Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli were the goal scorers against Club Brugge, but it was Christian Norgaard who stood out to Mikel Arteta.
Norgaard has barely played since joining Arsenal from Brentford in the summer, going from a club captain to a squad player.
That hasn’t fazed the Dane, as we saw in the Gunners’ 3-0 win against Club Brugge, with Arteta deploying the midfielder as a centre-back.
Arsenal’s defensive injury list called for rotation, and Norgaard made it happen, seeing him earn exceptional praise from the boss at full-time.
Sum up Christian Norgaard’s performance in three words!
Mikel Arteta issues huge praise to Christian Norgaard
Compared to the other players Andrea Berta purchased in the summer, Norgaard has been one of the more underwhelming.
The view is completely different in Arteta’s eyes, however, as the Arsenal manager revealed that the 31-year-old is actually the best in the squad at one thing.
Speaking to TNT Sports after Arsenal’s victory, Arteta was desperate to share his admiration for Norgaard.
“I talked to the boys, it was about showing how much we wanted [it], how reliant and how we prepare, and I think there were some great examples,” Arteta said when asked what impressed him most about the win.
“For example, Christian Norgaard, who is a player who probably prepares the best out of all of them and is somebody who makes all of us better every single day and can play in any position, any condition, whether he plays more or less minutes, his attitude is always immaculate, and that’s a really good example for all of us.”
It was extraordinary feedback from Arteta, who was clearly charmed by how his summer buy adapted to the task of playing centre-back.
No-nonsense approach from Norgaard against Club Brugge
At a time when Arteta has lost three centre-backs to injury in quick succession, options for rotation were slim.
Christian Norgaard starts at centre-back! Did anyone expect this? 😱
Norgaard proved that, with him in the squad, there’s no shortage in any position, as he’s clearly able to adapt to most roles.
For a player who had only played centre-back eight times at Brentford, the Dane certainly looked comfortable, getting stuck in to duels.
It wasn’t by any means a display as controlled as what we see from William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, but it didn’t need to be to impress Arteta.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
