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Freddie Ljungberg has pleaded with the Arsenal board for help as his spell in caretaker charge of the Gunners continues.

The Swede feels he doesn't have enough support in the dugout having roped in the help of Per Mertesacker from the club's academy.

Arsenal great Ljungberg has stressed the need for more staff - pointing to the number of assistants Unai Emery had before he was sacked last month.

“If you look at the person who was here before, he had a lot of staff,” said Ljungberg.

“I don’t have many staff. If you keep on going like that for months and months, it’s not easy. But that’s totally up to the club.

(Image: Getty Images)

“The club have said I have to wait until they make a decision, so I can’t do anything. I have Per Mertesacker, but he is the academy manager helping me with the coaching.”

Ljungberg has presided over just one victory in four games so far, a 3-1 victory at West Ham .

He saw his side beaten by Brighton at the Emirates while they picked up a 2-2 draw at Norwich, the same scoreline which they managed in Liege on Thursday night to rubber-stamp their place in the last 32 of the Europa League.

But Ljungberg insists he doesn't know if he is in the running for the job on a permanent basis with Carlo Ancelotti, Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira among the bookmakers' front-runners.

(Image: Getty Images)

“I haven’t got any indications of whether I’m here or not," he added.

“I’ve said to the bosses I will do everything in my power to do as well as I can for this club and the players. Then obviously it is up to them to make a decision.

“I try not to put any emotions into that. It’s totally business and up to them.

“Should it be a quick decision? That’s far from me to say.”

Ljungberg was assistant manager at Wolfsburg before returning to Arsenal to be Under-23s boss - and says he sees Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as an inspiration - ahead of the Blues' trip to the Emirates on Sunday.

The 42-year-old said: “Pep is a tremendous coach. Of course I’ve looked at how he did in his career.

"When he was with the B team with Barcelona and I thought, ‘OK, I’m an assistant and with the Under-23s and the reserves here in England’, so I was trying to see how he developed himself.

"The ideas he comes up with have revolutionised football. It’s something as a young coach, I looked at.”