Former Arsenal star baffled by incoming signing: ‘It doesn’t make sense’ | Football
Former Arsenal defender William Gallas cannot get his head round why the Gunners are signing Christian Norgaard and have let Thomas Partey leave.
The Brentford captain is yet to complete his move to the Emirates, but it is expected that the Denmark international will do so in the near future.
A fee of £10m has reportedly been agreed and the 31-year-old is set to move across London, swapping the Bees for the Gunners.
It comes as Thomas Partey leaves Arsenal this summer at the end of his contract, with the Ghana departing after making 167 appearances for the club.
Partey was a regular in the first team last season, making 52 appearances in all competitions and scoring four goals.
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Gallas is confused as to why his former club would let the Ghanaian leave on a free and pay to bring in the Dane.
However, the Frenchman may well have answered his own question as Arsenal are also expected to confirm the signing of Martin Zubimendi, which would have pushed Partey down the pecking order. That may well have made his wages seem too expensive and encouraged the player to find more starting opportunities elsewhere.
Gallas confused by Gunners business
‘I just don’t understand why Arsenal are signing Christian Norgaard and are letting Thomas Partey go,’ Gallas told Prime Casino.
‘Okay, 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.’
Why is Norgaard joining Arsenal?
In reality, Norgaard isn’t really coming in as a replacement for Partey, but more to replace Jorginho, who has left for Flamengo.
The Dane is unlikely to start too many matches, unless there are injury problems, with Zubimendi coming in to replace Partey and partner Declan Rice in central midfield.
Christian Norgaard’s Premier League stats
Appearances: 122
Goals: 11
Assists: 12
Yellow cards: 30
Red cards: 1
Both arrivals are still not confirmed though, with Brentford’s director of football saying earlier this week that Norgaard’s move is likely, but not completed.
‘Arsenal approached us in the last two weeks about Christian – we’ve spoken regularly with Andrea Berta,’ Phil Giles told Sky Sports on Monday.
‘As it stands, I think it’s more likely to happen than not.
‘But we have to go through the full process, tick all the boxes, and we’ll see at the end of it.’
Kepa Arrizabalaga was announced as Arsenal’s first summer signing on Monday, with Norgaard and Zubimendi expected to follow him by the end of the week.
Zubimendi will be a much more expensive signing than the £5m Kepa and £10m Norgaard, with his deal setting Arsenal back more than £50m.
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