Tottenham boss Thomas Frank approves £12m Arsenal transfer – ‘He’s a top player’

Thomas Frank knows one Arsenal player better than most and faced off against his former charge on Thursday in the first north London derby outside of the United Kingdom

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has given his seal of approval to Christian Norgaard’s Arsenal transfer after facing off with his former charge. The pair departed Brentford this summer for opposite ends of north London.

Frank led his side to a 1-0 win over the Gunners in Hong Kong following Pape Matar Sarr’s wondergoal. Norgaard, 31, started at the base of midfield for Mikel Arteta’s side after agreeing a £12million transfer in July.

The veteran midfielder played 196 times for Brentford in a six-year spell under Frank, but also spent time working under the new Spurs boss while both were at Brondby. A total of 249 of Norgaard’s 388 club career appearances have been under the Dane, with only two other coaches seeing more than 10.

But Frank’s connection to the Arsenal signing stretches back to international youth football. The Tottenham coach earned his stripes coaching age group football for Denmark and led the nation’s under-17 to European semi-finals when Norgaard was in the side.

Their meeting on Thursday hit home for Frank and provoked an emotional response to their journey. The 51-year-old was ecstatic that Norgaard earned a move to a team challenging at the very top.

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“It was a little emotional,” Frank said. “I’ve known him since he was 15. He’s 31 now and I’ve been training him for 12 years so I can say that I’ve known him for a pretty long time.

“This is the first time I’ve played against him. He played for me more than 300 games and it was a bit strange to see him on the other team. He’s a top player and I can understand why Arsenal went for him.

“I’m so happy that he got this great opportunity late in his career.”

Norgaard was the only new Arsenal signing to start against Spurs. Martin Zubimendi was introduced earlier in the second period before Viktor Gyokeres and Cristhian Mosquere made their first appearances after completing their moves.

The Gunners have spent more than £260m this summer as they look to overcome their three runners-up finishes in the Premier League. Gyokeres signing in particular adds a goalscorer to Arteta’s squad with Arsenal having failed to make such a signing in previous transfer windows.

The north London side are still being linked to more moves with Eberechi Eze said to be next on the agenda. The Crystal Palace star has a £67.5m release clause in his contract at Selhurst Park.

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