Arsenal are on the charge and things are looking up for the red half of north London this season.
Six wins from six in the Premier League has seen the Gunners move within a point of Manchester City and two of Liverpool.
Even better, an avalanche of goals has seen Mikel Arteta's side dramatically improve their goal difference, which could prove to be the deciding factor come May.
With Gabriel Jesus missing for four of the six games, much of the goalscoring burden has fallen on Bukayo Saka, a burden he has carried wonderfully well.
In fact, the young Englishman has done so well without the Brazilian beside him that Arsenal could look to fast-track one of their most promising prospects this summer to challenge the former City man for his place and form a deadly partnership with the 22-year-old.
Arsenal's Hale End Jesus replacement
The youngster in question is 21-year-old Mika Biereth, who joined Arsenal's youth setup from Fulham in July 2021.
He had an outstanding record with the Cottagers in west London, scoring 25 goals and providing 15 assists in just 41 appearances, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.02 games.
Appearances
26
41
Goals
12
25
Assists
5
15
Goal Involvements per Match
0.68
0.97
This impressive record saw him jump up the age groups upon his arrival at Hale End, and he was immediately placed in the U23 squad, where he managed to score 12 goals and provide five assists in just 26 games, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.52 matches.
His impressive displays for the youth sides saw him make the bench for a handful of senior games towards the end of the 2021/22 Premier League season.
When asked about his pathway into the first team in an interview with The Athletic, he was reassuringly confident: “Maybe not with strikers as much, but with Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, if you play well you get in the squad. That’s all I’ve got to do.”
Why fans should be excited about Mika Biereth
Since he gave that interview, the Danish forward has been sent out on loan several times.
First, he joined Dutch side RKC Waalwijk, but a season blighted with injuries restricted him to just 357 minutes of first-team action, in which he did manage to bag two goals, mind.
This season, the "proper no.9", as described by data analyst Ben Mattinson, was sent to Scottish Premiership side Motherwell, where, after recovering from a knee injury, he scored six goals and provided five assists in just 15 games.
The powerful striker was so effective north of the border that Arsenal opted to recall him in January and send him out on loan to Austrian side Sturm Graz, where Biereth has already bagged three goals in five games and has a chance of winning the league.
It's clear the London-born forward has an eye for goal then, but his catalogue of assists is what could help him eventually push his way into the first team.
According to Mattinson, Biereth is "not selfish" as a player and "creates a lot of chances for others, whether it's cutbacks, through balls or general link-up play", which, based on the signing of Jesus, is precisely the sort of frontman Arteta wants in his team.
Appearances
99
355
Goals
47
138
Assists
25
66
The 6 foot 2 striker has registered 25 assists in 99 games, which equates to an assist every 3.96 matches, which is slightly better than Jesus' average of 5.37 assists per game, although that is from 355 senior games.
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Ultimately, Biereth isn't going to be breaking into the first team this season, but he looks to have a genuine chance of making it in the long term and with Saka still only 22 himself, there is no reason that the pair couldn't form a deadly partnership in a couple of years.
