Freddie Ljungberg is a legend and deserves a chance but he had a very bad day.
There really is no other way of describing Freddie Ljungberg’s first game, it was horrendous.
If Unai Emery or dare I say, Arsene Wenger, had put that team out today they would have been torn to pieces. Now, it was his first game in charge but he knows these players, he was the assistant manager under Emery, he has seen with his own eyes how they have performed all season, he was not new to them.
I can understand that he needs time to implement his ideas and vision but that team selection defied belief, where has he been all season?
Then there were the substitutions. Why did he bring on Saka and not Pepe? If our record signing is not doing it in training or his confidence is shot then why make him a sub?
I love Freddie, I do want him to succeed and I want him to be given a few games to prove his worth but if he gets it wrong then we need to say so.
He does not deserve the benefit of the doubt because he must have known that team he put out was poor.
I actually understand the Mustafi selection, he had earned the recall but alongside Luiz? Come on.
Granit Xhaka had a half-decent game but was given no support and with both Willock and Guendouzi alongside him, that was always going to be the case.
Tierney was on the subs bench but he starts with Kolasinac instead. I struggle to find anyone that agrees with that.
Lacazette was having a bad game, he should have been subbed and Martinelli brought on much earlier.
Freddie got it wrong today and there is nothing to gain by saying it was his first match in charge etc. No, he was the assistant manager under Emery and if he did not know how poor that line up was then he is not ready for management at this level.
Hopefully, he will earn from today and get it right for the next Premier League game. If he is still in charge that is.
Final note, Freddie is a legend to me, I want him to get this right but he had a bad day. There are no excuses for that in my opinion.