Mika Biereth had a successful loan spell at SK Sturm Graz during the second half of the 2023/24 season, so we headed over to Austria to speak to Mika as well as his manager and a selection of the club’s supporters.
Sturm Graz went on to win the Austrian Bundesliga as well as the Austrian Cup, with Mika scoring nine goals and getting four assists in 22 matches in all competitions.
“I was in Scotland playing for Motherwell and then my agent rang me and said there was an opportunity to come to Austria and fight for a title in the league and the cup,” he recalled.
“I spoke to Per [Mertesacker] before the move, discussed it, what he thought, what I thought, and to me it was almost a no-brainer.
“This is the best level I’ve played at so far in terms of being a part of the squad and playing every match day. The players here are really good and really talented.
“We’ve got a really good mix of young players, old players, people from Austria, people from abroad, so there’s some senior players like Greggy [Wuthrich] who have really helped me out a lot and then the two lads that speak English from Scotland and Liverpool, Vit [Jaros] and Max [Johnston] helped me settle in a lot, so it doesn’t feel like I’ve only been here for three months because I feel like I’m quite close with all the boys.
“The first impressions of the club were really positive. Everyone at the club, from the players to the staff to the sporting director, everyone is really warm and welcoming.
“The most important thing is that they’re good at football as well on the pitch.”
We also hear from Sturm Graz manager Christian Ilzer, who discusses Mika’s role in the dressing room and on the pitch.
To watch both interviews in full, press play on the video above.
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.