MX23RW : Thursday, May 16 16:47:28| >> :120:9945:9945:

John Hartson questions incoming Arsenal interim boss Freddie Ljungberg

John Hartson questions incoming Arsenal interim boss Freddie Ljungberg
© Reuters
Arsenal are on a seven-game winless run and have appointed Freddie Ljungberg as interim head coach.

Former Arsenal striker John Hartson says Unai Emery "had to go" but has criticised the Gunners' new interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg.

Emery was sacked by the north London club on Friday morning after a Europa League defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt extended the team's winless run to seven matches in all competitions.

Hartson, who played for Arsenal between 1995 and 1997 and now works as a pundit, supported the decision to dismiss the Spaniard, but questioned Ljungberg's contribution against Frankfurt.

Ex-Gunners midfielder Ljungberg had been working as assistant first-team coach under Emery this season after being promoted during the summer.

"Ljungberg was a great help to Emery last night.. sat down for 90 mins.." Hartson tweeted.

"Surely you get in the manager's ear if you can see what's going wrong.. Emery had to go."

After being chosen in May 2018 as the man to follow Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign, Emery missed out on Champions League qualification in his first season having finished fifth in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final.

The Gunners are currently eighth in the top flight following just four wins from 13 matches ahead of Sunday's match at Norwich.

Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who played in Emery's final game, apologised and said the players must take responsibility for recent poor results.

"Thank you @UnaiEmery_ and Javi (Garcia, goalkeeping coach) I'm sorry we let you down, it's our fault for not performing the right way, I'm sure we will meet again," he tweeted.

Former Arsenal youth player Fabrice Muamba was not surprised to see the club make a managerial change, tweeting: "Result business."

ID:381047: cacheID:381047:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2789:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Unai Emery salutes the action during the Premier League game between Watford and Arsenal on September 15, 2019
Read Next:
Unai Emery sacked: Where did it all go wrong?
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City37277393336088
2Arsenal37275589286186
3Liverpool372310484414379
4Aston Villa37208976562068
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs371961271611063
6Chelsea371791175621360
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle371761481602157
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd37176145558-357
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham371410135971-1252
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton371212135560-548
11Bournemouth37139155365-1248
12Crystal Palace371210155258-646
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves37137175063-1346
14Fulham37128175159-844
15Everton37139153949-1040
16Brentford37109185461-739
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3789204766-1929
18Luton TownLuton3768235081-3126
RBurnley3759234076-3624
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd37372735101-6616


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!