Arsenal caretaker manager Freddie Ljungberg has admitted his players were ‘scared’ in today’s 2-1 home defeat against Brighton.
The Gunners put in another poor display at the Emirates Stadium, making it an incredible run of nine games in all competitions without a win for the club.
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This is Arsenal’s worst run since 1977, and it seems there is no sign of things improving any time soon despite the club sacking Unai Emery last week and bringing in Ljungberg to take control of the side on a temporary basis.
Speaking after the game, the Swedish coach made some worrying claims about his players’ confidence, saying they looked ‘scared’ of doing the most basic things against Brighton.
See Sam Dean’s tweet below for Ljungberg’s analysis, as he admitted his players were afraid to even get on the ball or move.
Ljungberg: "They [the players] look very short of confidence. In the first half they were scared to get the ball, scared to move."
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) December 5, 2019
Things looked bad under Emery and sacking him was probably the right choice, but the north London giants surely need to act quick and bring in a proven manager to get the team back on track.
That said, whoever comes in is going to have a tough job if Arsenal players’ confidence is as low as Ljungberg suggests.