Arsenal’s barely-seen duel king with brilliant stats could solve massive issue, he must go into the team
Christian Norgaard has barely had a chance since signing for Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta must now be ready to utilise him.
Arsenal signed Norgaard from Brentford in the summer, in a deal worth around £15million to bolster the midfield depth in the wake of Thomas Partey‘s departure.
The Dane was hit by injury in the opening weeks of the season, but his minutes have been extremely limited even after returning.
Norgaard started at centre-back against Club Brugge in December, marking just his eighth appearance of the season.
And as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace on penalties to reach the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, the 31-year-old featured throughout in midfield.
Christian Norgaard is ready to play an increased role for Arsenal
The buzz phrase all summer for Arsenal was squad depth. The Gunners bought Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, and Noni Madueke to bolster their front line, and signed Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie to add increased depth at centre-half.
Partey and Jorginho departed, leaving space behind Declan Rice for the arrivals of Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi.
But while Arteta, due to injuries, has had to rotate through his centre-backs and has sporadically deployed his different attackers depending on the game, the midfield has remained untouched.
| Christian Norgaard | vs Crystal Palace |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Passes into final third | 9 |
| Tackles | 2 |
| Clearances | 3 |
| Recoveries | 8 |
| Duels won | 6/9 |
Zubimendi has started every single Premier League game, completing the 90 minutes in all but five of them.
And Rice has completed a similar amount of minutes, only left out of the starting line-up once in place of Mikel Merino.
Norgaard has appeared off the bench just twice in league competition, but his performance against Palace called that decision into question.
Against quality Premier League opposition, the Dane was dominant in midfield, winning nearly all of his duels and always keeping the ball safe.
He played the ball forward when he could, but kept it simple when needed and always made the ground up to cut out Palace attacks.
It was a performance that left many Arsenal fans wondering why Arteta is taking such a risk with Zubimendi and Rice.
Mikel Arteta must have more confidence in his squad
Arteta’s hesitancy in using the full extent of his squad likely stems from a couple of factors.
The Spaniard has simply never had such a high level of depth to choose from as he does now, and was forced to keep a tight group of 13-14 favoured players in previous years.
Old habits are hard to break, but Arsenal’s injuries will, at some point, convince the 43-year-old of the importance of using all of his options.
The other factor is likely related to the intensity of the title race, and his team’s previous failures. More than many teams, Arsenal are well aware of the fact that even one missed opportunity could prove pivotal at the end of the season.
But Norgaard’s performance on Tuesday has confirmed his ability to maintain Arteta’s standards, and given the vital importance of Zubimendi and Rice, the Dane’s presence has to be utilised.