Refreshed?

Freddie Ljungberg became the first interim manager at Arsenal since 1996, where we saw both Stewart Houston & Pat Rice take the helm between Bruce Rioch departing & Arsene Wenger eventually coming in. It was always going to be interesting to see how both the new temporary boss & the squad would respond to the events surrounding us over the last couple of days.

For the first time in a couple of months I was actually looking forward to the game, not necessarily because I thought we might finally win a match & our fortunes miraculously change in a matter of days, but I was looking forward to something different, something that essentially wasn’t Emery. There were some changes made by Ljungberg in his first stab at picking a starting eleven. He brought Xhaka, Mustafi & Kolasinac all back into the side & I couldn’t help but wonder how this choice of side would’ve gone down if it were Emery that had picked it. I was I little disappointed not to see Pepe back in the frame, regardless though, I genuinely wanted us to try & take it to Norwich today. Take the handbrake off as the old football cliché goes.

It was a frustrating first half really, mainly because we had a fair chunk of the ball but failed to do much with it. Our shape looked a bit better, more compact, but it didn’t help us enough as we conceded two soft goals & we were slightly fortunate to get two attempts at the penalty to make it 1-1 earlier in the half. The second then & half we didn’t seem fully at it. We managed to draw level from another set piece & only managed to show glimpses here & there afterwards, like we usually do of late. My only slight concern with Freddie in the second half was the substitutions, not just the selection of them, but the timing of them as well. Pepe would’ve been my preferred change when Saka was opted for & I would’ve had him on earlier for that matter.

Overall not the worst, but certainly still not that great either, especially considering we were playing another side in the relegation zone. We looked ok during the first half but we had Leno to thank on several occasions during the second. We are still giving away far too many chances in every game, but look, we know Freddie, or anyone else when they take charge, will struggle to get this defence in shape again anytime soon. For me, we really are writing off a top four spot at this point & we will have to solely rely on what we do in the Europa League to see if we can get back into the Champions League.

Up next is Brighton at home this coming Thursday night. A strange day for a Premier League fixture, but I’m glad we don’t have to wait overly long for the next game. Ljungberg will have a few more days to try & put his own stamp on this side I hope. I had a niggling feeling in the back of my mind throughout todays game that this was still very much an Emery team that we were seeing. Given the time between his sacking & this game, it’s not an extraordinary thought to think that we had worked on a game plan during the week as usual & Freddie might not have wanted to change it with little turnaround time. That’s pure speculation on my part I know, but it did still all feel a little Emery like.

Anyway let’s hope to get back to winning ways on Thursday night.