A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as SSC Napoli forward Victor Osimhen decides on a transfer and Bernardo Silva reveals how the Gunners surprised Manchester City.
Sturm Graz confirm talks with Arsenal for Mika Biereth’s transfer
Sturm Graz sporting director Andreas Schicker has declared his club will meet Arsenal ‘next week’ to discuss a transfer for Mika Biereth. The Austrian Bundesliga squad are desperate to retain the 21-year-old after he thrived on loan with them after joining in the January market.
Arsenal cut short Biereth’s successful spell with Motherwell to send him to Sturm Graz for a nibble at European action. He scored six and assisted five goals in 14 Scottish Premiership games, despite missing six with a knee injury. But UEFA ties for Sturm Graz were appealing.
Biereth would even offer three goals in four UEFA Europa Conference League ties, alongside five in 15 Bundesliga games and one in three OFB-Cup fixtures. His efforts helped Stum Graz win a domestic league and cup double, too. Now, Schicker is eager to land Biereth’s transfer.
“Mika’s intense style of play is even more important for us,” Schicker has admitted to Kurier. “He’s always annoying, you can never take your eyes off him. He can contribute something crucial right up to the end.
“Yes, we want to try to sign Mika permanently. There is an appointment with Arsenal next week. Maybe they will quote a price that would be feasible for us. We can push our limits a little higher for a player like that.”
Kurier adds that Sturm Graz intend to offer Arsenal €2m (£1.7m) but the Merkur Arena side are prepared to go as high as €3m (£2.5m) to seal Biereth’s transfer. The Gunners are not in a great place to negotiate a substantial fee as the ex-Fulham gem is out of contract in 2025.
Read more about what Schicker has had to say about Biereth’s potential transfer, here.
Bernardo Silva admits Man City took ‘confidence’ from watching Arsenal lose
Bernardo Silva has admitted that Manchester City gained ‘confidence’ they could lift another Premier League title by watching Arsenal and Liverpool lose. The midfielder particularly puts a focus on April 14 when Aston Villa and Crystal Palace dealt both teams defeats on one day.
Crystal Palace put a spanner in Liverpool’s bid to win only their second Premier League title with a shock 1-0 result at Anfield. Eberechi Eze stunned the Merseyside natives in the 14th minute of their match. He turned home from Tyrick Mitchell’s cutback after a flowing attack.
The Reds’ loss cracked the door open for Arsenal to go to the top of the table but Aston Villa slammed it shut. Late strikes by Leon Bailey (84’) and Ollie Watkins (87’) denied the Gunners a chance to go a point clear at the top with six games to go as Manchester City lead the way.
Manchester City had overtaken Arsenal and Liverpool on April 13 when they thrashed Luton Town 5-1. But the Citizens were still relying on favours, which Crystal Palace and Aston Villa delivered. And Silva admits Arsenal and Liverpool losing gifted Manchester City confidence.
Silva told Sky Sports: “Well, definitely these types of situations are a boost to the confidence and to the energy that you have in the dressing room because you feel that you have an opportunity again.
“We knew that both Liverpool and Arsenal, and us as well, we had tough games. But, to be honest, we weren’t expecting them to lose against Palace at home, Liverpool, and Arsenal to lose against Aston Villa.
“If I had to guess where they would drop points, it wouldn’t have been that weekend. So, it was a big surprise for us and it gave us, obviously we’re not going to lie, a bit of confidence to think we can go after them and we can grab it again.”
Read more about what Silva said about Arsenal and the Premier League title, here.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is ‘waiting’ for a transfer to Arsenal
SSC Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is ‘waiting’ for Arsenal to launch a bid for his transfer. That is according to Valter De Maggio, but the Italian journalist reports the Gunners have not yet made a ‘real proposal’ to rival the interest he has from sides in Saudi Arabia for this summer.
Osimhen is likely to leave the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the off-season despite the 25-year-old only signing a new contract in December. Azzurri president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed this January he expects the Nigerian to join Real Madrid, PSG or an English squad.
Arsenal do hold an interest in Osimhen, with Fabrizio Romano citing them as rival suitors to Chelsea in March. But the Lagos native is very expensive as De Laurentiis wants the full sum of his £113m release clause. Osimhen scored 17 goals in 31 games over the 2023/24 season.
Read more about Osimhen’s stance on a potential transfer from Napoli to Arsenal, here.
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