Arsenal's one that got away? Monaco hotshot Mika Biereth could have been the Gunners' No.9 answer

Biereth was born in London on February 8, 2003, and was raised by a German-Danish father and a Bosnian mother. He showed promise as a budding young footballer and eventually caught the eye of Fulham, who drafted him into their youth ranks in 2017.

The talented centre-forward made his debut for Fulham's Under-18s just days before his 15th birthday, stepping off the bench in a 4-0 win over Reading, and went on to sign a two-year scholarship deal with the Cottagers in July 2019. Biereth also joined up with the U18s squad permanently, and didn't take long to repay Fulham's faith.

Biereth started to attract attention from top clubs across England with his performances in the 2020-21 season as Fulham stormed to their second-successive Premier League South title. He contributed 21 goals and 13 assists to their cause, registering stunning hat-tricks in comprehensive wins over Tottenham and Leicester.

Naturally, Fulham tried to tie Biereth down to his first professional contract, but their plans were scuppered when Arsenal came calling. Biereth chose to reject Fulham, officially signing for the Gunners in July 2021, and he could hardly contain his excitement.

"It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t really turn it down," he said at his unveiling. "I think now with the recent track record of youth going into the first team, I thought it was a great project to try and be a part of."

Biereth was thrown straight into the Arsenal U23s line up, and recorded five goal contributions in his first five Premier League 2 games, including a treble in a 6-1 win over Chelsea at Kingsmeadow. The pick of those goals was set up by now-United States star Folarin Balogun, who found Biereth with a brilliant long-range pass into the box, which his team-mate dispatched brilliantly on the volley after ghosting in at the back post.

Arsenal's head youth coach, Kevin Betsy, was blown away, as he told The Athletic: "The recruitment team did a terrific job in bringing him to the club and he’s a boy who has a fantastic character and attitude. His willingness to work for the team is excellent, his movement to get into space behind is also very prominent in his game and he can finish. He’s a really good finisher."

That bright start led to Denmark calling Biereth up to their U19s squad for the first time, and he would go on to finish the campaign with 11 goals in 21 Premier League 2 appearances, while also making it onto Arteta's bench for four senior matches. Incredibly, though, Biereth would never make his first-team debut for the Gunners.

His progression stalled after an injury-ravaged loan spell at RKC Waalwijk in 2022-23, where he only managed 300 minutes for the Dutch club, scoring twice, and was loaned to Motherwell the following season.

The move to Scotland helped Biereth rediscover his confidence, and when Arsenal recalled the youngster in January 2024, Biereth had six goals and five assists to his name from 14 Scottish Premiership appearances, along with some Denmark U21 caps. He was then loaned out again, this time to Austrian outfit Sturm Graz.

Biereth kept a positive mindset despite once again despite being denied a senior chance at Arsenal, and played a key role in Sturm Graz's run to their first Austrian Bundesliga title in over a decade. He racked up eight goal contributions in the league, and found the net three times in the Conference League, leaving his new club in no doubt about signing him on a permanent deal.

Arsenal accepted a £4m bid, happy to make pure profit on an academy graduate whose path to the first-team line up was blocked by the likes of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. “We are so proud of the progress Mika has made since joining us," Gunners sporting director Edu said after confirmation of the sale. "This new opportunity with Sturm Graz is great for Mika, and it’s a good example of what a strong loan development plan produces. Mika will be playing Champions League football when the season starts again, which he deserves due to his mentality and performances in recent seasons."

Since then, Biereth has done everything within his power to make Arsenal regret that decision. Graz built their team around the Danish starlet and he delivered as their first-choice number nine with 14 goals in the first half of the 2024-25 season, as two of those efforts came in the Champions League.

The opportunity to reunite with Balogun in one of Europe's big five leagues then cropped up in January, which proved to be too good to turn down. Biereth signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at Monaco, and the Ligue 1 giants have seen an instant return on their investment.

Biereth has already hit a pair of hat-tricks against Auxerre and Nantes, along with a crucial goal in a 3-2 win over Rennes, making him only the second player to score seven goals in his first five Ligue 1 appearances this century, after former Paris Saint-Germain superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Next up, Monaco will head to Portugal to face Benfica in the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie, and if Biereth is in the mood again, Adi Hutter's side have a real shot at overturning a 1-0 aggregate deficit.

"I’d say I’m a worse hybrid of (Harry) Kane and (Erling) Haaland," Biereth told The Athletic last year. "I like to run in behind like Haaland and try to do what Kane does in the way he combines with his team-mates." That was a shrewd self-assessment from the Denmark U21 international, who is already an accomplished poacher and link-man.

Biereth's intelligent off-the-ball movement makes him a nightmare for defenders, and he's remarkably composed in front of goal. He's a clinical finisher who is equally deadly with both feet and he possesses a brilliant first touch, giving Monaco the perfect outlet when they turn over possession.

Indeed, Hutter's 4-2-3-1 system appears to be tailor-made for Biereth. The former Arsenal prospect stretches defences and creates space for the likes of Takumi Minamino, Maghnes Akilouche and Eliesse Ben Seghir to wreak havoc, while his natural instincts in and around the box have added a new dimension to this Monaco team with Balogun still out of the picture as he continues to recover from a serious shoulder injury.

There are still some weaknesses in Biereth's game that go some way to explaining why Arsenal didn't fight to keep him at Emirates Stadium, though. Physically the Dane still has plenty of maturing to do; at the moment he's too easy to beat in the air because of a lack of spring in his jumps, and has to learn how to use his body better in one-on-one duels.

Biereth must also work on improving his passing range. He tends to pick the easy option instead of going for a riskier pass to find Monaco's runners, which can halt their momentum.

That being said, Biereth is comfortable with his back-to-goal and doesn't want for technical skill, so it won't be surprising if he starts making an even bigger contribution to Monaco's build-up play as we edge into the business end of the season. Fine-tuning is all that Biereth needs, and although it's still far too early to put him among the elite strikers on the continent, that's the level he should be aiming for.

If Biereth continues to shine in Ligue 1 for Monaco and makes his mark in the Champions League, the scrutiny on Arsenal's decision-makers will ramp up even more. Arteta was widely criticised for neglecting to sign a new No.9 last summer, and it's come back to bite him, with Havertz and Jesus now both sidelined with long-term injuries.

Newcastle's Alexander Isak and Napoli loanee Victor Osimhen were both strongly linked with moves to Arsenal last year, but at the time, they baulked at their respective £100m ($126m) valuations, which was fair enough. However, it made no sense for the club to offload a player as talented as Biereth with attacking depth in such short supply.

The Gunners were also too hasty in shipping Balogun out to Monaco in 2023, just when it looked like he was on the cusp of a breakthrough at the Emirates. Edu and Co didn't learn their lesson, and now Biereth is making them pay.

With Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli also still unavailable, Arteta had to use Mikel Merino as a makeshift centre-forward against Leicester on Saturday, which worked out in the end, but it would be a miracle if Arsenal rein in Liverpool and end their 21-year wait for Premier League glory with their current frontline. It's easy to say in hindsight, but Biereth could have made the ultimate difference in a time of crisis had Arsenal shown more patience.