Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has been sacked after a 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday with Gunners legend Freddie Ljungberg taking temporary charge of Sunday’s clash against Norwich City.
Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger in May 2018, but a poor start to the season has seen the Arsenal hierarchy lose patience with their head coach. The Spaniard had been in charge for 18 months and had a contract until 2021.
An alarming dip in confidence and form has seen the Gunners fail to record a victory across seven games in all competitions.
Last season, Emery led Arsenal to the Europa League final but they were beaten heavily by Chelsea in Baku and it was another abject defeat in the same competition on Thursday that has sealed his fate.
At a sparsely-populated Emirates Stadium, Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt despite taking the lead in the first-half.
Only this month the Spaniard was given the dreaded vote of confidence as Arsenal's board insisted they were content with Emery's work. Yet, merely a few weeks later, he has become the latest Premier League managerial casualty.
Speaking on behalf of the Arsenal board, Josh Kroenke told the clubs official website: "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 Arsenal board point towards the results and performances not being at the required level as the primary reason for his dismissal. Emery leaves Arsenal in 8th place in the division with a 55pc win rate.
Ljungberg will occupy the dug-out at Carrow Road on Sunday as the popular former player has been given the reigns temporarily. The Swede has impressed since joining Arsenal as first-team coach and has been apart of Emery's back room staff. He is reportedly eager to become a manager.
The move for Ljungberg is hoped to reenergise an apathetic fan base who have become increasingly disgruntled at the performances on the pitch.
The Gunners have won only four of their 13 Premier League games this season and are eight points adrift of the Champions League places.
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