8 hours ago
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Christian Norgaard has revealed he nearly ignored the telephone call from his agent regarding Arsenal's shock transfer interest. The Dane has now opened up on his £12million switch across London and claimed the move had been in the works since the end of the 2024-25 season.
Norgaard joined Arsenal for an initial £10m plus around £2m in add-ons. He had not long put his feet up after Brentford's final day draw at Wolves when his phone began ringing.
The 31-year-old told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet : “I first heard about Arsenal before our last match with Brentford against Wolverhampton. I was actually sitting with a friend at home. My agent had called, and I thought ‘it will have to wait until another time. Then he wrote 'if we could just talk – Arsenal has called’.”
Arsenal were in the market for two defensive midfielders as both Jorginho and Thomas Partey were set to leave the club upon the expiry of their contracts. Norgaard was signed as a replacement for Jorginho while Martin Zubimendi came in from Real Sociedad to fill the void of Partey.
Minutes have proven hard to come by so far this season for Norgaard, who has only played 91 minutes across all competitions this season.
He played the entire match in the 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Port Vale and then made his Champions League debut from the bench in the 2-0 triumph over Athletic Club.
Still, more opportunities should follow as Mikel Arteta made a big personal push to sign the 31-year-old from the Bees.
Norgaard added, explaining how he reacted to Arsenal's interest: “My friend also thinks it’s crazy. I said we should try to do everything we can. It’s simply too big an opportunity not to try and go for it. I was so settled with Brentford, where I had signed a two-year contract. It was a big surprise for me. I’m really happy.
“Older players aren’t paid that much money, but there was talk back and forth. It was driven a lot by Mikel Arteta. He thinks I had played really well against them and generally for Brentford. In terms of playing time, I knew exactly what role I was going for.”
Football.London understands Norgaard rejected upwards of four Bosman offers earlier in the year before penning a new two-year contract with Brentford.
One of the clubs in the mix for his signature was Portuguese giants Benfica, who could also offer the player Champions League football.
However, Norgaard declined to remain in the Premier League and just a matter of weeks later, Arsenal put the cash on the table to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.
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