Arsenal’s Mika Biereth cut short his loan stay at Motherwell and made a switch to Sturm Graz in the winter market.
The striker has started his temporary spell at the Austrian club on a positive note, scoring two goals from four games so far.
Sturm Graz sporting director Andreas Schicker has told Tipsbladet that he’s pleased with the Arsenal player’s start. He’s also urged the 21-year-old to quickly adapt to the needs of the club.
“It’s been a really good start. He arrived late for our training camp in Turkey, but he scored anyway in his very first training match,” he said.
“He has been well received by his teammates and my impression is that he’s happy to be here, although of course he lacks something in terms of understanding our style of play.”
The director revealed the Denmark U21 international has long been on Sturm Graz’s radar and also explained why they decided to make an approach for him in January.
“He was already on our radar when he played for Arsenal’s U21 side. Since then, he has been on loan in both the Netherlands and Scotland,” Schicker explained.
“We have been in constant contact with his back office [entourage], and when our striker Seedy Jatta had an injury in January, we contacted Mika and we are extremely happy that we were able to reach an agreement so quickly.”
Arsenal initially signed the youngster from Fulham for their academy in 2021. He’s yet to make his debut for their senior team and has been out on loan since the start of the 2022/23 season.
The Austrian side have signed the player on a dry loan deal. They were keen on inserting a purchase option, which was not entertained by the Gunners. Schicker has stated his side will potentially make an attempt to retain him beyond this season.
“Arsenal were not at all willing to include a purchase option, but therefore we are still going to explore the possibility of keeping Mika longer than this summer,” Schicker added.
“Right now, we’re just focusing on having a really good striker that we can benefit from this half-season. What happens next, time will tell.”
This would indicate Mikel Arteta’s side are hoping for the frontman to have a future in north London.
