Arsenal striker Mika Biereth has revealed how a tackle from centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes in training “felt like a car crash” as he opened up on his development at the club.
Biereth, 21, left Arsenal to join Austrian side Sturm Graz on a loan deal in January. The young forward has hit the ground running as he recorded four goals in his first six matches.
Sturm Graz are currently just two points behind league leaders RB Salzburg as they find themselves in a hotly-contested title fight.
Arsenal are also just two points off first in their own contest in the Premier League as they continue to battle it out with Liverpool and Man City.
The Gunners will no doubt be hoping that Biereth’s loan spell will do wonders for his development as he returns to the club looking to compete for a first-team spot.
Despite not playing a first-team game Arsenal, the youngster has already had a timely reminder of just how big a step up awaits him if he makes the permanent move to the senior squad.
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Gabriel’s ‘car crash’ tackle in Arsenal training
“It is a simple game but just [learning] how much goes into it and how much detail there is, I learned all of that at Arsenal,” he told inews.
“The more you train with the first-team, the more used to it you get and those kinds of training sessions put me in good stead for playing with the 21s and then out on my loans.
⚫️⚪️ Mika Biereth with the outside the boot finish 😮💨@SKSturm || #UECL pic.twitter.com/uY1qIp5JKt
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) February 17, 2024
“One of the first sessions I was over there I was trying to hold the ball up and big Gabi [Magalhaes] just clattered through the back of me. It felt like a car crash!
“He is massive and I would have only been 18 at the time. Just things like that, the speed and the physicality of it [helped].”