I saw £15m Arsenal signing show he’s seriously underrated in brilliant 45-minute cameo vs Villarreal

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Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, Nicolas Pepe was the big money Arsenal signing who lit up the Emirates during Villarreal’s visit to north London.

Arsenal fans were in attendance for an early evening kick off in N5 predominantly to watch Viktor Gyokeres’ first start for the club.

And whilst Gyokeres didn’t fare badly by any means, Villarreal’s forward line looked arguably more exciting than Arsenal’s, explaining why Pepe’s side earned a 3-2 win.

Despite losing, there were clear positives on display for Arteta – Max Dowman demonstrated his rich potential once again, and he even proved that he’s ready to contribute for Arsenal right now.

But whilst in attendance at the Emirates on Wednesday evening, it was hard also not to take note of another brilliant performance in midfield, that of former Brentford captain Christian Norgaard.

Christian Norgaard shines in Arsenal’s pre-season defeat to Villarreal

Early in the summer, Arsenal effectively replaced Jorginho with Norgaard, one experienced number six coming in for the other.

But whilst Jorginho was playing a slightly peripheral role towards the end of his Arsenal contract, Norgaard can seemingly offer so much more to Arteta.

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At 31 years old, Norgaard is still in his prime years and he proved it against Villarreal with an all-action display in the middle.

Aside from his goal – which underlined his threat at set-pieces, Norgaard broke up the play brilliantly in the first half, allowing the likes of Ethan Nwaneri to thrive alongside him.

And once the season begins, it will become very apparent that Arsenal’s £15m deal to bring Norgaard to north London was something of a bargain.

Arsenal have signed an experienced Premier League captain for a cut price, and the Dane will be so much more than just Martin Zubimendi’s backup.

Martin Zubimendi also proved that he’s going to be brilliant under Mikel Arteta

On his part, Zubimendi was also brilliant for Arteta once he was introduced in place of Norgaard in the second half.

Zubimendi is excited to get going at Arsenal and the former Real Sociedad midfielder looked incredibly composed when he did come on.

The Spaniard appears both calm and intense at the same time whilst he’s on the ball, and it’s clear why Liverpool made such a big play to sign the 26-year-old a year ago.

And whilst some Arsenal fans might have come away from the Emirates on Wednesday feeling a little downbeat after back-to-back pre-season defeats, there is still a lot to be excited about.

Noni Madueke also looked sharp on his Arsenal debut, and Arteta suddenly has the kind of squad depth that he’s been craving for years in north London.

And whilst new signings like Gyokeres and Madueke might understandably take time to adapt to the club, Norgaard looks raring to go immediately.