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Paul Scholes hits out at Freddie Ljungberg’s choice of attire on Arsenal managerial debut

By Harry Edwards

Freddie Ljungberg has been criticised by Paul Scholes for not wearing a suit on his Arsenal managerial debut

Published: 22:22, 3 December 2019

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has criticised Freddie Ljungberg for not wearing a suit on his managerial debut.

Ljungberg was named as Arsenal’s interim manager on Friday morning, replacing Unai Emery after the Spaniard was sacked following an underwhelming start to the 2019/20 season.

The former Gunners midfielder, who was an assistant under Emery, took charge of his first game against Norwich City at Carrow Road on Sunday which ended in a 2-2 draw.

How did Ljungberg fare on managerial debut? Five things to know…

  • Freddie Ljungberg was named as interim head coach of Arsenal on Friday.
  • The former Gunners midfielder replaced Unai Emery.
  • Arsenal were held 2-2 by Norwich City, having to come from behind twice.
  • Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes criticised Ljungberg for not wearing a suit.
  • Ljungberg donned a shirt and jumper with an Arsenal coat.

Arsenal twice had to come from behind against the Canaries, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbing both goals, while Bernd Leno kept Ljungberg’s side in the game with some fantastic saves.

The draw saw Ljungberg hit with several criticisms including his decision to leave Nicolas Pepe on the bench, though the Swede later explained his decision.

However, former Man Utd midfielder Scholes opted to pick out Ljungberg’s decision not to wear a suit at Carrow Road, believing the Swede is not the right man for the Arsenal job.

“You would think he’d be out in a suit to show a bit of proudness that he took the job,” Scholes told Premier League Productions.

“To me that’s a great start – shirt and tie to show some discipline.

“I don’t think he’ll be the right man.”

Arsenal fans on Twitter were quick to come to the defence of Ljungberg, recalling Scholes’ first game in charge of Oldham Athletic – in which he also wore a shirt and jumper.

Although Ljungberg has been named interim head coach, in their announcement of Emery’s departure, Arsenal confirmed they have started looking for a permanent replacement.

Ljungberg encouraged by Arsenal performance

Despite Arsenal failing to win for the sixth consecutive Premier League game, as well as dropping to ninth, Ljungberg admitted he was encouraged by the Gunners’ performance at Carrow Road.

“What I saw in the first 30 minutes and the belief and how we played that was good,” he said.

Freddie Ljungberg on Arsenal’s performance against Norwich City

“In my opinion, offensively that was good. I don’t know if you saw it but when we went 1-0 down, the players weren’t shaking their heads, they were actually going ‘come on guys we can sort this out.’

“That shows, for me, the belief they know they’re good players.

“We need to change this negative trend, but for us that was a difficult game and the players did really well.”