Arsenal: Ljungberg praises opponents Standard Liège
Arsenal boss Freddie Ljungberg saw his side rescue a 2-2 draw with Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday and afterwards revealed being in the interim role is a “mixture of every emotion” as the club progressed to the last 32 of the competition.
The Gunners sacked Unai Emery after 18 months at the club and promoted Ljungberg, from his position as first-team assistant to interim boss, as they began the process of finding their next permanent manager.
The Swede, who is a former Arsenal player, currently has a record of one win, two draws and a loss, during his time in charge.
And when asked if he is enjoying his new role he tried to remain positive as he admitted how hard the task facing him is.
“It's a mixture of every emotion I've ever experienced,” said Ljungberg.
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“I do enjoy it but the main thing is we won this group, we won the other day.
“The club can move on. That for me is the most important thing.
“I go from day to day and game to game.”
Arsenal will be pleased they finished top of their Europa League group and as a result will be seeded for the next round of the competition, but they didn’t make it easy on themselves.
The Gunners knew qualification was all but secured as long as they didn’t lose the tie 5-0.
Arsenal news: Gunners drew 2-2 with Standard Liege in the Europa League (Image: GETTY)
But nerves began to set in after Samuel Bastien saw his deflected shot go past Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez two minutes into the second half.
The pressure then began to build when Standard Liege grabbed a second thanks to a Selim Amallah shot that found the back of the net, after it took a slight deflection off Gunners defender Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Arsenal finally got themselves going and began their comeback when Alexandre Lacazette headed the ball into the net, from inside the six-yard box in the 78th minute, off a superb Bukayo Saka cross.
And the 18-year-old stepped up again three minutes later when he equalised with a placed right-footed shot from the edge of penalty box to level the score.
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However, at this point Arsenal were sitting second in the group as Eintracht Frankfurt were beating Vitoria 2-1 in the other tie.
But while the Gunners couldn’t find a third to win their tie, Vitoria came to their rescue as they managed to score two late goals to beat their German opponents 3-2.
However, it won’t get any easy for Ljungberg in the near future as their next game is against Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday.