Former Arsenal defender William Gallas has said that Arsenal’s £15m deal to sign Christian Norgaard from Brentford “doesn’t make sense”.
The Gunners have all but confirmed the signing of Norgaard from Brentford, who will come in to replace Thomas Partey, who left the club as a free agent as his contract expired this week. It is not yet understood where Partey will go, but after four years with Arsenal, the Ghana international has now left the club.
Arsenal have also all but signed Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad to bolster their midfield, and then Norgaard will likely sit behind Zubimendi on the bench. The 31-year-old Danish international was Brentford’s captain last season, making 34 Premier League appearances, scoring five goals and providing four assists.
According to BBC Sport, the deal to bring Norgaard to Arsenal will total around £15m including add-ons with an initial base fee of around £11m.
Arsenal told Norgaard deal “doesn’t make sense”
Former Arsenal defender William Gallas disagrees with the business that the Gunners have done. He believes that they should have either kept Partey, or signed a younger replacement.
He told Prime Casino: “I just don’t understand why Arsenal are signing Christian Norgaard and are letting Thomas Partey go. OK, Partey is 32 and Norgaard is 31, but why spend the money on a player when you already have someone like Partey in the club.
“With Zubimendi arriving, Partey would likely have been his back-up, and perhaps he wanted to play more or perhaps Arsenal didn’t think he was worth the contract that they wanted, but for me, it doesn’t make sense to then let him leave and spend £10m on a replacement that is a year younger.
“I think it would have made more sense to keep Partey or sign a youngster, not go like for like with a new player that will have no sell-on value.”
Only time will tell to see whether Norgaard will be an apt replacement for the Ghana international, but either way, Gallas is not pleased with what the Gunners have done.
Click here to see Arsenal’s dream line-up next season if the current transfer rumours are true.
