Christian Nørgaard "reaches agreement" to make surprise move away from Arsenal

It may not be the Orn-Bomb we are all waiting for, not naming any 26 year old Brazilian Real Madrid wingers, but some noteworthy Arsenal transfer news did drop on Saturday afternoon. As reported by David Ornstein of the Athletic, Arsenal have "reached an agreement in principle" with Everton over the sale of Christian Nørgaard. The Toffees have agreed to pay £7 million for the Dane's signature, with the 32 year old set to head to Merseyside for a medical in the coming days.

David Moyes' team are in the market for a new defensive midfielder, after Idrissa Gana Gueye departed Everton as a free agent. Well, Nørgaard will be walking a path well-trodden, with the Blues having signed Alex Iwobi and Theo Walcott from the Gunners in recent years.

Considering Nørgaard's lack of action for Arsenal last season, this may seem like unremarkable news for supporters, but does it tell us that Andrea Berta is about to land one of his primary targets?

Christian Nørgaard's lack of action at Arsenal

12 months ago, Nørgaard joined Arsenal from Brentford for £10 million, with £2 million in add-ons. Recruited to replace Jorginho, this was viewed as a shrewd addition, considering how impressive he had been at Brentford, appearing almost 200 times for the Bees, the club captain during his final two seasons in West London.

However, pretty quickly, it was clear that, for whatever reason, Mikel Arteta did not trust Nørgaard. He made just 20 appearances across all competitions last season, of which only 11 were starts, accumulating only 1,040 minutes. His sole Premier League start came on the final day at Selhurst, after the title had already been won, and even in a dead-rubber, he was replaced at half time by Kai Havertz.

Thus, it was exceedingly obvious that, despite becoming a Premier League champion, Nørgaard would not want another campaign of such little activity. Thus, Hill Dickinson Stadium will be the Dane's home very soon, and does this tell us something about the transfer activity back in North London?

Does Christian Nørgaard's departure mean Bruno Guimarães will arrive?

It is no coincidence that, as Nørgaard nears the exit door, Arsenal have seemingly made a breakthrough in their pursuit of Bruno Guimarães. As has been reported by ESPN Brasil, and others, Arsenal have finally reached an agreement with Newcastle United. They will reportedly pay £70 million, plus £10 million in potential add-ons, to sign the Brazilian international.

This transfer has been in the pipeline throughout the entire summer and has felt inevitable for a few days. When Eddie Howe resigned as Newcastle United manager on Thursday, news that came out of nowhere, set to be replaced by Matthias Jaissle, it was reported that selling Guimarães was viewed as the final straw.

Thus, at some point in the next few days, we are likely to get the news that Guimarães has swapped Tyneside for North London. Will he be the only new Brazilian on his way to the Emirates this month? Well, Arteta and Berta will be hoping to have Guimarães signed up in time to, at the very least, be presented to the crowd ahead of next Sunday's Emirates Cup clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Obviously, £70 million is more than £7 million, but selling Nørgaard and bringing in Guimarães is an enormous upgrade. Bruno has been identified by Arteta as the ideal fit for this team because, not only can he play alongside Declan Rice, he'll be able to alleviate some of the burden on the Englishman, who surely won't be able to rack up 5,415 minutes for club and country next season, as he did this time round.

Back to Nørgaard, farewell Premier League champion, we hardly knew you. When Everton do visit the Emirates in late-October, many in attendance will be saying something to the words of the effect of: Oh yeah, that guy.

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