Following Christian Norgaard's move from Brentford to Arsenal, football writer Adrian Clarke looks at which attributes the Denmark international will add to the Gunners' midfield.
Jorginho and Thomas Partey’s departures this summer will have left Mikel Arteta with a clear vision of what was needed in central midfield.
The Spaniard’s wish list for one of the replacements will have focussed on leadership, Premier League experience, technical ability and outstanding ball-winning attributes.
Christian Norgaard is a player who ticks all those boxes.
The 31-year-old has proved consistently reliable for Brentford and is a relatively low-cost addition who should fit nicely into Arsenal’s midfield.
Off-the-ball energy
Norgaard is an athletic central midfielder who gets around the pitch with great enthusiasm.
He ranked 17th for distance covered in the Premier League last season, with Partey in 57th spot, despite playing only 30 fewer minutes.
Arsenal's new signing ran an average 11.4km per match, 1km further than Partey's 10.4km, and he also covered 0.5km more ground per 90 minutes than Jorginho.
His work-rate will to add vibrancy to Arteta’s midfield, especially when they do not have the ball.
Norgaard's numbers were tremendous for Brentford in 2024/25 and they compare favourably with the players he has effectively replaced in north London.
Norgaard v Partey v Jorginho defensive stats, 24/25
| Stat | Norgaard | Partey | Jorginho |
| Interceptions/90 | 1.56 | 1.13 | 0.90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressures/90 | 15.27 | 10.61 | 10.77 |
| Pressures in middle third/90 | 8.88 | 6.69 | 5.77 |
| Pressures resulting in turnovers/90 | 2.10 | 1.90 | 0.64 |
| Poss. won/90 | 6.14 | 4.44 | 7.05 |
| Poss. won in middle third/90 | 3.56 | 2.57 | 4.87 |
| Tackle succ. rate % | 62.03 | 59.55 | 33.33 |
Norgaard's 49 interceptions ranked joint-second for the most by a midfielder, behind only the 60 of Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch.
And inside the middle third, Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo (132) was the only player to win possession more often than the 112 times of Norgaard.
Added to that, the only Premier League midfielders (with at least 30 starts) who boasted a better tackle success rate were Caicedo and Youri Tielemans.
Arsenal will have more of the ball than Brentford did, but when the Gunners are out of possession, Norgaard’s desire to pressurise the man on the ball will also add value.
A set-piece star
Arsenal are set-piece specialists, and Norgaard’s arrival will enhance their prospects of plundering even more goals from those situations.
Norgaard is a master at timing his runs to meet crosses from corners, wide free-kicks or long throws.
He scored five league goals last season across a campaign in which he registered more efforts from set-plays than any other Premier League player.
Most shots from set-pieces, 24/25
| Player | Total |
| Christian Norgaard | 7 |
|---|---|
| Mateo Kovacic | 6 |
| Eberechi Eze | 6 |
| Mikel Merino | 5 |
| Tomas Soucek | 5 |
| Manuel Ugarte | 5 |
| Wilfred Ndidi | 5 |
Against Leicester City, Norgaard stole in to meet Bryan Mbeumo's free-kick, as pictured below.
...and headed home with aplomb.
Norgaard, who scored twice against Arsenal in 2021/22, regularly makes the first contact.
Consequently, since he arrived in the Premier League in 2021, he has racked up the third-highest Expected Goals (xG) tally from set-pieces, with new team-mate Gabriel leading the way.
Worryingly for Arsenal’s opponents, Norgaard is another major goal threat from dead-ball situations for them to be wary of.
Most Expected Goals from set-pieces*
| Player | Total |
| Gabriel | 14.44 |
|---|---|
| Fabian Schar | 10.55 |
| Christian Norgaard | 10.26 |
| Virgil van Dijk | 9.75 |
| Yoane Wissa | 9.63 |
*Premier League since start of 2021/22
How will he fit in with Arteta’s style of play?
Norgaard is unlikely to make Arsenal’s initial starting XI, but he is sure to get plenty of game time across all competitions.
His best position is operating as a No 6 in the holding role, but he can also be used as a box-to-box midfielder when required.
Interestingly, he leans more to the right side from a central berth, as shown on his passing zone map from 2024/25.
This makes him a terrific fit for Arteta, as Jurrien Timber or Ben White are likely to be his most adventurous full-backs, playing higher down that side of the pitch.
Declan Rice will also naturally slot in from the left to form a double pivot of sorts.
When Rice pushes forward, we will often see Myles Lewis-Skelly slide infield from left-back in the build-up phase for the Gunners.
Again, with that in mind, it would suit Lewis-Skelly for Norgaard to take up positions to the right of centre.
Is he good enough on the ball?
While Norgaard must adapt to making more passes, and having extra touches on the ball, there is no doubt his technical quality is of a sufficient standard.
His passing accuracy stats will rise because he will be asked to play fewer long passes at Arsenal, so a rating of 82.7 per cent should not be a concern.
As shown in the table below, he is brave enough to make accurate line-breaking passes as a matter of course.
Norgaard v Partey v Jorginho passing stats, 24/25
| Stat | Norgaard | Partey | Jorginho |
| Passes completed between lines/90 | 2.86 | 2.09 | 2.18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Successful long passes/90 | 2.07 | 1.86 | 1.54 |
| Total passes/90 | 44.35 | 59.16 | 60.64 |
| Pass accuracy % | 82.71 | 88.64 | 86.89 |
Arteta loves to see progressive passes played into the feet of his forward players, so this quality will have been eye-catching to the Spaniard.
Norgaard completed more passes between the lines than Partey and Jorginho last season; a stat that bodes well for players such as Martin Odegaard in the months ahead.
Can he adapt to having more of the ball?
While Brentford were not a possession-heavy outfit under Thomas Frank, there were a few matches last season where they monopolised the ball.
This passing chalkboard from their 2-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest for example – a game Norgaard ended with 92.9 per cent passing accuracy – shows how capable he is of dictating play.
Key: Green - successful passes, Red - unsuccessful passes
In matches that demanded extra passing, Norgaard was a confident presence, retaining possession with quality.
Looking back at home matches where the Bees had over 60 per cent of possession (below), Norgaard's touch count and precise distribution were of a similar level to those averaged by Partey and Jorginho.
Norgaard passing stats
| Stat | v NFO (H) | v LEI (H) |
| Team poss. | 64.4% | 64.9% |
|---|---|---|
| Passes own half | 30 | 18 |
| Passes opp. half | 40 | 28 |
| Passes ending in final third | 25 | 20 |
| Passing accuracy own half | 100% | 88.89% |
| Passing accuracy opp. half | 87.50% | 82.14% |
| Passing accuracy final third | 80.0% | 75.0% |
Partey and Jorginho passing stats, season average
| Stat | Partey | Jorginho |
| Team poss. | 56.85% | 56.85% |
|---|---|---|
| Passes own half | 24.41 | 23.85 |
| Passes opp. half | 34.76 | 36.79 |
| Passes ending in final third | 18.94 | 19.74 |
| Passing accuracy own half | 94.60% | 92.47% |
| Passing accuracy opp. half | 84.46% | 83.28% |
| Passing accuracy final third | 80.14% | 75.32% |
This feels like a smart signing from Arteta.
Norgaard might be a back-up at first, but he has the tools to fit in well with Arsenal’s style of play, while also adding plenty of the valuable experience which has been lost.