Freddie Ljungberg Arsenal 2019-20Getty Images

'He was an Invincible' - Aubameyang backs 'special' Ljungberg to lift Arsenal

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has backed Freddie Ljungberg to do something special at Arsenal during his stint as temporary boss.

Ljungberg took charge of his first game on Sunday following Unai Emery’s departure but had to settle for a point following a 2-2 draw at Norwich City.

Arsenal fell behind twice at Carrow Road - but Aubameyang hauled them level on both occasions to take his tally for the season so far to 12 in all competitions.

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The draw means the Gunners have now gone eight games without a win and leaves them seven points off the top-four places.

But Aubameyang is confident that, in Ljungberg, they have a coach who can close that gap once he gets his feet under the table in north London.

“He can give us something special,” said the 30-year-old. “Everybody is respectful of Freddie.

“He was part of the Invincibles. His career speaks for himself. He played for Arsenal and he has this in his heart.

“We will try to follow him and give the best for him. For me personally I think it’s good for us. It’s interesting to have him.”

Arsenal put in another disjointed performance as they dropped more points in the race for the Champions League places during the draw at Norwich.

Despite going in 2-1 behind at the interval, they were in fact the better side during the opening 45 minutes but struggled in the second half, with the hosts wasting several chances to win the game having been pegged back to 2-2.

Freddie Ljungberg Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ArsenalGetty Images

But, with Emery losing his job on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the Europa League defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, Ljungberg had only had one session to work with most of his players prior to the trip to Carrow Road.

And Aubameyang admits that made things difficult in terms of preparation for the game.

“It was special because Unai was sacked,” said the frontman. “We had only one session with Freddie, maybe two for those guys who didn’t play on Thursday.

“We maybe didn’t do a perfect game but [we did] a good job and we’ll try to win the next one.

“We have positive things to take. We didn’t play bad, we played good.”

Arsenal welcome Brighton to Emirates Stadium on Thursday night looking to end their run of eight games without a win in all competitions.

Confidence is understandably low after such a miserable couple of months and as captain Aubameyang has been playing his part behind the scenes to try and raise spirits.

“I try to speak to the guys,” he said. “To give them all my positivity. As always I try to be an example, working hard.

“We have tried to find more confidence in winning games. We try our best.

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“We have to maybe be cleverer in the transition, maybe make some fouls. That’s part of the game to not concede goals.”
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