Arsenal signed Christian Norgaard from Brentford in July 2025 to add more depth in midfield.
The Danish midfielder built a strong reputation in the Premier League for being a very reliable central midfielder, who is good at both playmaking, and holding the ball, something that could be very useful for the Gunners.
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He rose to prominence in the UK at Brentford, where he became captain under fellow Dane Thomas Frank, who is now the manager at Arsenal’s rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
But what about Norgaard’s career before Arsenal…
Developing in Germany and Denmark
Norgaard began his youth career playing for local teams near Copenhagen, but his first move was to join Danish club Lyngby aged 14 in 2008, where he played a role in their youth academy. He spent four years in the youth academy before signing his first professional contract.
In 2012, after his promotion to the first team, Norgaard was snapped up by Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, who managed to usurp interest from Serie A giants AC Milan.
He spent just one year in Germany, where he failed to establish a proper role for himself aged 18, making just 31 appearances for the second team and U19s. After that, he moved back to Denmark to join Brondby, where he played under Frank for the first time.
in his first season at Brondby, Norgaard made 13 appearances, scoring one goal, and providing one assist, slowly developing into a complete midfielder. His second season at the Danish club saw him make 25 appearances, with four goals, and two assists.
At the age of 21, Norgaard became a key player for Brondby and Frank, making 25 appearances again before a season in 2016/17 where he appeared 43 times, scoring four goals, and providing three assists. That was Frank’s last season in Denmark, he moved to Brentford.
In the 2017/18 season, at the age of 23, Norgaard scored two goals and two assists, making 41 appearances, and playing a key role yet again – that was his last season in Denmark.
Brief spell in Italy before his move to Brentford
In the 2018/19 season, Norgaard earned himself a move to the Serie A, when he moved to Fiorentina for a fee of £3 million. However, it didn’t work out. He made just seven appearances for Fiorentina, and was told that he was free to leave at the end of the season, so guess who he joined up with…
In May 2019, Norgaard moved to Brentford on a four year contract for an undisclosed fee, and re-united with manager Thomas Frank, who by this point had managed to turn Brentford into a promotion contender in the Championship.
In his first season with the Bees, Norgaard made 45 appearances, helping them to the Championship play-off final, where they lost to Fulham. However, there was redemption in the following year, as Norgaard and Brentford were able to achieve promotion with the help from players such as Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney.
In his first Premier League season, Norgaard impressed, scoring three goals and providing four assists in 38 games for the Bees. Frank continued to help the midfielder’s development, as in the following year, he made 23 appearances, with one goal and four assists.
The 2023/24 season was more of the same for Norgaard, who was, by this point the club captain. But, in his last season at Brentford, the Danish international showed why he deserves to be playing for a top club. He scored six goals, and provided four assists, helping Brentford to their best ever league finish.
Following the impressive year, Frank joined Spurs, and Norgaard made a £15m move to Arsenal, where he gets to play Champions League football for the first time in his career, and potentially win a Premier League title.
Click here to see Arsenal’s full first team squad, including profiles like this for every player.