FRED S GRIN IT TO WIN IT
Swede aims to bring back good times
FREDDIE LJUNGBERG hopes the excitement of his arrival can rub off on the Arsenal players.
Arsenal favourite Ljungberg has been tasked with helping Arsenal return to winning ways after Unai Emery’s sacking.
The interim head coach aims to immediately lift the mood following the end of the Emery era. A run of seven games without a win – the club’s worst run of results since 1992 – has left the Swede needing to pick up the pieces and salvage the season.
Excitement
The former Arsenal Invincible,
42, said: “I’ve had experience of players and staff (at German club Wolfsburg) of being very down.
“There’s things that you can do. I tried an exercise in training where there is a bit of excitement, try to make them not think too much and let them enjoy themselves.
“End of the day if you play good football and have results there’s nothing better to raise spirits.”
Manchester City No.2 Mikel Arteta, who was pipped to the job by Emery 18 months ago, is once again the front-runner for the job.
Ljungberg, who won two Premier League titles in his nine-year stint as a player at Arsenal, launched his coaching career with the club’s under-15s before being named Wolfsburg assistant manager in 2017.
He returned to Arsenal last year as under-23s coach before becoming part of the firstteam set-up. Asked
if he wanted to become the club’s next permanent manager, he said: “For the moment it’s for the future of the football club.
“I’m here to help the club as much as I possibly can and try to get a good atmosphere around the club and with the supporters.”
Ljungberg added: “I feel this club can be brought together and put some smiles on people’s faces. For me, happy footballers play the best football.”
Arsenal director Josh Kroenke says Emery was sacked to save the club’s season.
He said: “Unai is a good man, someone that we all respect very much, but we started to fall short of several goals that we set.”
And he added: “Our process is already underway.
“Because of our confidence in Freddie we can do a thorough search. It’s about finding the right candidate, it’s not about finding the first candidate.”
Former captain Per Mertesacker – now the Gunners’ academy manager – is to form part of Ljungberg’s coaching staff “in the short term”.