Arsenal star confirms £4m exit with ten-word ‘thank you’ message

Arsenal striker Mika Biereth has confirmed he’s leaving the club in a message on social media as he makes a £4million move to Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz.

The Danish youth international spent the latter half of the 2023/24 season on loan in Austria with the club, netting nine goals and assisting four more in his 22 appearances. It came after his previous loan spell at Motherwell across the first half of last season saw him net six goals in 15 games before being sent across the continent to Sturm Graz in January.

Before that, he netted 12 goals and helped provide five assists from 26 matches in the Arsenal Under-23s side back in 2022, leading to him catching the eye of many clubs across Europe, including Eredivisie side RKC Waalwijk where he spent a year on loan before last season.

The £4million fee is thought to be a record signing for Sturm Graz, who have included a sell-on clause in the deal which will mean Arsenal will secure part of any future sales of Biereth. The Austrian side are also no strangers to turning a profit on young stars, having also signed Rasmus Hojlund from FC Copenhagen in 2022 for just £1.5million before selling him to Atalanta for £15million after just six months.

Whether Biereth will get the same treatment is unclear, but he’s been snatched up with just one year left on his contract at Arsenal and has already sent a message to the supporters and to the club that have helped him on his journey since he signed from Fulham three years ago.

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Posting to Instagram, he shared a photo of him at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground with the caption: “Once a gooner, always a gooner. Thank you for everything [red-love-heart emoji].” His Under-23s teammate and goalkeeper James Hillson commented under the post with a clapping emoji and a love heart.