Arabic commonly places a direct object after its verb and subject, but the speaker may prepose the object for rhetorical reasons. This makes the object prominent and may imply restriction or correction of a mistaken identification.
«زَيْدًا عَرَفْتُ»
Zayd is the one I recognized / I recognized Zayd in particular.
Compare the normal order “ʿaraftu Zaydan” (I recognized Zayd). The event described may be the same, yet “Zaydan ʿaraftu” first directs the listener’s attention to the person identified.