Natalie Sawyer has hit back at criticism over Arsenal’s push to sign Brentford captain Christian Norgaard.
Arsenal are in the market for two new central midfielders this summer as Jorginho has already joined Flamengo for the Club World Cup, while Thomas Partey’s contract is due to expire on Monday and an agreement over a new deal has not been reached.
Martin Zubimendi is expected to join in a £55 million deal from Real Sociedad but Arsenal have also made a move this week to sign Norgaard from Brentford.
A £9m bid was submitted to Brentford this week and Arteta is understood to be personally pushing for the Denmark international due to his experience.
Arsenal, however, have been accused of lacking ambition in the transfer market but talkSPORT host Sawyer, who is a Brentford fan, is adamant that the 31-year-old can become a key figure under Arteta.
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‘There’s been a lot of snobbery I’ve seen about him and whether or not he’s really the type of player Arsenal should be looking at,’ Sawyer told talkSPORT on Saturday.
‘What I will say about Christian Norgaard, yes, I’m surprised, I didn’t see that one coming, he’s our club captain, I’m gutted that he might be leaving.
‘What you’re getting is a player who is a No.6 by trade, he starts the build-up play for example at Brentford, he’s one of those who puts the tackles in, he’ll do a bit of dirty work as well, he might do a tactical foul if need be, he’s also a threat at set-pieces, I’m not saying he’s prolific but he’ll still score goals.
‘He’s a Steady Eddie – again, Steady Eddie doesn’t sound, ‘wow, that’s amazing’, but isn’t that what you want from a defensive midfielder at the end of the day?
‘He is such a professional, honestly, he is brilliant. He’s one of those I can well imagine becoming a teacher’s pet.
‘He was Thomas Frank’s teacher’s pet, he could easily be Mikel Arteta’s teacher’s pet. Not playing as regularly but just because he’ll want to learn, he’ll want to work under a manager like Arteta, I’m sure.
‘So in that sense, I wish people would stop looking at the fact he’s from Brentford, and just look at the style of play he brings, the type of person he is, I think he could be a terrific addition. A squad, player, it’s all about depth at the end of the day.’
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