I quit Arsenal and am now scoring goals for fun - this is how I feel about returning

Former Arsenal striker Mika Biereth has opened up about the possibility of rejoining the club. The 21-year-old became the record signing for Austrian side Sturm Graz in the summer and has wasted little time in making an impact.

Biereth was a standout striker in Arsenal’s academy but never got the chance to step up from Hale End to Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad. Instead, the former Fulham starlet was sent on loan to Dutch club RKC Waalwijk and enjoyed a short spell at Motherwell before landing in Graz at the turn of the year. Biereth clocked up nine goals and five assists in 15 games last season as Sturm Graz won a league and cup double and reached the Champions League.

The ex-Arsenal star’s sparkling form persuaded the Austrian club to pay £4million for Biereth, who has scored nine in 20 so far this season. However, the Denmark U21 international has not lost his affection for the Gunners and would welcome a return in the future.

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“Things are going well in Sturm Graz,” Biereth said . “I have nothing to complain about right now. I play every week at a good level, and now we also play in the Champions League, where I’m still waiting for my first goal [in that competition].

“If I keep playing well and scoring goals, hopefully a change can come, but right now I’m focused on Sturm and on doing well and scoring goals. A return back to Arsenal would be fantastic, but it’s not something I’m focusing on right now.”

Biereth is the first-choice striker for a Sturm Graz team that are five points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and embarking on their first Champions League campaign since the 2000/01 season. The striker’s next aim will be to find the net in Europe’s premier competition, with games against Girona, Lille, Atalanta and RB Leipzig still to come.

Should his form continue, Biereth will soon attract interest from other clubs. The forward earning his first-team breakthrough at Arsenal always seemed unlikely, though. Over the last two years, the Gunners have sold Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah for big transfer fees, and both would have been ahead of Biereth in the pecking order.

Upon leaving the Gunners, Biereth reflected on his time at the club: “Of course, I’m sad to have left Arsenal. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world, but now I’m in Graz, playing Champions League football,” he said. “It’s only when you leave the Arsenal bubble that you realise how hard it is to make a name for yourself. When you’re 18 or 19, Arsenal is all you dream about, and if you don’t make the first team you feel like a failure.

“Of course I had hoped to make my debut for the first team and get the opportunity to show myself off. It didn’t happen, and I don’t want to sit around feeling sorry for myself. It was the perfect time for me to move on.”

The Bundesliga has become an increasingly important league for top European clubs to scout, with the likes of Erling Haaland, Karim Adeyemi, and Benjamin Sesko all spending time in Austria. Sturm Graz boss Christian Ilzer will still hope the club can hold on to Biereth for as long as possible.

“Mika is a guy who has certainly found his place in the group very quickly, who also felt at home,” Ilzer said. “Mika has found his role in the dressing room but also on the pitch. All of us, the coaching staff, as well as the players, are very happy to have Mika with us.”