Mikel Arteta has praised Christian Norgaard for the 'tremendous role' he played at Arsenal, following the midfielder's move to Everton.
Norgaard completed his £7m transfer to Everton on Wednesday evening, signing a 2-year contract with the Blues. He will wear the Number 23 shirt recently vacated by departing Club Captain, Seamus Coleman.
The former Denmark international joined Arsenal from Brentford last summer and helped the North Londoners to Premier League title success in 2025-26, though started only seven games across all competitions.
Despite that, Arteta hailed Norgaard's influence in North London and said the 32-year-old was central to ensuring high standards at the Emirates.
The ex-Everton midfielder called Norgaard a 'glue player' in the squad and said his transfer to the Blues is a 'massive opportunity' for the midfielder.
"He played a tremendous role for us. When I brought him here, I said that he could be our glue player - an incredible capacity to bring people together, to keep the standards high," Arteta told arsenal.com.
"When he played, he had some really good moments as well, but I understand that to fulfil that role for a long period is not easy. He had a massive opportunity with a manager and a club that I know really well and we wish him all the best and thank him."
After signing for Everton, Norgaard said the 'positive things' Arteta had to say about the club and David Moyes influenced his decision.
“I spoke to him quite a lot about the potential move. And he had only positive things to say about Everton and also David Moyes. He played for him for a long time and the whole experience he had as an Everton player seemed to me as if he had a fantastic time here and really also excelled as a player under David Moyes. Hopefully I can get the same feeling as an Everton player.”
Reader Comments (19)
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2 Posted 06/08/2026 at 11:48:53
Half of which were in the final game, when they'd already won the title.
3 Posted 06/08/2026 at 12:03:12
Rio Ferdinand wasn't when he imploded the most successful football club of a generation within about 9 months. Asking Ferdinand to defend more like Jagielka at Everton.
4 Posted 06/08/2026 at 13:01:58
We've got more midfielders than a baseball team. How about a couple of strikers, dreary?
5 Posted 06/08/2026 at 13:43:30
I'd take issue with your complaint about "old blokes" though. Paul Power, Richard Gough, David Weir didn't do badly for geriatrics, did they? I speak as an aul arse of course.
6 Posted 06/08/2026 at 14:00:23
Can you play right-back?
7 Posted 06/08/2026 at 14:11:26
Very reliable, though. I always turned up.
8 Posted 06/08/2026 at 14:31:20
9 Posted 06/08/2026 at 15:12:37
The good old Paul Power argument. Yes, he did do brilliantly... for about 6 months. And then, as the club was in free fall, it was mainly because we'd replaced brilliant players with lesser ones.
Despite Power being good in his brief spell, I include him in this. Kevin Richardson left as Power joined. A better player that was winning trophies and making England squads years later.
10 Posted 06/08/2026 at 17:33:48
11 Posted 06/08/2026 at 19:39:52
Like any time I suggest the club move on from younger players that haven’t made a break through when beyond the age of 20.
‘What about Leon Osman’
The one outlier.
12 Posted 06/08/2026 at 22:50:14
They'd be bonkers to do so given that they themselves want to last as long as possible in professional football (and who wouldn't, financially?) so publicly slagging off fellow professionals is verboten.
Unless you're Roy Keane, of course!
13 Posted 06/08/2026 at 23:05:15
That doesn t explain why, when their career is over, they don't come out and tell the "truth".
I'm sure any player "spilling the beans" would be paid handsomely by any tabloid.
14 Posted 06/08/2026 at 23:14:29
Just got free access to Ted Lasso so binge watched all 3 series this week. Some truths -- team in 18th, play Everton away who are 8th having never won at Goodison Park for 60 years, and they win. Even Fiction has us as a team to play when you are on a bad run.
But for those who watched - Series 3 and the baddie buys West Ham Utd. End of series, he is accused of sexual impropriety. And this was 3 years before the accusations against Sullivan. What did the writers know???
15 Posted 07/08/2026 at 02:58:56
If we don't get either a fullback or a striker (George apart), this will be a bad window anyway.
Just imagining Mykolenko again passing the half-way line carrying the ball gives me headaches... gosh!
16 Posted 07/08/2026 at 04:03:11
If he still has the legs, it might work out.
17 Posted 08/08/2026 at 09:57:46
Even under Moshiri, we never went over the £50M mark. TFG have not said we're going to buy very good players, so stop moaning and get on with it.
Everton can only move higher in the Premier League if they buy players who score and assist goalscorers. Everton have, Iroegbunam, Dibling, Armstrong and George; none have scored a goal for Everton.
Also, last season we had Garner (2 goals) Gana (1 goal), McNeil (1 goal). No team would move higher up the league with them players...
18 Posted 08/08/2026 at 11:02:06
Because you knew that Goodison Park and now the Hill Dickinson Stadium are a retirement home.
19 Posted 08/08/2026 at 11:16:02
One Premier League start in the whole season is simply astounding. I hope he's really good but maybe playing so little in the Premier League means he has largely lost whatever he might have had. You know... "Premier League ready" and all that twaddle we had to listen to last season.
Only way to find out is to watch him play... which we ain't doing this evening because he's not even with his new squad in Germany! Inconcievable!
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1 Posted 06/08/2026 at 11:24:53
That's one thing in Moyes's favour: ex-players only have good things to say about him.