Arsenal sacked Unai Emery as head coach on Friday after a run of seven matches without a win across all competitions. The 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt was the straw that broke the camel’s back and the club have now installed former assistant Freddie Ljungberg as interim head coach.
On Saturday, as his side prepares to face Norwich City on Sunday, the Swede gave his first interview.
Freddie Ljungberg First Interview
‘A Great, Great Honour’
Freddie Ljungberg first fielded general questions about his appointment, what it means and how he will go about his job.
“It’s a great, great honour. I want to do as well as I can for this fantastic club and that’s what I feel today. I feel excitement and I’ll try to do a good job.
“We haven’t had some results and that’s what we’ve got to try to address. But how we address that, I’ll probably keep to myself.
“Yes, of course [I will be animated on the sidelines]. I think I get involved in the game. That’s who I am. But at the same time, I try to step back and analyse the games. So it depends a little bit, so it can be a calm man or it can be a not-so-calm man. It depends!
“Of course small things will change. I’m not going to do anything radical because I don’t think that’s the best thing to do. I’m not going to just go and smash things up. But I’m quite clear with what I think I want to try.
“At the same time, we have one training session until the game tomorrow so we have to be intelligent with what you try to change because it needs to stick as well.”
Approach to the Game
42-year-old Freddie Ljungberg was a tricky player in his days. His U-23 team was very attack-minded as well and there is speculation that he won’t play with the hand brake on.
When asked about his approach to the game, Ljungberg said:
“I’ve been at Arsenal for a long, long, long time, I like entertaining football but of course at the same time you can’t concede goals. That’s a tricky balance to find. For me, happy footballers play the best football.
“That’s a part I learnt as a player, there is a time to work hard but at the same time we need to enjoy what we’re doing. Often the players we have enjoy playing offensive football which makes them happy.
“We looked in 2019 at some stats as well, I remember we kept a clean sheet in five games out of nine [for the U-23s], as well, so we tried to defend as well, there are different ways of doing it.
“There’s a game tomorrow, I hope I have the values of the club, I understand the club, I think from the inside. That gives me a help, 100 per cent. I have been here for 20 years, so it’s very special to me.
“That’s why I’m saying it’s an honour to do this. When the club asked me to help them of course I said that’s a given, I will try to help them as much as they need. We will see from there.”
Final Message
Arsenal seems like a club in turmoil at the moment. As such, Freddie Ljungberg took a moment to speak directly to fans:
“They are amazing fans, they are. We need them and the players need them. That’s the main thing that I can say to them. We as players and coaching staff will do everything we can to make them happy, just enjoy the game.
“Of course I am confident, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken it when they asked me to help. If I didn’t feel I could help them I wouldn’t have done it, so of course I am confident in that way. I really feel that this club can all be brought together and put some smiles on to people’s faces again.”
Main Photo
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