Arsenal recently took the decision to end the loan contract of striker Mika Biereth, who was thriving at Motherwell.
The 20-year-old provided 11 goals and assists in 11 starts for Motherwell in the Scottish top flight, and his recall came as something of a surprise, with their manager Stuart Kettlewell expressing his frustration that his side have now lost a key player.
It seems that there is now a lot of demand for the striker, and Arsenal are deciding where to send him next to boost his development.
Biereth joined the Arsenal academy from Fulham in 2021 as an outstanding prospect, and he is one of the biggest talents at Hale End right now.
The Danish forward has now compared himself to two of the world’s best centre-forwards ahead of his next potential move.
Mika Biereth makes Kane and Haaland comparisons ahead of Arsenal loan exit
Speaking to The Athletic, Biereth explained how he thrives in the box with both smart movement and physicality, and he himself drew comparisons to the two world-class forwards.
“If you can’t win the physical fight, you’ve got to win the mental fight. If I can’t pin him every time, then I’ve got to be smarter with my movement,” Biereth claimed.
“Floating in unmarked is important. If you try to fight the centre-back, everything becomes more difficult.
“For the goal away to St Johnstone (in November), I’m between the two centre-backs arriving with the ball, trying to limit physical contact.
“Sometimes you have to be physical, like with the header I scored against St Johnstone at home (in early December). Sometimes you do have to just jump higher.
“I’d say I’m a worse hybrid of [Harry] Kane and [Erling] Haaland – I like to run in behind like Haaland and try to do what Kane does in the way he combines with his team-mates.”
Mika Biereth’s clinical edge in front of goal
It is easy to see why teams are interested in taking the youngster on loan, and there have been links with Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
Biereth has managed to translate his strong goal record at youth level to the senior game, and being able to thrive as a centre-forward in Scotland indicates that he is physically ready to go up a level.
Biereth scored an astonishing 25 goals, and provided 15 assists in 39 games for Fulham’s under-18 side prior to his switch to Arsenal, and for the under-23s at Hale End he managed 12 goals and five assists in 26 games alongside the likes of Folarin Balogun.
If he continues at his current rate of development, he could play himself into Mikel Arteta’s thinking at Arsenal, although there is still a long way to go yet.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
