Arsenal's striker regret: Forward sold for £4m scores second hat-trick in two weeks for Monaco as Gunners turn to makeshift solutions in injury crisis

The Danish forward left the Gunners in the summer for £4 million to rejoin Sturm Graz following a successful six-month loan last season that culminated in lifting the Austrian Bundesliga title. Biereth continued his strong form following his permanent switch, including two goals in the Champions League, and caught the eye of Monaco, who forked out £12.5 million for his services. In his five Ligue 1 games, he has scored seven goals, with his latest treble coming in a 7-1 win over Nantes, and few could blame Arsenal for feeling a hint of regret for allowing the talented youngster to depart without a senior appearance and for so little.

Biereth's hot streak in front of goal comes amid the Gunners suffering a major injury crisis in the forward areas. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are only expected to return to action at the end of March and Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have all been ruled out for the rest of the season. With his options limited, Mikel Arteta has just Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri as established, senior attacking options and had to employ Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino off the bench as an auxiliary number nine against Leicester on Saturday.

Maybe Arteta won't need to worry about his missing forwards and Biereth's goalscoring exploits for Monaco should Merino provide a few goals. Most supporters would have been surprised to see the combative midfielder replace Sterling in the Gunners' front-three against the Foxes and even more will have been shocked to see him score a match-winning brace with a deft header and a first-time driven finish at the back post.

There is a strong chance that Arteta will opt to play Merino as centre-forward again from the start in their next game against West Ham on Saturday as they look to keep in touch with league leaders Liverpool. As for Biereth, the Dane will hope to maintain his good run of form against Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday. Monaco trail the Portuguese side 1-0 going into the second leg of their round of 16 playoff tie.