Danish international Christian Norgaard, who joined Arsenal from Brentford in a £12m deal this summer, has admitted that playing under Mikel Arteta is completely different to anything he has experienced in his football career thus far. The move to Arsenal ended Norgaard’s six-year spell at Brentford and his long-standing relationship with then-manager Thomas Frank, who left the club to replace Ange Postecoglou, also at Tottenham.
Frank had previously signed Norgaard with Brentford in 2019 after already working together for three years at Brentby. In September, Norgaard praised Arteta’s demanding approach, saying: “It’s different to what I’m used to, but the way his mind works and the way he wants us to play is great,” and admitted that Arteta’s tactics are physically and tactically demanding, adding: “So sometimes I don’t know exactly what I’m doing yet, but of course it always helps to go out and try to implement it.”
Norgaard missed the first month of the season with an injury, but returned in mid-September.
Norgaard’s comments echo those made by Declan Rice just a month after joining Arsenal from West Ham for £105m in 2023. Before making his Premier League debut for the Gunners, the England star admitted that Arteta’s tutelage had already changed his outlook on football.
Despite being coached by David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham, Rice admitted Arteta’s tactical acumen was on “another level”. He explained: “Tactically, on the ball, off the ball.
“I’m trying to learn myself, so it’s nice to know that I’m learning a lot. I feel like I’ve taken a big step forward since the Community Shield. Everything is starting to fall into place.[Arteta]surprised me. And working with him every day, it was just on another level.”
Ahead of his first league game in Arsenal colors, Rice told TNT Sports: “In these four weeks, I have already grown a lot and learned a lot about football that I have never seen before. To be honest, I already look at the game in a completely different way.”
“It’s really impressive to see how he works, how he works his mind, how he understands things, how he details his opponents and how he tries to improve us as players individually and collectively.
“It’s just the details of what he works on. So there’s no excuses on game day. You can’t say, ‘I’m not working on this or that.’ Everything is given to him and it’s literally up to him to actually go into the game and perform. The level of detail is on a different level and I’ve never seen it before.”
