Arsenal suffer fresh humiliation as £4m star proves a point to Mikel Arteta
Arsenal have been left without a recognised senior striker after injuries to both Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz and the Gunners will wish they had not sold Mika Biereth last summer
by Matthew Cooper · The MirrorFormer Arsenal striker Mika Biereth is one of the most in-form goalscorers in Europe right now and the Gunners will be rueing their decision to sell him for just £4million.
The 22-year-old never made a first-team appearance for Arsenal, but impressed during loan spells across Europe at RKC Waalwijk, Motherwell and Sturm Graz. Sturm Graz signed him permanently for just £4m last summer and Biereth went on to net 11 goals in 16 games in the Austrian Bundesliga.
As a result, Monaco forked out a reported €13m (£10.7m) plus add-ons to sign Biereth in January and he has been in prolific form in Ligue 1. Biereth has scored 10 goals in just seven league games for Monaco, including three hat-tricks.
He netted a first-half hat-trick against Reims on Friday and Arsenal will be wishing they had not sold Biereth in the summer, with Mikel Arteta's side currently without a recognised senior striker after both Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz suffered season-ending injuries.
Winger Leandro Trossard and central midfielder Mikel Merino have filled in up front for Arsenal, but the Gunners are without a win in their last two games after failing to score and their Premier League title challenge is all but over.
Speaking after Arsenal's 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, Arteta spoke candidly about his side's struggles in front of goal. "We tried and adapting the quality that we have, how we can help the team to create different things, to have threats from different qualities, probably they are not about arriving in the box and creating some magic moments, they are other kind of players," he said.
"Try to adapt to that and do the best that we can. We have another day or two now to think before the PSV game, all the options that we have especially against a team that is in a low block.
"Even if they will arrive, if they will open up, if the opponent will be much better than us then I will probably be in a different state, I know that what's lacking is that piece up there and I just said, there's a lot to play for and we need to find the solution to unlock it.
"We will think about that [using more academy players], I think we have many more options still to explore but as well, we can certainly do better with the situation that we are in, especially unlocking certain moments, the final pass, the quality on the deliveries, the consistency after sustained attacks. We have to insist, they give me reason to insist and support them the best that we all can."
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