After being an Arsenal man on and off since 1998, both as a player and manager, Freddie Ljungberg has seen it all at the Gunners. Now, Arsenal have confirmed he is officially leaving to pursue management opportunities elsewhere.
Ljungberg Leaves Arsenal in Pursuit of Managerial Career
Experience of Arsenal Position
When Unai Emery was sacked following a very poor start to the season, his assistant Ljungberg took over in an interim capacity. He lasted six games at the club before Arsenal hired Mikel Arteta, who switched over from Manchester City.
During his spell as caretaker manager, his side won one, lost two, and drew three games, with the win coming against London rivals West Ham United. However, he also oversaw the side who were demolished by City 3-0 as well as the side who lost to Brighton.
When Arteta returned to the club Ljungberg became assistant manager once again as the Spaniard sought to use his experience learning under Pep Guardiola to rebuild a failing club.
While Arsenal ended the season on a high note with an FA Cup win, they finished 8th in the league, outside the European places. They will be in the Europa League with their victory in the cup, but it’s clear there is still lots of work to be done.
From Invincible to Academy Coach
Having spent nine years playing for the club, including their famed undefeated 2003/04 season, he etched his name in the Premier League history books. Ljungberg scored over 70 goals and recorded 36 assists during his time in north London.
After he left the Gunners, he moved around a lot, starting out at West Ham but going to America, Scotland, Japan, and India before finally retiring. Upon his retirement, he returned to Arsenal as a youth coach, spending over a year coaching the youth squads.
He later went to Wolfsburg to be an assistant manager, before once again returning to his club as an U23 manager. He spent a full year in charge of them, and then, last season, he became assistant manager.
Ljungberg has had a long-standing relationship with Arsenal, but has now ended it in order to find new opportunities elsewhere. He does not have the best record as manager, but that is as much down to the failure of this current Arsenal squad as it is his lack of experience.
He now will seek out any management possibilities in order to further his career, and who knows? Maybe he will return to London as a permanent manager one day.
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