Farewell Freddie: An Arsenal.com tribute

Freddie Ljungberg left Emirates Stadium today ending a nine-year spell with the Club. Richard Clarke saw the Swede’s first game at Arsenal, his last game and most of them in between. Here’s his tribute.

His famous song was only half-right.

To be honest we didn’t really love Freddie Ljungberg because he had red hair. It was more his ability to be everywhere that brought him into our hearts.

His Arsenal debut should have told us what to expect. He came on for the final 11 minutes at Highbury against Manchester United in September 1998 and, in that time, not only scored but got himself booked. The “Legend of the No 8 lives on” wrote one fanzine afterwards. Remember this was a time when Ian Wright was the Arsenal benchmark rather than Thierry Henry.

Ljungberg quickly became a favourite. He was tenacious, skilful and quick; a dynamo in the engine of the side. But his reputation gained real gravitas because of his ability to conjure up key goals. He scored in the FA Cup Finals of 2001 and 2002. He also grabbed crucial strikes in some massive European games at Highbury — Lazio and Juventus. The Swede had an uncanny knack to time his run between the full back and centre half. It was a useful tool, especially when you had someone with the perception of Dennis Bergkamp to play the ball through.

Off the field, Ljungberg was known for liking fashion. And fashion certainly seemed to like him if that famous Calvin Klein shoot was anything to go by. The flamboyance of his dress sense was perhaps at odds with his work-rate on the pitch but certainly got him noticed. His early nickname among the Arsenal fans was “Sid” after punk rocker Sid Vicious and it seems every Arsenal fan under the age of 10 had a red streak in their hair for the FA Cup Final against Chelsea.

But beneath that ever-changing crop was a keen football brain. Freddie’s interview after a Champions League tie was always one of the most illuminating. He had always made an analysis of the opposition tactics and come up with some kind of counter. It would not be surprising to see him barking instructions from the technical area in years to come — dressed in Armani of course.

Injury hampered his latter years at Arsenal and Ljungberg struggled to find the net as much as he had in his early days. But the goal against Bolton in the FA Cup last season showed there was enough left to prompt a resurgent West Ham to swoop.

And if you are looking for the most poignant memory of Freddie Ljungberg at Arsenal then how about this for starters? There are 11 minutes to go in the FA Cup Final of 2002 with Arsène Wenger’s side holding a precarious 1-0 lead. Ljungberg picks up the ball just inside his own half, darts between two Chelsea defenders, leaves John Terry sprawling and, after steadying his scampering legs, opens up his body to curl a sumptuous curling effort into the top of Carlo Cudicini’s net.

He wheels away in triumph, safe in the knowledge the first half of a ‘double’ is now secure. Then as Thierry Henry hauls him to the ground in celebration, Ljungberg’s shirt rides up to display that famous tattoo of panthers on his back.

It was the mixture of style and substance we had come to expect from him.