Freddie Ljungberg Isn’t The Manager Arsenal Are Looking For

Copyright Arsenal.com

Sometimes bringing in a club hero as your caretaker boss can bring instant positive results, just look at Duncan Ferguson at Everton this past weekend as a prime example.

Then there’s other times that it just doesn’t work and the bounce doesn’t happen.

Unfortunately for Arsenal and Freddie Ljungberg they haven’t had a confident bounce since the Swede has taken over the Emirates hotseat from Unai Emery.

The Gunners have played twice with Freddie in charge and he has watched on as they drew with Norwich City and then lost at home to Brighton & Hove Albion. Those results and the team’s performances suggest that Ljungberg isn’t the man to lead Arsenal in the longterm and probably not even too much longer in the short term either.

A big issue, for me, is that Freddie has very little coaching experience and he was part of Emery’s backroom staff.

The current Gunners squad need a man that has experienced turning things around at a club, that’s brought with him success and a new voice to engage with the dressing room.

This Arsenal side are underachieving. They have a team that should be very capable of challenging for a top four spot but they need belief and that’s not coming from their current interim boss.

Massimiliano Allegri is the bookies favourite to takeover at the Emirates. That would be a smart and astute choice. The Italian has a winning pedigree and he could help shore up the Gunners backline (which needs to be worked on).

A big issue could be convincing the former Juventus boss. Allegri has stated that he won’t take on any new job until next summer:

“In June. I don’t know if you can call it a sabbatical or not,”

“As soon as the relationship with Juventus came to an end, the decision was to take a year out.”

Via Football.London

I wouldn’t be adverse in waiting for Allegri, if he committed now to accepting the role in the summer but I would still look at another option to takeover until the summer instead of Ljungberg, for example I would have Steve Bould in that role.

Brendan Rodgers has just signed a new deal at Leicester City, so that looks a no goer (Source The Independent). Then you’ve got Mauricio Pochettino, who was successful at North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. That would be a statement appointment but would they be a good fit?

Personally, I if I were the Arsenal hierarchy, I would sound out former Liverpool and Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez and see if they can convince the experienced gaffer to leave China and come back to the Premier League.

I think the Arsenal board shouldn’t have sacked Unai Emery until they had a plan in place to bring in his successor. They are now finding out the hard way that they can’t just promote within and get better results!

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