Telstar manager Andries Jonker believes that current Arsenal interim boss Freddie Ljungberg should get the job on a permanent basis.
The Swede took charge of the Gunners for the first team on Sunday in the 2-2 draw with Norwich City, and will have his second game at the helm against Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday night.
Jonker, who worked with Ljungberg at Wolfsburg and Arsenal, believes he’s got what it takes: “I would support the guts in making the choice [to hire] Freddie Ljungberg,” he told Sky Sports. “I would prefer for them to give the chance to someone who knows Arsenal, knows the academy, knows all those talented players. He also knows the laws of total football.
“The reason I brought him to Wolfsburg (was that) I wanted to have someone with an eye for individual development of players. [He has] this strategical mind. He wants to think about tactics, how we beat the opponent.
“I decided that he is a very talented coach. He had to find his way from the [Arsenal] under-15s, to Wolfsburg, to the under-23s. I can imagine now that he is ready now to the [Arsenal] job, he is a very talented coach. I think that’s why he got this chance.”
Is Jonker right to tout Ljungberg for the job?
Well, the 57-year-old is right in that Ljungberg is obviously his friend and so he’s talking him up, which is what friends do. That’s the right thing for him to do from that point of view.
However, objectively speaking, Ljungberg shouldn’t get the Arsenal job. Look at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United. Hiring a former player – pretty much solely for that reason – doesn’t mean that they’re going to do well.
This myth that people who ‘know the club’ do a better job than other managers is just that: a myth. It’s ludicrous. Pep Guardiola doesn’t know Arsenal, but he’d be a better appointment than Ljungberg, that’s for sure.
The Gunners are a mess right now. They need an experienced, trophy-winning manager to come in and clean things up. That’s just not Ljungberg, unfortunately.
