Arsenal sack Unai Emery after embarrassing 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt; Freddie Ljungberg takes over as interim head coach

After 18 months in charge at Arsenal, Unai Emery was sacked as manager of the London club. The final straw of his turbulent 18-month stint at the Gunners was the 1-2 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on Friday. Arsenal led 1-0 at half-time, but Daichi Kamada’s brace helped the Bundesliga side stun the Premier League giants. The defeat ,meant that the Gunners had gone seven consecutive games without victory across all competitions, leading to pressure from fans who were clamouring for the Spaniard to be sacked.

According to a statement on Arsenal.com, the decision was made “due to results and performances not being at the level required.”

Josh Kroenke, in a statement while speaking on behalf of the Arsenal board and the owners, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, said: “Our most sincere thanks go to Unai and his colleagues who were unrelenting in their efforts to get the club back to competing at the level we all expect and demand. We wish Unai and his team nothing but future success.”

The club stated that they had asked Freddie Ljungberg to take responsibility for the first team as interim head coach while they had initiated a search for a new head coach.

Rumours had been swirling in England about Emery’s position with the club for a while.

The loss to Eintracht Frankfurt was the last straw. Arsenal have repeatedly squandered half-time leads this season with fans livid at the club for playing a dispirited brand of football. On Friday, fans booed the Arsenal players off the stadium while some chose to field placards reading “Emery Out”.

⚽ #EmeryOut reactions after Arsenal lost at home 1-2 to Frankfurt. #UEL

📽️ AFTV pic.twitter.com/TPfVwaTusd

— M-Bet Kenya (@MBetKenya) November 29, 2019

Emery, for his part, felt that the team showed several improvements, even in loss.

“The response from the players in the first half was good but the injuries were important because we needed fresh players and we couldn’t do that," said Emery in a post-match interview.