Freddie Lujungberg demands respect for club as he drops Mesut Ozil

Freddie Ljungberg bowed out as the interim Arsenal head coach on Saturday, December 21, but not before upholding the values that the club stands by and reflects. Ljungberg did not name star player and World Cup winner Mesut Ozil in the squad and it was widely assumed that it was because of the foot injury.

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Ljungberg demands discipline

However, after the match, Ljungberg specified that even if Ozil was fit, he would not have played because of his behaviour after he was substituted in the previous match against Manchester City. On being asked about Ozil's exclusion, he said, "For me, I got asked after the game about Mesut. He walked off the pitch [in the Man City game] and then kicked his gloves. The fans were not happy. I got asked about it and said, 'At Arsenal, that's not how we behave and not what we do'. I stand by that. Mesut was injured but I would not have picked him for the squad because I want to take a stance that it's not what I accept from an Arsenal football player. That's my decision. I won't make the decisions again but that's what I think."

On December 15, Arsenal were playing defending Champions Manchester City and Ozil was subbed off in the 59'. After slowly walking off the pitch, Ozil removed his gloves and kicked them to display his unhappiness and frustration. After theCity match, Ljungbverg was asked about the substitution and the reaction and he said that he "wanted more energy in the team" and needed someone to "run and tackle and win the ball back." Ljungberg will be handing over control to Mikel Arteta now, who was announced as the Head Coach on Friday and officially assumes office on Sunday, November 22. 

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The club has been having several disciplinary issues even before the start of this season. Laurent Koscienly had a fallout with the club and left in the summer. Granit Xhaka had a fallout with the fans after he was jeered at, but used an expletive to address the fans. Recently, Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang's brother also posted a comment directed towards Arteta's appointment. 

The club understands the issues and Technical Director and former player Edu said, "My first conversation with Mikel by phone was fantastic. To be honest, we didn't talk about the squad, we talked about what I really believe is the basis, the organisation. We talked about human beings, we talked about discipline, that was our first conversation."

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