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‘Exceptional’ – Arsenal signed Swedish star after legendary manager made unusual decision
Elite football clubs typically have an extensive array of scouts involved in transfer plans to maximise quality and potential. But when Arsene Wenger managed Arsenal, all he needed was his own eyes and a television to confirm his interest in a Swedish talent. Hot prospect Ljungberg helped inflict misery on England for SwedenGetty The Gunners entered the 1998 summer transfer window after being crowned Premier League and FA Cup winners in a domestic double. Wenger delivered silverware in just his first season in north London and began plans to build their dominance in English football. David Grondin was their first transfer from the Saint-Etienne youth setup before Nelson Vivas made the move from Lugano. Arsenal then opened their Premier League title defence with one win from an unbeaten run of three matches, scoring just two goals. The international break offered a breather, with England in particular off the back of a last 16 exit to Argentina at the World Cup. Glenn Hoddle’s side were beaten 2-1 by Sweden in their opening Euro 2000 qualifying match, with Freddie Ljungberg certainly impressing. Starring for Halmstad in his homeland, the then 21-year-old was given a fifth senior national team appearance when the Three Lions visited. Although he didn’t score or assist, Ljungberg played the entire match and did enough to give Wenger food for thought. Just days after Sweden beat England, Arsenal confirmed their signing of the winger from Halmstad in a reported £3million deal. In ‘The Wenger Revolution: Twenty Years of Arsenal’, Wenger said he watched the match on television: “I decided to buy him then.” Fresh of a league title win, Wenger wanted to bring the winger to ArsenalGetty The Swede had a quiet first season but was en route to huge successGetty “In this game, it was all his character,” he later told the Gunners. “They played that game in Sweden on a Saturday and then we bought him the next week because I liked what he did, his character.” Ljungberg would eventually enjoy nothing short of a dream start to life at Arsenal with an excellent debut appearance. He came off the bench and scored their third in a 3-0 win at home to rivals Manchester United in the Premier League. “I remember I bought him on against Manchester United and he scored,” Wenger said. “I was thinking that when your guy comes on, you always have a feeling straight away whether it’s his place there. “Usually we think you have to give them time but with experience, you think that the guys who make it showed you that they had the quality to be there in their first game. Ljungberg is recognised by Arsenal fans as a club legend “Freddie had that, that decisiveness in his mind and that desire to win.” It remained his only goal of the 1998/99 campaign as Arsenal finished in second and just one point behind United. However, Ljungberg scored eight and nine goals in the following two seasons respectively before going a step further in 2001/02. The Swede netted on 12 occasions as Arsenal became Premier League champions once again and won their third ever domestic double. Another FA Cup triumph arrived in 2003 thanks to Ljungberg’s assist for Robert Pires during the 1-0 win against Southampton in the final. Arsenal then achieved a feat that no other Premier League has been able to replicate by going an entire 38-game campaign unbeaten. Ljungberg etched his name into Arsenal history with the ‘Invincibles’Getty Ljungberg scored four league goals and assisted another five as he and the rest of the squad became the famed ‘Invincibles’. He even reached 20 goal contributions in the next campaign, the last of which was productive as his numbers later dwindled. After nine excellent years at Arsenal, Ljungberg left for their London rivals West Ham in 2007. Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire and Celtic became later destinations, as well as Shimizu S-Pulse and Mumbai City. Ljungberg wasn’t away from Arsenal for too long as in 2013, he took on an ambassadorial role and then became a coach for the U15s. After an assistant stint at Wolfsburg, he worked with the Gunners’ U23s and was then promoted to the first-team coaching staff. Before Arteta, Ljungberg took charge of the Arsenal squadGetty Arsenal announced him as their interim head coach following the dismissal of Unai Emery in November 2019. A win, three draws and two defeats followed before Mikel Arteta took the permanent role, with Ljungberg staying as a coach until 2023. Even though his managerial success didn’t equal that of his playing career, Ljungberg remains held in high regard at Arsenal. “He was an exceptional footballer and also an exceptional mind,” his former boss Wenger explained. “Freddie is a winner and a guy who gives everything to the team. When he didn’t win, he was sick, really sick. “I like the quality of hi
Elite football clubs typically have an extensive array of scouts involved in transfer plans to maximise quality and potential.
But when Arsene Wenger managed Arsenal, all he needed was his own eyes and a television to confirm his interest in a Swedish talent.
The Gunners entered the 1998 summer transfer window after being crowned Premier League and FA Cup winners in a domestic double.
Wenger delivered silverware in just his first season in north London and began plans to build their dominance in English football.
David Grondin was their first transfer from the Saint-Etienne youth setup before Nelson Vivas made the move from Lugano.
Arsenal then opened their Premier League title defence with one win from an unbeaten run of three matches, scoring just two goals.
The international break offered a breather, with England in particular off the back of a last 16 exit to Argentina at the World Cup.
Glenn Hoddle’s side were beaten 2-1 by Sweden in their opening Euro 2000 qualifying match, with Freddie Ljungberg certainly impressing.
Starring for Halmstad in his homeland, the then 21-year-old was given a fifth senior national team appearance when the Three Lions visited.
Although he didn’t score or assist, Ljungberg played the entire match and did enough to give Wenger food for thought.
Just days after Sweden beat England, Arsenal confirmed their signing of the winger from Halmstad in a reported £3million deal.
In ‘The Wenger Revolution: Twenty Years of Arsenal’, Wenger said he watched the match on television: “I decided to buy him then.”
“In this game, it was all his character,” he later told the Gunners.
“They played that game in Sweden on a Saturday and then we bought him the next week because I liked what he did, his character.”
Ljungberg would eventually enjoy nothing short of a dream start to life at Arsenal with an excellent debut appearance.
He came off the bench and scored their third in a 3-0 win at home to rivals Manchester United in the Premier League.
“I remember I bought him on against Manchester United and he scored,” Wenger said. “I was thinking that when your guy comes on, you always have a feeling straight away whether it’s his place there.
“Usually we think you have to give them time but with experience, you think that the guys who make it showed you that they had the quality to be there in their first game.
“Freddie had that, that decisiveness in his mind and that desire to win.”
It remained his only goal of the 1998/99 campaign as Arsenal finished in second and just one point behind United.
However, Ljungberg scored eight and nine goals in the following two seasons respectively before going a step further in 2001/02.
The Swede netted on 12 occasions as Arsenal became Premier League champions once again and won their third ever domestic double.
Another FA Cup triumph arrived in 2003 thanks to Ljungberg’s assist for Robert Pires during the 1-0 win against Southampton in the final.
Arsenal then achieved a feat that no other Premier League has been able to replicate by going an entire 38-game campaign unbeaten.
Ljungberg scored four league goals and assisted another five as he and the rest of the squad became the famed ‘Invincibles’.
He even reached 20 goal contributions in the next campaign, the last of which was productive as his numbers later dwindled.
After nine excellent years at Arsenal, Ljungberg left for their London rivals West Ham in 2007.
Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire and Celtic became later destinations, as well as Shimizu S-Pulse and Mumbai City.
Ljungberg wasn’t away from Arsenal for too long as in 2013, he took on an ambassadorial role and then became a coach for the U15s.
After an assistant stint at Wolfsburg, he worked with the Gunners’ U23s and was then promoted to the first-team coaching staff.
Arsenal announced him as their interim head coach following the dismissal of Unai Emery in November 2019.
A win, three draws and two defeats followed before Mikel Arteta took the permanent role, with Ljungberg staying as a coach until 2023.
Even though his managerial success didn’t equal that of his playing career, Ljungberg remains held in high regard at Arsenal.
“He was an exceptional footballer and also an exceptional mind,” his former boss Wenger explained.
“Freddie is a winner and a guy who gives everything to the team. When he didn’t win, he was sick, really sick.
“I like the quality of his attitude, the quality of his commitment and of course what he has done for our club is absolutely sensational.
“To add to that, I would like to say that it shows you how football moves forward. We bought him for £3m!
“That kind of quality you got at that time for £3m… I leave you to imagine how much that would cost today!”
Arsenal are set to welcome their next Swedish signing this summer as Viktor Gyokeres closes in on a move from Sporting Lisbon.
And if the striker can make a similar impact to Ljungberg, then Arteta and co. will surely celebrate his arrival for years to come.
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