyone.
Arsenal feel that Biereth has received a good football education and built a good profile, with the move allowing an academy player to succeed in senior football, wThis is another example of success for young players – even if they don’t make it at Arsenal.
For Biereth, it showed that he can excel at the top level, and his time at Sturm Graz showed that he can score in the Champions League, making him an attractive prospect for Monaco.
“When you’re at Arsenal, you think playing for Arsenal is everything and breaking up,” he says.
“But I think when you grow up a little bit and experience some things in football, you can see that there are a lot of other good clubs to play at, at the top level.”
Biereth made his debut in Denmark against Portugal in March
The obvious question for Biereth is that if he had stayed at Arsenal, would he have been given the chance to play under Arteta and could eventually score the goals to keep them in the Premier League title race longer?
“yes, I don’t think I’m just thinking that – maybe someone else is thinking it. I think that’s exactly how football works,” Biereth says.
“When I was there, I didn’t really have a feeling that there was an opportunity for me. I didn’t want to wait and hope for something lucky. I’d rather go out and prove myself, and I think I’ve done that to some extent so far.
“Football is a strange sport, you can always think ‘what if I didn’t do this or what if I didn’t?’
“The way I think about things is that I can’t keep thinking about ‘what if I stayed?’ I am very happy here in Monaco and playing very well, and we have just secured Champions League football for next season.”
Since losing starting striker Kai Havertz to injury after a 5-1 win over Manchester City in February, and with Gabriel Jesus already out for the season, Arsenal have won just four of their 12 Premier League games.
Biereth has both surpassed any Arsenal player and exceeded his expected goals to a greater extent than any of his former teammates during that period.
He may have been given an opportunity at the Emirates Stadium through circumstances, but Arsenal would have entered the transfer market anyway this summer in search of a new striker.
“It’s crazy to think that just two seasons ago I couldn’t get a kick in the Dutch league for not one of the bigger teams,” Biereth says. “But football is changing very quickly.”
Now he will play in the Champions League with Monaco next season, while trying to help Denmark to the World Cup next summer.
“I’m very proud to first move to a team in a top-five league and then start playing well here,” Biereth says.
“With the international recognition, it was not only a proud moment for me, but also for my family.
“It’s top of all, to represent my family’s country and my country and to make it very proud.”
