According to a report by footballTransfers on Saturday October 24, 2026, Christian Nørgaard’s Everton debut did not go to plan. Manager David Moyes says the former Arsenal midfielder apologised after a brief, troubled appearance against Chelsea last week.

Nørgaard joined Everton in the summer after a quiet season at Arsenal. Signed from Brentford in 2025, he made only seven Premier League appearances for the Gunners, totalling 101 minutes, and played just over 1,000 minutes across all competitions.

Despite receiving a Premier League winners’ medal, the 32-year-old left after one season in search of more regular football. Everton paid a reported €8.2 million for the Denmark international, who arrived carrying a groin injury.

After an unused-substitute appearance against Hull City, Nørgaard made his Everton debut against Chelsea. He came on in the 85th minute with his side trailing 1–0.

A lengthy stoppage followed a serious collision involving Jarrad Branthwaite and Emiliano Martínez, but Nørgaard’s brief spell was still eventful: he was booked, gave the ball away several times and came close to conceding a goal. Chelsea went on to win 2–0.

Ahead of Everton’s meeting with Arsenal, Moyes admitted he had considered starting Nørgaard but was relieved he did not.

“Maybe things just went wrong,” Moyes said. “When we brought him on, we realised he was a bit further away than we hoped.”

The manager added that Nørgaard had not had a proper pre-season and was not expected to be fully fit until after the next international break.

“Christian was the first one to come to me and say he was sorry about it,” Moyes said. “He’s realised he’s a bit further away than we all thought.”

Nørgaard is unlikely to feature against Arsenal on Saturday as he continues to build up his fitness.