Christian Norgaard already has an unexpected problem at Arsenal following his move from Brentford

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Christian Norgaard started his Arsenal career in a pre-season friendly win over AC Milan in Singapore.

Mikel Arteta decided to start the former Brentford captain at the base of his Arsenal midfield, a familiar role for the Denmark international.

Christian Norgaard was a physically imposing number six for former boss Thomas Frank, and the Dane also had the passing repertoire to match.

Of course, that’s why Arsenal decided to sign Norgaard from Brentford even though he’s already 31 years old — a midfielder who will also bring a wealth of experience with him.

And despite Norgaard impressing in parts on his Arsenal debut, an interesting issue also emerged for the former Frank favourite to overcome.

Christian Norgaard looked awkward playing alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko

Starting against Milan as Arteta’s number six, Norgaard was often in close proximity to left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Zinchenko is one of the pioneering inverted full-backs — he’s rarely ever out wide on the left when Arsenal have the ball.

And when Zinchenko was moving into almost a six role against Milan, Norgaard looked a bit lost when trying to push forward to find space.

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There was little point in Norgaard sitting in the exact same position as Zinchenko, and therefore he was moving almost into a number eight role at times, and it didn’t necessarily suit his skill-set.

Of course, Brentford didn’t often play with inverted full-backs themselves last season, so it’s a new challenge for Norgaard to overcome in some respects.

The Dane still looked very good when Arsenal didn’t have the ball — he was in his usual deep central role and Zinchenko was in a traditional full-back position.

But in terms of teething issues at Arsenal, it’s a challenge Norgaard will have to address, and one he’s more than capable of solving.

Mikel Arteta has already found his Jorginho replacement at Arsenal

It’s worth pointing out that Zinchenko might leave Arsenal this summer, TBR Football recently shared that Arteta was planning a squad overhaul after a flurry of recent signings.

And whilst Zinchenko might want to stay at Arsenal, Norgaard will be faced with a similar problem even if the Ukraine international isn’t playing.

Myles Lewis-Skelly also regularly inverts into midfield when he’s playing as Arsenal’s left-back, as does Riccardo Calafiori even if it’s to a lesser extent.

But all in all, it was a promising start for Norgaard in Arsenal colours — a player who should be a very clever signing for Arteta.

Jorginho’s departure means Arsenal have lost a lot of experience from their midfield and dressing room.

And whilst Norgaard hasn’t won the titles of his Italian counterpart, he has led a successful team for several seasons at the top level.