Surprise striker spotted in Arsenal training

Stuart Telford

• 7 Jan 2024 09:43 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal have been linked with Victor Osimhen, Ivan Toney and others this winter, but Mikel Arteta appears to be planning with a young striker who was most recently at Motherwell…

Arsenal head into the winter break in fourth, having slipped five points behind leaders Liverpool in recent weeks.

The Gunners have scored fewer goals than the teams around them, and midfielders Bukayo Saka (12 direct goal-involvements) and Martin Odegaard (seven) have been their most potent attackers.

A need for a goalscoring No.9 appears to be obvious, and Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic has been linked of late with Napoli and Brentford demanding too much for Osimhen and Toney respectively.

But even Vlahovic is valued at €35.2 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm - significantly more than they would have to pay for Mika Biereth, whom they already own!

Chance for Biereth?

Arsenal uploaded pictures to their page "Inside Training" on Saturday ahead of their FA Cup meeting with Liverpool on Sunday, and shown in the background of a Saka shot is Biereth, who is apparently training with the first team.

The picture has caused some surprise as neither Arsenal nor Motherwell had released a statement about the London-born Denmark U21 international's future.

Biereth contributed six goals and five assists from 14 games in the first half of the Scottish Premiership season - a significant haul for a struggling team - and while the division is some way behind the Premier League, it does speak to his promise.

Whether Biereth gets any minutes against Liverpool remains to be seen. Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah remain the first-choice strikers at the Emirates as things stand.

But their attacking returns, or lack thereof, could see the youngster given a chance at times, at least until Arteta gets the high-profile No.9 he covets.