Arsenal loanee Mika Biereth got his Eredivisie career going with a brace on Friday night, following his initial injury issues.

Arsenal’s Mika Biereth was one of the club’s most exciting loanees in pre-season, scoring a handful of goals for RKC Waalwijk. But when the competitive action came around the striker had to contend with an injury setback.

As a result, Biereth didn’t make his competitive debut for Waalwijk for a month and a half. He eventually came off the bench in their final game before the international break against SC Cambuur.

The loanee made another substitute appearance against Sparta Rotterdam following the break, but he’d still only racked up 23 minutes of competitive action before Friday night.

Once again coming off the bench against FC Groningen, this time for a longer 37-minute appearance, Biereth really made the most of his latest opportunity.

With the scores level at 1-1, it took just eight minutes for Biereth to give Waalwijk the lead. The ball ricocheted into his path in the penalty area rather fortuitously, but he made no mistake with the finish.

Biereth’s first goal #AFC https://t.co/cKFMdkg88u

— AFC LoanWatch (@AFC_Loanwatch) October 7, 2022

Groningen rallied to level at 2-2, but Biereth pounced again with an impressive goal to retake the lead.

Latching onto a long ball, Biereth managed to sidestep the goalkeeper before finishing into the empty net. Waalwijk held onto the 3-2 lead to win the game.

https://twitter.com/MrArsenal_1/status/1578472500765212672

Biereth will hope this is just the beginning for his loan spell. Waalwijk wrote that he was a “golden substitute” and a “match winner” on the day, so they were certainly impressed.

The 19-year-old striker has now shown he can score goals in the Eredivisie, and he’ll hope to get his first start in the coming weeks.