It was a whirlwind 72 hours. From the moment Freddie Ljungberg got wind of the fact things were changing and he would be thrust into the coaching limelight, to arriving back in London to take in the effects of his first game, everything was at full speed. No chance to even take a breath or catch his thoughts.



Quick decisions. Meetings. One full training session. Team talks. Travel. Pre-match. Match. Post-match. Now onto the next.



The thing that chimed most when Ljungberg spoke briefly after his debut match as Arsenal’s man in the hot seat was his answer to the question of how long it might take to implement a plan to try to fix problems that have been present for aeons. Six weeks of pre-season would be nice, he reckoned. A knowing smile played on his face. “That’s not what I have,” he noted.



The reality is that in the thick of the season he does well to get a couple of full-blown sessions in per week. Ljungberg called them...