Chris Sutton believes Arsenal should ditch Freddie Ljungberg and appoint a manager with ‘clout’ despite the interim manager securing his first win as Gunners manager.
The former Chelsea striker was watching on as Arsenal toiled for an hour, falling behind to a header from Angelo Ogbonna at the end of the first half.
A nine-minute goal glut from Gabriel Martinelli, Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ultimately saw Arsenal leave the London Stadium with all three points courtesy of a 3-1 win, but Sutton believes the performance proved Ljungberg is ultimately not up to the job.
‘How long Freddie should be given? This is a head scratcher tonight. It really is. For 50-55 minutes, Arsenal were so bad,’ Sutton told the BBC.
‘I mean they were awful. That was as bad an Arsenal performance as I think I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some shocking ones.
‘We saw Xhaka turn his back on the ball in the box and you’re thinking, “Blimey, is this the standard Arsenal have set for themselves?”
‘I don’t see him as being up to the task if I’m honest…’ ?️@chris_sutton73 gives his view on Freddie Ljungberg’s future at #AFC ?
How long do you think Ljungberg should be given as @Arsenal Head Coach? ⚽
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‘Out of nothing Martinelli gets the goal and then the second goal was brilliant and then Aubameyang scored and then they were popping the ball around one touch and there was a sharpness to the play. It was like having the old Arsenal back albeit against a West Ham side who at that stage were absolutely shot to pieces.
‘Look, I wouldn’t get carried away. If you’re asking me if I think Freddie is up for the task and should be given an opportunity to manage Arsenal long term then there’s something about him but I don’t see him as a manager who carries enough clout.
‘I think Arsenal need to get someone in as soon as possible.
‘Of course, people will look at the win and say yep that’s big for him and I understand that, but are we just looking at the result or are we going to look at the performance, strip the performance back and if we’re honest, Arsenal didn’t play great, they had that period, West Ham folded and there’s no doubt it’s a big three points.
‘But I don’t see him as being up to the task if I’m honest.’
MORE: Jamie Carragher rates Freddie Ljungberg’s chances of getting Arsenal job after first win
