It’s Been a Blast, Freddie
04. May, 2007 
6 Comments
Rumors are swirling that our man Freddie Ljungberg has played his last game for The Arsenal. He is confirmed to be injured for the rest of the season, and everyone seems to feel there isn’t a place for him on the squad anymore. Wenger has almost hinted as much as well.
True or not? I don’t know. It’s just another goddamned rumor, that’s all anyone ever talks about, rumors. One thing is for certain though, Freddie Ljungberg has been an amazing player for us. He has stood strong for the Arsenal for several years. He was part of our rise to dominance, the undefeated season, and helped to shepherd in the new class.
I think it is probably fair to think that it’s time for him to go. He probably still has the drive and skill left in him to play for some other side, but perhaps not for the Arsenal. At that point he’ll have a tough decision, just retire from the game altogether, or go to Portsmouth where the rest of our men have ‘retired’ to. Whichever he does, I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on him.
Cheers Freddie.
He’s half the player in was in 2004 yet he’s still better than Hleb.
Freddie has been fantastic for us. But its true that he can longer provide the weapons of 2001-04 seasons. Anyone see Ribery’s performence in Ligue 1 last week? If we can raise the £££ – maybe sell Reyes to a Spanish team – then I think that would be a step forward for the team. Freddie moves on, Ribery moves in.
Thanks Freddie, and all the best
Ribbery and e’too in freddie,reyes and the beast out
Yeah, totally. Freddie, Hleb, Reyes, Bap.
Add Lehman to that too. Had enough of his castigating players and his weak clearances and his coverage of crosses that simply adds more nerves to an already frail and fragile defence. I thought AW was building a team for the future not the past.
Freddie? Then again. I met a girl last week who only recently became an Arsenal fan. After talking about the shirt, the ground, the tradition, the style of play and so on she turned and said, “Oh Freddie.” So if Freddie can bring in supporters because of his looks then we should keep him as an Arsenal Ambassador and spokesman and in that way we will get even more support for Arsenal from places least expected.
Or then again we could have Hleb as the Ambassador. I feel sorry for Hleb. I do like him but he often takes the wrong decisions. Remember Arsenal on the counter-attack a few years ago. All the right split-second decisions were made. Now if it goes through Baptista or Hleb there is a great chance the move will collapse.
Hleb just runs into cul-de-sacs. Never looking up too focused on his fast foot-work. He is a Futsal player. No wonder TH14 stands there not expecting anything. But if DB10 had the ball TH14 is off like a jaguar waiting for the through ball.
I agree that since Freddie has lost that yard of space, he is no longer the darting into space, diagonal-running, goal-scoring hero we have all loved. However in some recent poor performances by the team, Freddie has been just about the only one putting in the effort.
Although I do not see him as a regular player in future, would it not be wise to keep his experience on the bench. I feel we would have had a very different season if we had done the same with Robert Pires. How great it would have been to bring him on, especially when we had gone behind and desperately needed to equalise. He certainly would not have missed all the golden chances served up on a plate to Baptista.
Boy was I exasperated when Lehmann accepted the one year deal offered. He is a complete liability now and has been directly responsible for most of the goals we have conceded this season. Our defence has been rightly criticised, but I think their confidence would grow considerably if they had an unflappable (in more ways than one) goalkeeper behind them. Other than not spending any money, I just cannot see Wenger’s reasoning behind this.
Freddie has lost his pace and with it his ability to go pass opponents or score.
His age also means that injuries are coming fast and thin and his recovery time gets longer and longer. Add to these the fact that his presence in the squad does not leave enough space for the youngsters to blossom and also that he is a very highly paid player costing the club millions of pounds!
Wenger made a mistake not selling on last year when these signs were very evident and getting a handsome transfer fee for him in the process.