Freddie Ljungberg says his players have been prepped to deal with a negative atmosphere inside Emirates Stadium after recognising the toll taken on his players by weeks of playing in front of disgruntled fans.
The Gunners have won only once on home turf since the beginning of October – a Nicolas Pepe inspired comeback against Vitoria – and in recent weeks have been stuck in a vicious cycle where bad football has provoked jeers from the crowd which in turn has further crushed confidence on the ball.
While the Emirates has never had a reputation for rip-roaring support, Ljungberg believes his players will have the backing of the supporters for Sunday’s huge clash with Manchester City.
“It’s the right of the fans to be this way,” he told Sky Sports.
“Of course, I want them to be with us and I know how much it means to the players and I can see sometimes when it happens (bad atmosphere) they can go a little bit down.
“But that’s something I will talk to them about. They already know about it but I will try to prepare them for if and when [it] happens.
“But I think when we play City at home, the fans know it will be a very tough game and will be with us regardless.
“I want to make sure I respect the decisions and voice of the fans. In my opinion they are the club – and we try to do the best we can for them.
“We try to respect them and make them know we are doing this. I hope they have seen that in the last fortnight.”
While the club work on finding a full-time successor to Unai Emery, Freddie has been left to keep things ticking over with a very tight coaching team. Per Mertesacker has been asked to assist as his deputy, despite being Academy Manager, while the likes of keeper coach Sal Bibbo and fitness coach Shad Forsythe have also had prominent roles. It’s a lot to ask in the absence of Unai Emery’s five-strong team.
While Freddie is honoured to have been asked to undertake the head coach role on an interim basis, he says the games have come so thick and fast that implementing changes has been tough.
“It’s an incredible honour,” he said. “The club wants me to do this and I’ve been preparing for this for five years.
“I did the second team here because I knew I’d want to be the boss somewhere. Of course, I pinch myself. I try not to think about it too much.
“You can’t do anything overnight. I try to impact things on the grass but that’s not so easy when like today I have only six players to work with.
“So we don’t have much time to train but we use videos and try to develop that way.
“I am a fan, too, and I want Arsenal back winning trophies but as I say this won’t happen overnight. Of course, there are things to fix now and that we can do better.
“I have a list of about 10 to 15 things we need to urgently get right. But you can’t do all those things at once.”
A bit of mental fortitude from the players to realise that if they play well they will get the reaction from the fans they want. Dig in and get it done and that’ll bring the fans and players together. But there has been a while lot of that missing for some time and a while lot of excuses and finger pointing at Fans from players… Fans can’t score goals and they aren’t paid millions to support the team. Saying all that good to see Freddie seems like he has a plan and has approached this soundly by not entirely taking… Read more »
It’s time for the arsenal fans to let go of the negativity.
Let’s face it, we’re a pretty shit crowd. I don’t want to be a fan base just supports the team when it’s going well. That only gets you the performances and club you deserve.
Get behind the team now. Good and bad. Come on the Arsenal!
It works both ways, fans need to be a bit more encouraging and not so toxic when things go wrong. These players have confidence issues after eighteen months of negative coaching, some of them are playing out of position, some of them know this is a big game and they’re up against players who are probably technically better than them, Pepe is finding his feet, others are getting experience. Fans can either empower or destroy, we need to get behind Freddie and the team whatever happens, break the vicious cycle that has engulfed the Emirates and prove to other teams… Read more »
Fans are just fans. They cheer when they are happy and boo when they are sad. If you think this is a specifically Arsenal problem then just google “Ronaldo booed Real Madrid” or “Messi booed Barcelona” and you find that even players who are the greatest the world has seen and carry teams get booed sporadically.
It’s important the players remember this too and don’t lose their heads. Individuals are usually great. But put them in a crowd and watch the mob mentality take over.
Then they of they have confidence issues they shouldn’t be playing for arsenal. Simples.
If they have confidence issues *
Our players had confidence issues at the end of last season. Five games or so into this one, confidence issues are back again. The two previous years, confidence issues led to Wenger being let go. Can we call “confidence issues” quality issues?
as i said below:
“Now we don’t have as much talent and we have mentally even weaker players and we are scrapping for Europa let alone putting in any real challenge for a title or even the champs league.”
You fell apart typing on your keyboard. See how you go with 60,000 people jeering you…. Simples.
And you nailed it…I’m not a pro footballer am I!!
A single voice questioned you and you started making mistakes. Pot. Kettle. Black.
The team need support instead of criticism during a game. Whether we think they’re good enough or not doesn’t matter right now. The players out there and on the bench are all we’ve got today. Booing isn’t going to make them play better in the second half. We should get behind them. Not in their faces. They’re already hip deep in the shit. They don’t need the fans piddling on them too.
The down votes here are hilarious. Sums us up perfectly. People would rather feel sorry for footballers emotional states and their mentality fragility rather than realising this is exactly why Arsenal keep disappointing. Playing football isn’t a normal job. Normal people can’t do it. People that can’t handle the stresses of football won’t succeed either even if they are elite talent (unless they are surrounded by enough tough characters to pull them through). You need a certain personality – generally fairly thick-skinned mentally tough characters are the most successful – hence why when we had Bergkamp, Vieira, Petit, Lauren, Keown,… Read more »
I think you maybe do a disservice to football players by underestimating the unbelievable spectrum of performance based on confidence.
Take someone like Depay. Tore it up at Eindhoven then went to play for a United team very much in a transition period. Left two years later, widely acknowledged as a dreadful football player, and is now hot property all over Europe.
Certain players need confidence more than others. But all footballers need some to perform.
I think I covered that by stating “(unless they are surrounded by enough tough characters to pull them through)”. I think in the peak arsenal era there are a couple examples of this. Pires and Henry. Both Brilliant and probably the two of the best 3-4 players of that time. But neither are really natural leaders, but those teams had some many leaders (Vieira, bergkamp, Campbell, Lauren, Toure, Petit, Gilberto, Parlour, Keown, Adams) those guys were surrounded by exactly who they needed to succeed. The opposite probably goes for Depay – he needed leaders and got flakers… Some footballers get… Read more »
I take your point. This whole argument is a bit chicken and egg.
To counter I would probably point to a team like Leicester though whose playing personnel has changed very little but their results have fluctuated massively. The same Leicester side that looked like they could be relegated are now title challengers. The personalities are the same but they are being channelled differently.
They lost a lot of players (after they won) and got new ones in too. I think that’s a solid turnover. And they won a title (and doing exceptionally well now)…been a while since we did. All I’m saying is we still struggle with whichever manager we have and i think a lot of that is down to collecting a lot of characters that aren’t really tough enough to challenge. You can have a few of those if you have lots of fighters and leaders. We don’t really have enough of those and it shows.
Moderation is killing this site. Makes discord impossible. Just let everyone say what they want and your readers will flag it if we feel anything is unacceptable. I don’t know why there needs to be such stringent policing.
It’s not personal. Sometimes innocent people get caught up in it because of IP addresses or phrases we’ve blocked.
I wish it didn’t happen, but in the grand scheme of things it’s an unfortunate side effect. I’ll see what I can do to alleviate it, but if people could see some of the stuff we prevent because of it …
The players need to show they are willing to fight for the badge. Even if they are outclassed, if they are fighting for every 50/50 and trying to get the ball back, the fans will support them. If they stroll, hide or generally couldn’t be arsed and are going through the motions, the supporters will know the difference and will let their frustrations be known. The relationship between supporters and players is very simple, play for the badge, win or lose and you will be supported, nothing less is acceptable and fans know the difference,
Exactly, which is why Ozil is such a divisive character. He can be one of the best footballers in the world and one of the most frustrating in the same game. Lays on some of the most incredible passes you’ll ever see and then basically pulls out of any physical challenge and NEVER EVER goes up for a header. He generally tracks back ok (still takes times off), but all he does with that is try and make things hard by positioning and never gets stuck in with a tackle or tight press or header to force a turnover –… Read more »
Now there Dave nails it. the game has changed, especially EPL. Just watch the Spuds game today. The tempo, the effort, the tackles…Ozil is a technical genius playing in a league that now DEMANDS that the very best be technical warriors.
I can’t agree with any of this. Elite managers – Klopp, Pep – accept that players need to feel good about their abilities – that their ‘mental toughness’, as you put it, requires maintenance, regular bolstering. And they address it – they put their arms round the players that need it, tell them that they’re good enough. (That’s what I would like a manager to do with me, my friends or my children). Emery – like Mourinho – struggled with this. Saying that RvP (loathe him or detest him), Cesc, Kos lacked ‘mental fortitude’ is just nonsense. You can’t compare… Read more »
I completely agree with the best managers adapting their player management strategies to different players. But are you trying to say Liverpool and City aren’t full of sterner characters than Arsenal? Van Djik, Robertson, Arnold, Henderson, Milner, Mane, Salah. Kompany (former), De Bruyne, Aguero, Fernandinho, Mendy. We lack both the class and mentality of these guys. I made an analogy. Football is a TEAM sport played by individuals. If those individuals can’t “hack it” then that team won’t succeed. If they don’t have leaders to pull them through when they need it and put them into line when they need… Read more »
Do you not think that if Klopp or Pep came to the club, our performances – with the same squad – would improve? I’d have either coach in a heartbeat. We won three FA cups not so long ago.People denigrate that achievement but it’s not easy to do. I think that if you had some understanding of mental health issues, you would be less quick to judge. That’s why I mentioned your personal experience. I do actually work with some of the most disenfranchised in society and agree that they have less support than they should have. I have a… Read more »
Not going to arcus with that and I redirect you a lot for supporting such structures. We need to support all parts of our societies, I’m just not going to waste too much time giving sympathy for pro footballers not up for the tussle… Sadly arsenal have too many of those. They can’t all be suffering mental health issues and if they are like I say they can afford help…
Argue*… And respect*…
If any of those players had been slogging along under these conditions at Arsenal for the last year and a half they would not have the confidence they do now. I guarantee it.
Look at what Mourinho did first thing when he went into Tottenham – he stroked Alli’s ego, and bang. The player is right back up to form.
Emery treated the players like fucking foosball pegs, and worse went into adversarial conflict with the top talents. That is his downfall and will continue to be until he understands player management.
Some hack it, some do not. Better managers, better teams, better fans ensure that a higher % hack it.
Take the present Liverpool team, put them under conditions where every mistake is amplified by boos/jeers and see how long they maintain their unbeaten run. It’s an established fact in Sports Psychology, that without confidence – you’re fucked. I don’t ‘feel sorry’ for them but I’d like them to win and that entails giving the team encouragement. Getting stick from the opposing fans has the opposite effect incidentally.
THEY WERE! Liverpool fans a few years back slammed their team all the time:
https://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2017/11/anfield-negativity-is-not-a-new-sensation-liverpools-boo-boys-down-the-years/
They got in new personnel and a new manager…and now they are great. But come on… The “boo boys” aren’t an Arsenal problem
Pro cyclists mentality and mental strength is largely conducted in a cocoon of pain and suffering, very individual. If you actually considered making a viable analogy you would not pick one where the fans that do impact the events…they stand in the elements and almost 100% cheer the riders. PS the worlds toughest race the TDF actually gives a special award to the final finisher because they may have finished last but they are shown respect for not quitting. Try again there skippy…
Analogy: a correspondence or partial similarity That does not mean it is exactly the same thing. The analogy – the best cyclists are a combination of the fittest, strongest and most importantly the mentally toughest. The best footballers are a combination of the most talented, the most skilled, the fastest, the most willing to get stuck in, and the most determined and driven to bring success to their team. Arsenal showed once again we are severely lacking in determination and drive and willingness (and even talent, and skill). Good one skippy…I’m sure it was a pleasure of a game for… Read more »
It’s really quite sad that the manager has to prepare the players for getting attacked by their own supporters.
Sad on several levels.
It’s sad that the players are so robbed of confidence.
It’s sad that the club is reduced to a level where we assume it could be bad going into the match. The Arsenal should never have to fear opposition this way.
And it’s sad the support turns on them so readily. Eagerly at times.
And it’s sad there are groups that have made their very brand identity out of this.
If your team is still anywhere near a top 6 position and you quit on your team, that means you allowed you mental weakness to prevail….the manager said to the ….. fans.
Freddie just says the right things! Indeed he’s a fan and the part where he said he’s been preparing for this over the years doesn’t go unnoticed. Wish he’ll take this chance. I can imagine an excellent performance today will help his cause. Come on you gunners!!! From one bald coach to another, let’s come out the happier side!
We need a coach with hair like Arteta mate. Freddie is not ready right now. Too much too soon.
And where did Emery get us
Its up to the players to fight and not chicken off.
players should be overcoming the opposition and supporters shouldn’t be the opposition.
Fight, give City hell. Don’t go into a shell. Play on the front foot. This game will be a matter of who scores the most. If we as fans see that fight and passion (at home remember) then we will cheer and fight along with them. Don’t let them come into our home and raid us. Don’t.
?
I feel sorry for him, knowing he only has a short time because he won’t get the job, not always having the whole squad to work with and trying to engender a different way is almost impossible in so short a time.
There’s no need to feel sorry for him. He wanted it, he got it, fans are on his side, he needs to do the best he can in the current situation and that’s it. There are too many excuses in and around our club and we end up being mediocre.
Did he want it? Not sure whether we really know that.
Martinelli has done enough to start today, I don’t hold any real hope, but Martinelli up against Walker could be an interesting battle, and if we can put Pepe in a foot race with Angeliño? We could have some success. My worry is that City will pin us in our own half from the off, and we’ll have real troubles breaking through their lines. United broke through City at will in the first half last week, it’s as poor as I’ve seen them, and other than Walker they lack pace in their back line, I’d definitely go with a front… Read more »
Toxic trolls posing as fans abusing human beings in their belief it’s their right to have an opinion. Well done AFTV
It’s everyone’s right to have an opinion whether or not we agree or disagree
Toxic fans arrived at the dawn of football. May i remind you of the many battles opposing fans used to have in UK with many injured and even loss of life? If you are going to oppose something at least get the facts straight.
Right, but the difference is between opposing other teams fans and your own
Definitely. Way, way too many people sum up the problem of toxic fandom in British football as being down to AFTV.
It’s totally backwards. As bad as they may be, they are not the cause.
Run your socks off. Stick to the City players like leeches in own box. Never accept a lost duel,try and try again. Then you got the crowd behind you regardless of result. It’s as simple as that
Ozil and Arsenal. Will this ever end?
China pulled the showing of Arsenal’s game because of Ozil statement.
I do not want to disrespect kids, but the behaviour of adults is worse than that of children.
Ozil was absolutely right to raise awareness of Muslims in northern China. This is neither a political nor religious issue – it is a human right issue…yet the world has gone quiet. Shame on you Arsenal Football Club.
What about the Human Rights of people in Turkey and yet President Erdogan was Ozil’s best man or doesn’t that count? Any Human Rights abuses are appalling and that goes without saying, but the fact that people pick and choose which ones are more acceptable than others seems strange to me. Hopefully this is the last time I will talk about politics on here…
Do yourself a favour and read a little:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/13/china-mass-incarceration-muslims-unchallenged-uighur
Massive credit and respect to Özil for using his position of privilege to bring to the forefront a real issue where a minority is being racially profiled and persecuted. Of course though all that matters is the mighty power of Chinese TV revenue!
Dave, I fully agree with you. However I don’t understand Ozil – he supports Erdogan who is a malevolent dictator and is taking Turkey to medieval times. So many Turks want to leave their country and live anywhere else in Europe. And many expats and foreigners who got used to living there and have been there for 15-20 years are unwillingly leaving as it is not the same country anymore.
That’s absolutely true. Erdogan is a crazy bastard. Just giving Ozil credit for doing a decent service here. Can’t win them all I suppose.
I have struggled with this, I admire Ozil for his humanitarian work. I hold people who provide cover and massive public cred to dictators and murderers in disdain. In the end, good job Ozil, if you want more than a pat on the back from me…stand up and say….I respect the office of leader of Turkey. I demand freedom of the press, free elections, a halt to torture of political prisoners, equal rights for women and a return of land to the Kurds. I cannot support immoral and illegal acts no matter what office you hold.
And at 2 minutes Ozil hands the goal to De Bruyne because he fails to track his player
Footballers shouldn’t get involved in politics. Rightly or wrongly Ozil’s statements are interpreted as those of the club, which they’re not. The minute you start attacking China you can make a case for having a go at half the regimes in the world.
What about the (Muslim) Middle East, where there’s almost no democratic countries? Or Putin-controlled Russia? Throughout Africa and South America there are a number of dodgy nations. Where do you stop?
And bang goes our business interests in China. Perhaps Ozil will now support his views by putting his hand in his pocket and reduce his wages by, say, £300000 per week in order to compensate for the resulting shortfall his comments will undoubtedly produce and make his wages more akin to his contribution??
OBG profile in courage. Let dictators rule the world as long as they fund a football trophy
Don’t stop. I encourage all pro athletes with their profile to learn about social and environmental issues and use their profiles and resources to promote them. I respect Hector a lot for this. Just better know their shit! Sport never has been separated from politics – politicians use it all the time to promote themselves (see world cup). That is why I don’t think we should silence athletes discussing political issues.
Professionally ill-advised? Yup. Personally important to him? Must be to put it out there like this. Now, If I attempt to take an objective, or even business lens viewpoint, this is the kind of thing that could potentially become the ‘final straw’ for the club and could become the catalyst for forcing him out. He has demonstrably damaged the Club’s business interests in one of the largest potential markets in the world (if the party leaders allow it). If they see the situation as terminal, it may even push the boundaries of contractual obligations depending on the contract. Purely speculation,… Read more »
I think this issue is more complicated then how the western leftist media outlets portrays this as primarily a violation of religious freedom. I personally believe, more importantly, the issue represents a threat to liberalism and democracy; values that Britain should pride itself on, and the reason I condemn China’s acts. They are simply atrocious. On the other hand we have to understand that historically there have been issues integrating this community into the Chinese mainstream, and there is a belief that this Minority could form a separatist state in the country. Which suggests whilst the approach taken by the… Read more »
This is a very stupid comment.
Whatever Ozil does, he’s a problem to some of you.
He plays football, he’s a problem, he’s left at home and doesn’t play football, he’s a problem.
He stands up and speaks against injustice, he’s still a goddamned problem to some of you.
Though Thanks is a fictional character, I keep seeing reasons as to why some of y’all need to be wiped off
Bloody Auto Correct… I meant Thanos
I also find Bellarin’s comments concerning Boris to be offensive and hypocritical given that the vast majority in Barcelona & the rest of Catalan want independence from the rest of Spain whereas the majority of the electorate in this country solely want independence from the fat cats of the EU which is nothing more than a fake union designed for snout-in-the-trough bureaucrats.
Hector is on record as not supporting Catalan independence, he wants his country to be strong and together, so please get your facts straight before calling him a hypocrite. And many of us see the tory party for what they are, if you think the EU are fat cats and snout-in-the-trough bureaucrats then good luck with the fucking tories and lying boris, they just want the peasants back in line like they used to be.
If not head coach, at least executive delegate custodian or spokesperson….. #Freddiestays
Can someone try to get in touch with the club? This is getting ridiculous and the reaction in China is massive….I don’t think they know how much damage is being done to the club here…
Don’t shoot the messenger, try finding out about the reality. The reaction in China is purely because the corrupt, authoritarian government doesn’t like the truth exposed.
Man, I love Freddie. If this turns out to not be his time, I’d love to have him back in a few years, after he’s won a couple titles in a smaller league or something. Hoping the supporters are right behind the team today. COYG!
Enough of this Ozil nonsense!! We need him to be aggressive and more expressive on the field. Where was he not taking about it a month or 2 ago?? This guy is fu$king up our wages and we can’t seem to offload him.Now that January is approaching, we could have gotten a deal from China or USA for him, then he goes on to fu$k us up again. Seriously, Ozil and his agents are crafty dudes, this has really been planned. Guys open your eyes, we are being PLAY big time.
I have a sneaky feeling over last few days that we will beat them today! Not optimism because of Freddie or anything like that, just a gut feeling.
Boy how could that sent things in motion. I hope the home crowd supports the team loudly from start to finish. Push the lads on the pitch on!
3-1
COYG!!