'I've had Mikel Arteta and Thomas Frank as coaches - This is how Arsenal boss is different'

One Arsenal star opened up on the differences he's experienced playing under between Mikel Arteta

Christian Norgaard has confessed that playing under Mikel Arteta is a unique experience in his football career.

The Danish international joined Arsenal last summer in a £12million transfer from Brentford, marking the end of his six-year stint with the Bees and his long-standing relationship with then-manager Thomas Frank.

Frank, who also departed Brentford to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur, had signed Norgaard for Brentford in 2019. The duo had previously worked together at Brondby for three years before Frank left Denmark in 2018 to join the west London club.

A month into the season, the 31-year-old midfielder lauded the Gunners' boss, revealing the high demands of the Spanish coach. "It is different than what I've been used to, but it's brilliant how his mind works and the way he wants us to play," Norgaard said in September.

"It's very demanding on a physical level and also on a tactical level. So sometimes I still don't know exactly the things I do, but of course being out there, trying to execute it will always help.

"Now 90 minutes in the bank for me and another learning experience as well to get the tactical stuff a bit more under the skin." The Dane missed the first month of the season due to injury but made his return to action in mid-September.

Norgaard's remarks echo those made by Declan Rice just a month after his £105m transfer from West Ham to Arsenal in 2023. Before making his Premier League debut for the Gunners, the England star confessed that his perspective on football had already been transformed under Arteta's guidance.

Despite having previously worked with David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham, Rice acknowledged that Arteta's tactical acumen was on "another level". He elaborated: "Tactically, on the ball, off the ball.

"I'm happy to know I'm learning so much because I'm trying to push myself to learn. Since the Community Shield, I feel I've taken a big step; everything is starting to click. I was blown away [by Arteta]; and working with him day-to-day, it's just another level."

Before his first league appearance in Arsenal colours, he shared with TNT Sports: "In the last four weeks, I've grown so much already and learned so much about football that I hadn't seen before. I'm honestly seeing the game in a completely different way already.

"Seeing how he works, how his mind operates, picking up stuff, seeing how he goes into detail on the opposition, and how he wants to improve us as players, individually and collectively, is really impressive.

"It's just the finer details of what he goes into, so there are no excuses on matchday. You can't say, 'we've not worked on this or that'. You're given everything and it's literally down to you to go and perform. The finer details you go into are on another level, and I've never seen that before."