'It is a Great, Great Honor': Freddie Ljungberg Proud, Excited to Lead Arsenal
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As he gets ready to take over Arsenal as interim manager after Unai Emery's departure, Freddie Ljungberg's biggest priority is to take it one game at a time and bring some joy back to the club.
""It is a great, great honor, that is how I feel. I have this energy inside me and it is special. There is sadness obviously with what has happened with the club, but excitement too with what is coming up and the chance to play," he told Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal's game at Norwich on Sunday."
"I was proud, honored that they trusted me to do it and deliver that. I felt excited because I feel we have some very good football players here and it is a great club. I felt excitement at such a big thing."
Speaking to Arsenal's website, Ljungberg discussed his overall philosophy and how he wants his squad to play. ""I like entertaining football but of course at the same time you can't concede goals," he said. "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."
In the end, his goal is to revitalize the team and return a positive energy that has been missing for a while.
"I really feel that this club can all be brought together and put some smiles on people's faces again. 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 and that's what I'm focusing on at the moment and then we'll see."
Despite not leading a major club like Arsenal in his coaching career, Ljungberg's experience has been growing. He began his coaching with the club's U-15 setup and was later named Wolfsburg assistant manager in 2017.
He then returned to Arsenal last year for the U-23 squad and was eventually promoted to the first-team, serving as Emery's assistant.
Just like we saw with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the title of interim could change and even though big names have been linked to Arsenal's head coaching job since Emery's exit, Ljungberg could still be in the running. It all depends if he can, as he said, put some smiles on people's faces and more importantly, help the club climb up the table.
