Christian Norgaard is Arsenal's "space filler" as Mikel Arteta sent transfer warning

Christian Norgaard is more of a "space filler" than a "squad improver" for Arsenal, Charles Watts believes, as he expressed doubt over whether the Denmark international will help elevate the Gunners to the next level.

On Tuesday morning, it was reported that Norgaard's transfer to the Emirates Stadium had been completed, and Gooners are now simply awaiting the official announcement, which should come before the end of the week.

Norgaard will step into the void vacated by Jorginho, who left on a free transfer for Flamengo earlier this summer, while Martin Zubimendi plays the Thomas Partey role as Mikel Arteta's first choice defensive midfielder.

Norgaard's time at Brentford has seen him play a crucial role in their rise from a Championship club to an established Premier League side, but speaking to Sports Mole, Watts opened up on his reservations.

“I'm just not sure it massively, massively improves the squad," Watts said. "Don't get me wrong - I think it's a fine, smart piece of business. I can absolutely understand why Arsenal are doing it because he is Jorginho's replacement.

"They've replaced Partey with Zubimendi and they're replacing Norgaard with Jorginho. And Jorginho only started nine Premier League games. He was very much underused last season.

“So I can understand why they're doing it and it's fine. It's a perfectly adequate replacement. But I'd look at it as a squad building thing - how do we improve the squad? How do we take the squad to the next level? And I look at this deal and think, does this take the squad to the next level? I'm not sure it does, but maybe it doesn't have to.

'Norgaard an adequate space filler rather than squad improver'

“Maybe it is just purely replacing Jorginho. Minutes, experienced guy, good player, Premier League proven, can hit the ground running. Loads of experience there. It's not a bad signing by any means, but I'd have looked to have just got someone in who you think is immediately a squad raise. And I'm just not sure Norgaard is.

“If it helps in terms of being able to spend more on the attackers, maybe that is absolutely worth it. But I just look at it as an adequate space filler rather than that real sort of squad improver.”

While Jorginho's exit was set in stone for some time, Arsenal were in talks to tie Partey down to a new contract but could not come to an agreement with his entourage, allegedly due to his wage demands.

The Ghana international left as a free agent when his contract expired at the end of June, shortly before he was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against three women following an initial arrest in 2022.

Before Partey officially left the club, though, Arsenal struck a deal over a fee with Brentford for Norgaard, whom they will pay an initial £10m for with another potential £2m in performance-related add-ons.

The man who Norgaard will be replacing - Jorginho - was a terrific servant for two-and-a-half years at the Emirates, despite his move being met with initial scepticism, no doubt in part due to his Chelsea connections.

Watts will "happily eat humble pie" over Norgaard signing

However, after witnessing the Italian defy the doubters, Watts is keeping his fingers crossed that Norgaard can do the same and make him "eat humble pie" during his time in North London.

“I like the intent they showed in doing that," he added. "I put that in that social media post - I thought that was good. They did it with Kepa as well - when Joan Garcia proved impossible, they very quickly moved on and got a really good deal done. So they're showing good intent in the transfer market in that way.

“I think the business can absolutely be praised for that, the way they've got the deals over the line. Jorginho is an important point because I felt how I feel now about Norgaard. It didn't excite me - I didn't look at it as a particularly good piece of business.

"And now I look back on it as an excellent piece of business. If Norgaard can come in and do exactly the same, I will happily sit here in a couple of years’ time and eat humble pie.”

Throughout his six years at Brentford, Norgaard has contributed 13 goals and 18 assists in 196 appearances for the Bees in all competitions, including five strikes and four helpers from 34 Premier League matches in the 2024-25 campaign.

The former Fiorentina man could soon be followed to the Emirates by Viktor Gyokeres, as Arsenal have made significant progress in talks to sign the Sporting Lisbon talisman for a reported £70m fee.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Norgaard's imminent move to Arsenal

Written by
Ben Knapton