Mika Biereth: Arsenal sent another painful reminder about 'disappointing' £4m transfer decision | OneFootball

The 22-year-old left on a permanent transfer last summer and is going from strength to strength following another move at the beginning of the year

Ian Wright says Mika Biereth “should’ve been in and around it at the moment” at Arsenal, providing another reminder of his former club’s transfer decision.

Biereth joined Ligue 1 giants Monaco in a deal worth an initial £10.8million in the January transfer window, just six months after leaving Arsenal for Sturm Graz on a permanent basis for around £4m.

This was on the back of an impressive half-season on loan in Austria that followed his early recall from Scottish club Motherwell and time in the Netherlands with RKC Waalwijk.

Biereth has enjoyed a superb start to his Monaco career, scoring 11 goals in just nine league appearances which includes an astonishing total of three hat-tricks.

For many Arsenal supporters, it’s a case of what could have been as an injury crisis in attack has prompted Mikel Arteta to use Mikel Merino as an emergency striker all the while the aforementioned 22-year-old scores goals for fun.

“Mika should’ve been in and around it at the moment. One of our chats early on was about him showing himself in the pre-season for Arsenal and giving it his best go.

“But he had the bravery to go to Scotland, then Austria and now France and that is what shows he wants to be the best! He has to be playing to prove that. His record speaks for itself. It’s disappointing for Arsenal but on a human level, I’m delighted for him."

"I have to always give Mika the credit for proactively reaching out to me years ago. He was looking for advice on where he was at with his game, with the club and what he should do next,” Wright added.

“I will always give him credit for that because it’s very easy to not make yourself vulnerable to someone else. After he contacted me, we met at my local pub and we have stayed in touch since.

“I knew about him from his years at Fulham already, but this was more about where he was at that time. He has a great team around him so it was more talking to him as someone who has experience and bouncing off each other.

“He knows I’m going to push him and hold him accountable to play at his best level."