"Signing for Arsenal was a good memory," Mika Biereth said in his first sit-down interview with Monaco's official website earlier this month. "Having the opportunity to be on the bench for the first team on several occasions was great, even if the fact of never having had the chance to come in was a bit frustrating. But that’s part of football, and it still allows you to gain experience, and to be the player I am today."
That is an impressively mature outlook from a 22-year-old with only one full season of senior football under his belt. It goes some way to explaining why Biereth has made an immediate impact at Monaco, who signed the Danish frontman from Sturm Graz for £13 million ($16m) in the winter transfer window.
Biereth has scored seven goals - including two hat-tricks - in his first seven appearances across all competitions for Monaco, emerging as one of the most exciting young strikers in Europe, and Arsenal fans across north London must be scratching their heads as to why the club let him go for a measly £4m fee last summer. Oh, how the Gunners could use a man of Biereth's unique talents right now, with Mikel Arteta facing an injury nightmare upfront that is threatening to derail their latest bid for Premier League glory.
The "frustrating experience" Biereth endured at Arsenal would have broken a lot of young players, but he's used it as fuel to reach the next level, proving his former club wrong in the process. The question is: what makes Biereth such a special prospect? GOAL is on hand with everything you need to know below...
