Head Between Legs

If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good~ Ezra Pound

Did he jump or was he pushed? Whatever the motivation behind Freddie Ljungberg's move across the capital- and there are many theories- the one thing that all parties seem to agree on is that the timing was right. The midfielder has signed on a three-year deal (with an option for an extra year) for an undisclosed fee - although it is thought it could rise to £3million - and anticipates a European challenge from his new club this season, but admitted it wouldn't be easy. "We need experience as the Premiership is the most difficult league in Europe. We need a good calm start," he said, referring to the controversial transfers of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez that disrupted the Upton Park club last season. Alan Curbishley said that he believes Ljungberg can help transform the club this season and that his experience will be crucial in helping them challenge for a top-10 finish. "Whenever he got the ball at Arsenal, he used to scare the life out of me. There's a hunger there. He wants to come and push West Ham on and be partly responsible for that," Curbishley said. "He understands the passion of the club and the passion of the fans. We have Lucas Neill [Australia] and Craig Bellamy [Wales], who are both captains of their national team, and now Freddie. They are all leaders and bring experience to the team."

Marc Isaacs, writing in The Telegraph, believes it was a combination of the uncertainty surrounding Wenger's long-term future at Arsenal and Henry's sudden departure to Barcelona that ultimately left the player to question his former club's ambition. "There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to leave Arsenal," admitted Ljungberg. "I spoke to the boss and he wanted me to stay, but when Henry left this summer, it unfortunately felt like the end and time for me to do something different. It made me a bit sad because all the players who had been in the unbeaten side [2003-04] had left the club. I had been there for almost 10 years and it's a big thing for me. I won almost everything there is to win and I look back with great memories." According to The Guardian, there was also a lot of uncertainty left hanging over the club by the departure of the vice-chairman, David Dein, and Ljungberg felt it made it an anxious time for all the players at The Emirates. "Of course it is a big thing in Arsenal and in the last couple of months with David Dein leaving, it's not been easy as a player," he said. "Maybe Arsène Wenger will have to do a lot more work because David Dein has left."

Six transfers from Arsenal to West Ham

1. Nigel Winterburn- June 2000- free transfer
2. Davor Suker- June 2000- free transfer
3. Ian Wright- July 1998- £500,000
4. John Hartson- February 1997- £3.3 million
5. Stewart Robson- January 1987- £650,000
6. John Radford- December1976- £80,000
   

On Lungberg's departure, Arsène Wenger said: "Freddie’s contribution to Arsenal Football Club was absolutely outstanding. His performances over the past nine seasons have been a major part of the Club’s successes during this time, especially in our 2002 ‘double’ year when he scored and created so many goals from midfield. Freddie is a winner and always gave absolutely everything when he played for this Club. He is an intelligent player and always combined this well with his fantastic fighting spirit. We thank Freddie for his contribution and wish him well for the future." While Wenger was uttering all the right words, Gary Jacob in The Times thinks Arsenal had made the Sweden captain available for transfer for nearly two seasons, after it became clear that a series of injuries had taken their toll on his body. The article states that he has lost some of his pace, and the vision of Dennis Bergkamp, who retired, to match his ability to time a run into the penalty area. He has scored only one league goal in the past two seasons, notes Jacob, compared with ten in the season before, and 12 in 2001-02.

Whatever the truth, Ljungberg’s departure - and the expected sale of José Antonio Reyes - means that there are only four players left from the Arsenal squad that went through the season unbeaten in 2003-2004. As Rob Smyth observed in his Guardian column yesterday: "One of life's greatest frustrations for the sports fan is that great teams never really get the time to bask in the glory they have earned. No sooner has a great team been anointed as, erm, great than fate sizes up the swingers of said team and gives them an unfettered shoeing." Arsenal's Invincibles never started a game together after their final league game in the 2003-04 season and, notes Smyth, perhaps the club's greatest era came to something resembling an official end with the sale to West Ham of 'pants model and increasingly pants footballer Freddie Ljungberg', the longest-serving player at the club and the last one to have played for both the 2002 and 2004 title-winning teams. Wenger's Arsenal will be remembered as aesthetes among philistines in many ways; truly a pleasure to watch, but also a side that ultimately struggled to cope with hardship and lacked mental strength - the final proof of which is that they've all done a runner since the ship started sinking. "I stayed because I wanted to stay loyal to Arsenal. But when [Thierry] Henry left this summer it felt like the end for me unfortunately," mused the Sweden international. It's a beginning for West Ham though, counters Smyth, and Ljungberg says he was impressed by 'crackpot conehead' Eggert Magnusson's vision of the future. "Why I want to join is because of [Spock]," said Ljungberg, modelling his lunchbox at a jaunty 47-degree angle. "He wants to help take the club up and take them to the top in England. It's a big challenge for me." In the words of Dan Quayle- this clearly isn't a man who is leaving with his head between his legs.

Freddie Ljungberg is expected to make his debut either in tonight's friendly at Leyton Orient or at MK Dons tomorrow.