Why Arsenal sold Mika Biereth, the most prolific striker in Europe | OneFootball

A player Arsenal let go for just £4m last summer is the top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues in 2025

Biereth scored another hat-trick for Monaco on Friday night and has 10 goals this year

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As Arsenal’s season threatens to unravel without a striker and Mikel Merino toiling up front, a goal-machine they let go is tearing it up as the most in-form forward in Europe.

The 22-year-old is now the top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues in 2025 with 10 goals.

He scored three hat-tricks in February and has made a blistering start his Monaco career after moving to the Ligue 1 side from Stum Graz in a £10.8million deal in January.

Since Biereth made his debut for Monaco, he has scored as many goal as Arsenal have managed in the Premier League.

“I don't think anyone expected me to start this well,” said Biereth, who is attracting interest from some big clubs at a time when many teams around Europe need a goalscorer.

Biereth has made a blistering start his Monaco career

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So why did Arsenal sell Biereth for just £4m last summer?

Biereth never made a senior appearance for Arsenal and the transfer was viewed as good business after the Gunners made a profit on a player they signed from Fulham in 2021.

His stock was high after he had just scored nine goals on loan for Sturm Graz and helped them win the Austrian Bundesliga. That followed a strong first half of the season in which he scored six goals on loan at Motherwell.

Arsenal were looking to sign a striker last summer but Biereth did not feature in Mikel Arteta’s plans. His move to Sturm Graz also included a sell-on clause, which meant Arsenal would profit from any future sale.

Biereth never made a senior appearance for Arsenal

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Arsenal were happy to go into the season with Kai Havertz as their main striker as Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Raheem Sterling as players who can play through the middle.

Just six months after joining Sturm Graz on a permanent basis, Monaco paid for £10.8m to sign Biereth.

Arsenal banked £2m and at the time might have considered £6m a good return on a player who never played for them.

But Biereth would surely be starting up front for Arsenal now, and the Gunners have been given another painful reminder of what they let go.