Christian Norgaard completed his £ 12 million this week (initial £ 10 million plus £ 2 million in add-ons) from London from Brentford to Arsenal and De Dane has followed a long-winding path to arrive at one of the largest clubs of the Premier League
Only 12 minutes after his professional debut, 17-year-old Christian Norgaard has the opposition goalkeeper flat with a crunching challenge. The diligent Dane, who sealed his shock to Arsenal from Brentford this week, had entered the field for Lyngby in the final phase of a strongly affected relegation Six-Pointer against HB Koge.
It is remarkable that it would represent his only senior performance for the Danish outfit as a career-changing switch to German giants who beckoning Hamburg.
Norgaard, 31, insists that the exciting temptation of experiencing Champions League football at the Emirates turned out to be a chance, just too good to refuse.
That quote, delivered in his first interview as an Arsenal player, reflects the long-winding path that has struck the combative midfielder his roller coaster trip to the top.
He was a fundamental gear in the well-oiled bee machine from Thomas Frank during an illustrious six-year enchantment in West London and his commendable leadership, reliability and defensive qualities apparently left a huge impression on Mikel Arteta.
Despite the thunderous tackle on his first senior performance plus the one who “almost broke” the leg of new teammate Gabriel Martinelli in April in April, Norgaard was not always considered a no-nonsense anchorman.
Upon returning to his home country with Brondby – where he first played under the custody of Frank – the newest signing of the Gunners who was occasionally seen as a playmaker and winger, even a beautiful curler scored remotely in a pre -season against Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool in 2014.
After he had previously attracted interest from AC Milan, the sparkling form of Norgaard in Scandinavia saw him later earn a transfer to Fiorentina, but his stay in Italy was incredibly short -lived.
The Denmark International, which was now part of the National Team Team for three major tournaments, only played six times in the Serie A before he sealed a relocation of £ 2.8 million to Brentford.
Norgaards Stint with Fiorentina was mentally challenging – not least because he secretly took sleep pills.
The issue began in the last phases of his time in Brondby, especially before road races when the team would stay in hotels.
If Norgaard were to climb into bed, he would be afraid of the prospect of being unable to sleep and his spirit would go into overdrive.
Since then, during an interview with the Danish newspaper Bold, he has announced that he was virtually awake all night for Brondby's the Danish Cup Semi-Final and final victories of 2018 on Midtjyland and Silkorg respectively.
The tablets helped to tackle the problem, but his dependence soon snowed and he sought the help of Brentford's specialist Sleep coach Anna West. According to Norgaard, West had described its use of the pills as 'a pacifier that we should have stored'.
Initially that the Dane was annoyed, but slowly, the couple brought the habit to bed. Norgaards's courage and openness to willingly discuss one of the most taboo subjects of football was rightly withdrawn to the home floor.
In fact, he received many messages and letters that revealed that his actions had inspired others to speak and make changes in the midst of their own personal fights.
Arsenal not only signed a talented, competent replacement for Jorginho, they also landed a perfect professional and leader of men.
It is an indication for his character that he has agreed more than four lucrative Bosman offers – including one of Portuguese giant Benfica – to donate a two -year contract with Brentford at the end of March because his family settled in the capital.
Norgaard may not represent the sexiest addition of Arsenal of the summer, but there can be no doubt that he has the capacity to help the team from Arteta to silverware and new heights. He has not made the step alone to come up with the figures.