Christian Norgaard already named the ‘fantastic’ Arsenal player he’ll be excited to play with after £9m bid..
Arsenal have now launched a bid to sign Brentford captain Christian Norgaard as a potential replacement for Thomas Partey.
As things stand, Partey is set to leave Arsenal once his contract expires at the end of the month.
And although Arsenal have agreed to sign Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Arteta’s midfield would be short of numbers without a Partey replacement, given that Jorginho has left too.
But Andrea Berta is on the case and Arsenal have bid for Christian Norgaard, hoping that the 31-year-old can come in and provide experienced back-up.
Christian Norgaard has grown in stature at Brentford over the years since their promotion to the Premier League.
And on the face of it, a deal looks very clever for Arsenal.
Christian Norgaard was so impressed by Martin Odegaard at Arsenal
That being said, Norgaard made some very interesting comments about Martin Odegaard and a few other Arsenal players back in 2023.
At the time, Brentford were still a fairly new addition to the Premier League, but that didn’t stop them drawing 1-1 with the Gunners at the Emirates in February of that year.
And after the game when speaking in an interview with Brentford’s official website, Norgaard spoke about Brentford’s game plan whilst praising Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Odegaard.
Christian Norgaard and Martin Odegaard duel for the ball during Arsenal vs Brentford.
Photo by Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
READ MORE: Arsenal now risk missing out on Mikel Arteta’s top transfer target for the sake of just £9m
Speaking about Brentford’s plan to nullify Arsenal’s attackers, Norgaard said: “It’s [about] sticking to our defensive principles and forcing it outside and trying to double up.
“Especially on players like Martinelli and Saka, we know how good they are when they get the ball wide.
“And then see if we could shut down Odegaard as much as possible, he’s a fantastic player and he also showed today some of the skills that he has.”
Of course, all three still play for Arsenal today, and Norgaard might be very excited at the prospect of playing alongside Odegaard in midfield in particular.
Declan Rice’s role at Arsenal is very clear after Christian Norgaard bid
Faced with the prospect of Partey leaving Arsenal, some fans might have wondered if Arteta simply planned to use Declan Rice as a number six on occasion.
Zubimendi will be the go-to man in a holding role, but Rice could step in when the Spaniard either needed a rest or was unavailable.
However, Arsenal’s bid for Norgaard proves that Arteta is seriously committed to his plan of using Rice in an advanced role.
Find someone who can do it all 💪.
Sum up Christian Norgaard’s season so far ___________#BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/BaDzhIG2Cf
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) December 21, 2021
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Rice was exceptional as a number eight at times last season and it does appear as if Arteta is making the right call.
A combination of Zubimendi and Norgaard would be an upgrade on Partey and Jorginho, and Berta will hope that a deal can be agreed for the Denmark international.
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