Arsenal close to selling Mika Biereth as Edu striker plans take shape

Young Arsenal striker Mika Biereth looks set to join Sturm Graz in a permanent deal.

The 21-year-old spent the second half of the 2023/24 season with the Austrian Bundesliga side, scoring nine goals and assisting four more in 22 appearances. His time at Sturm Graz followed another successful loan spell, this time with Scottish Premiership side Motherwell in the first half of the campaign, where he scored six goals and assisted five times.

Biereth’s form away from Arsenal has led to plenty of speculation surrounding his future, especially with his contract in north London expiring next summer. His future now looks to have been resolved, however, as according to The Athletic the Gunners have agreed to sell the striker to Sturm Graz for £4million.

Any deal will include a sell-on clause, which will see Arsenal profit from any future sale. It is also thought to be a record fee for Sturm Graz. Biereth’s departure means Arsenal have made a decent profit on a player they brought to the club in July 2021 after his exit from Fulham.

Biereth spoke about his time on loan at Sturm Graz in May and the striker only had positive things to say about the Austrian side, who will be playing Champions League football next season after winning the Austrian Bundesliga. “I was in Scotland playing for Motherwell and then my agent rang me and said there was an opportunity to come to Austria and fight for a title in the league and the cup,” Biereth told the official Arsenal website.

“I spoke to Per [Mertesacker] before the move, discussed it, what he thought, what I thought, and to me it was almost a no-brainer. This is the best level I’ve played at so far in terms of being a part of the squad and playing every match day. The players here are really good and really talented.

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“We’ve got a really good mix of young players, old players, people from Austria, people from abroad, so there’s some senior players like Greggy [Wuthrich] who have really helped me out a lot and then the two lads that speak English from Scotland and Liverpool, Vit [Jaros] and Max [Johnston] helped me settle in a lot, so it doesn’t feel like I’ve only been here for three months because I feel like I’m quite close with all the boys.

“The first impressions of the club were really positive. Everyone at the club, from the players to the staff to the sporting director, everyone is really warm and welcoming. The most important thing is that they’re good at football as well on the pitch.”

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Biereth is confident in his own ability and has previously likened his qualities to Harry Kane and Erling Haaland. In an interview with i News, he said: “I’ve said before if I can compare myself to another player I’d say hybrid of them (Haaland and Kane), at a much worse level! Like Haaland, all I really care about is scoring goals. If you’d offer me two touches of the ball and two goals I’d have that. For me, it’s all about scoring goals.”

He further explained his approach to the game: “There are different aspects of the game when scoring goals isn’t possible when the ball is deep so then it’s about combining, linking the play, holding the ball up like Kane does. Those are the two different variables on the pitch.”

Biereth’s departure will not impact the Arsenal first team this season but there is expected to be plenty of movement in the coming weeks among the men’s senior set-up. Eddie Nketiah has been linked with a move away from the club and football.london understands Edu is keen to strengthen the forward line before the window closes on August 30.