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Christian Norgaard had almost given up on his hopes of hearing the Champions League anthem as a player, but after his switch from Brentford, the Danish international is one step closer to making his lifelong dream a reality.
The 31-year-old joins us from the Bees, where he helped them win promotion to the Premier League for the first time and enjoyed six seasons in west London before heading to the north of the capital.
He has played in the semi-final of Euro 2020 as well as at the 2022 World Cup with his country, but at club level he admits a taste of Champions League football is something he’s been aspiring for his whole life.
“You can get almost emotional because maybe it was a dream that I've given a little bit up on coming towards the later stage in my career,” Christian expressed in his first interview.
“I've just turned 31 and had signed a new deal with Brentford. Of course, there's always a little chance that a miracle could happen with Brentford, but it was probably unrealistic to play Champions League with them.
“Now, I get to hear the anthem and be a part of a Champions League campaign. It's a childhood dream and something I didn't think would be possible. So it's something I'm really, really happy about.”
The midfielder, who grew up watching our Invincibles win the Premier League in 2003/04, joins us off the back of his best goalscoring season of his career, netting six times across all competitions.
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Reflecting on his style of play, Christian said: “It's developed a little bit over the years. I started as a more offensive player and now I'm a bit more of a holding midfielder. It's important for me that a team has a good defensive structure and hopefully I can contribute to that.
“Then coming off a season where I've had a lot of goal involvements, it's something I really hope I can take into this season as well.
“I don't know what the gaffer’s plans are with me, but hopefully I can also have some freedom to join the offensive play.”
Christian isn’t the first player to join from Brentford in recent seasons, with David Raya making the switch in 2023.
The former Bees captain revealed he has spoken to our number one, as well as receiving a text from Martin Odegaard, with the pair giving him a flavour of what life at Arsenal is like.
“They both spoke so highly of [the club],” Christian revealed. “They keep describing this as a welcome to the family feeling. I think it's really nice when a player like Martin speaks highly of not only the players, not only the coaches, but also the whole staff around the club and the guys in the media department.
“There are just so many people working in this organisation and he spoke very highly of all of them, so I’m looking forward to meeting each and every one.”
Watch the full interview with Christian now by pressing play on the video above
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