The reason why Arsenal sold Mika Biereth has now emerged after his record-breaking start at Monaco

Add as preferred source on Google

Former Arsenal striker Mika Biereth has been tearing it up in France.

The talented attacker spent three years as a Gunner after joining the Arsenal Academy from Fulham in the summer of 2021.

Biereth never got to make a senior appearance, but after a successful loan spell at Sturm Graz, the Austrian side signed him permanently.

Then, in January, Arsenal made some more money when Biereth joined AS Monaco, and the 22-year-old has been the talk of the town since.

Why Arsenal sold Mika Biereth?

Everybody at Arsenal knew that Biereth was a big talent.

The youngster contributed to 40 goals in 37 games for the Fulham U18s and then registered 17 direct goal contributions in 21 games for the Arsenal U21s.

Biereth was brilliant during his loan spells at Motherwell and Sturm Graz too, and Arsenal fans were hoping to see him get senior opportunities.

Charles Watts has now revealed what happened.

The journalist claimed that Biereth made it clear to Arsenal after his loan spell in Austria that he wasn’t going to sign a new contract.

That forced the Gunners to move him on permanently – even though they knew his quality.

Watts wrote in the Daily Briefing: “It’s easy to look at it and say that Arsenal will regret letting him go, especially as he is scoring so many at a time when the club are having to operate without a central striker. But, I don’t think Arsenal will see it that way. They will be happy to see him doing so well.

“Maybe in hindsight, they will think they should have held out and not sold him for just £4 million to Sturm Graz in the first place, but he had made it clear at that point that he was not going to sign a new contract so they weren’t in a great position to negotiate.

“I know they were quite happy with the deal they got at the time with Sturm Graz and also the sell-on fee they agreed, one that has seen them pocket an extra couple of million from his onward move to Monaco.

“Arsenal liked Biereth when he was at the club. They knew he was a good goalscorer but there were doubts over whether he would be good enough to be the main man at the club, which is something he absolutely wants to be at any club that he plays for.”

READ MORE: What Arsenal fans all said after Mika Biereth’s Emirates transfer exit was confirmed

Mika Biereth is flying at Monaco

Biereth had never played in one of Europe’s top five leagues at senior level before, so there were a few doubts when Monaco signed him.

But, the 22-year-old has smashed it out of the park.

Biereth broke Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s record for most goals scored in his first seven games. The Swede had netted nine times for PSG back in the day, but the former Arsenal man managed 10.

To add to that, Biereth also became the first Ligue 1 player in 70 years to score three hat-tricks in his first seven games in the French top flight.

It’s a shame that Biereth did not get a chance at Arsenal, but we’re happy to see him fulfilling his potential elsewhere.