Arsenal are set to sign Christian Norgaard from Brentford, while Thomas Partey is set to leave the North London club when his contract expires at the end of the month.
The Gunners have enacted something of a midfield revamp this summer, with Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi coming in and Partey and Jorginho departing.
Zubimendi is on the verge of completing his move, which will be worth in the region of £55 million.
Meanwhile, Norgaard will cost Arsenal an initial £10 million, with £5 million in performance-related add-ons included in the deal with the Bees.
This changing of the guard in the Gunners’ defensive midfield department has prompted a lot of discussion in the fanbase as to whether Mikel Arteta’s squad has improved or not.
So, with that said, here’s a look at a few reasons why Norgaard is an upgrade on Partey and a few reasons why he isn’t.
- READ MORE: All you need to know about Christian Norgaard including Arsenal transfer, age, statistics and more
Reasons Christian Norgaard is an upgrade on Thomas Partey
Christian Norgaard is a leader
Partey is known to have been a quiet figure in the Arsenal dressing room, and this has been reflected in the fact that he’s shrunk in high-leverage moments for the Gunners over the years.
Meanwhile, Norgaard was named Brentford’s vice-captain at the beginning of the 2022/23 season, and captain from the start of the following season.
Spending two years as the West London outfit’s skipper, the Dane has shown himself to have genuine leadership qualities with the way he conducts his team on the pitch, as well as the way he conducts himself off the pitch.
With Jorginho departing, a leadership void was left in the middle of the park at the Emirates, and Norgaard will fill it.
Christian Norgaard is better defensively than Thomas Partey
Arsenal fans grew frustrated with Partey throughout last season for his defensive deficiencies.
The Ghanaian was often seen lumbering back towards his own goal, as more athletic midfield opponents skipped past him.
Conversely, Norgaard’s best attribute is his ability to break up play and stop opposition transitions.
| Defensive Statistics Compared (League Only) | ||
| Stat | Partey | Norgaard |
| Tackles per 90 | 2.86 | 2.52 |
| Interceptions per 90 | 1.13 | 1.57 |
| Blocks per 90 | 0.93 | 1.66 |
The Denmark international eats up ground and is exceptional at timing tackles and interceptions, before setting his team up for quick counter-attacks.
This should make the Gunners even more secure defensively when he starts.
Christian Norgaard is more durable than Thomas Partey
While Norgaard has had his fair share of injuries in the past, the 31-year-old has been able to remain fit a lot more often and play a lot more football than his Ghanaian counterpart.
Two significant ankle injuries kept him out for a lot of the 2020/21 season, but since Brentford’s promotion, he’s started over 30 Premier League games in three of the last four campaigns.
Meanwhile, Partey managed this in just one of his five years at Arsenal.
The former Atletico Madrid man was regularly absent when needed, while Norgaard should be there and ready to slot in when Zubimendi is unavailable.
Reasons Christian Norgaard is not an upgrade on Thomas Partey
Christian Norgaard isn’t used to Arsenal’s system
Partey has spent several years at the base of Arsenal’s midfield, learning how the mechanics of Arteta’s system works.
He knows the positions he needs to take up and how to conduct the press from deep.
While Norgaard can learn how to play in this system from the Arsenal coaches, it won’t be a seamless transition and he may need time to adapt.
The former Fiorentina man isn’t used to playing in a possession-based team, with Brentford more often than not looking to cede possession and hit their opponents in transition.
Thomas Partey is better in tight spaces than Christian Norgaard
Partey’s passing has declined in recent years, with his ability to break lines falling off significantly.
The gap between the two players’ ability on the ball has closed substantially, with both players offering similar ranges of passing.
That said, Partey still possesses his superpower of being able to manipulate the ball in tight spaces and evade pressure by using body feints or subtle touches.
This isn’t a trait Norgaard has in his game, although not many other midfielders in world football can do it in quite the same way as Partey.
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