Ljungberg preparing Arsenal stars for hostile Emirates atmosphere

Freddie Ljungberg admitted Arsenal must be ready for a backlash from their own fans in Sunday’s Premier League game against Manchester City.

The Gunners were booed off after a dispiriting 2-1 loss to Brighton in their last Emirates Stadium appearance, with their last home Premier League win coming against Bournemouth in early October.

Hector Bellerin insisted the team had given “100 per cent” against the Seagulls, but another poor result against champions City will only add to the sense of discontent in north London after five home games without a win in all competitions.

“It’s the right of the fans to be this way,” said interim boss Ljungberg.

“Of course I want them to be with us and I know how much it means to the players, and I can see sometimes when it happens they can go a little bit down.

“But that’s something I will talk to them about. They already know about it but I will try to prepare them for if and when it happens.

“But I think when we play City at home, the fans know it will be a very tough game and will be with us regardless.

“I want to make sure I respect the decisions and voice of the fans. In my opinion they are the club and we try to do the best we can for them. We try to respect them and make them know we are doing this.

“I hope they have seen that in the last fortnight.”

Unai Emery lost his job on November 29 and club chiefs are still considering potential successors, with Ljungberg now set to oversee his fifth match in charge.

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And the Swede, who has thus far won just one of his four matches at the helm, warned there was no quick fix to the malaise.

“I am a fan, too, and I want Arsenal back winning trophies, but as I say this won’t happen overnight,” he said.

“Of course, there are things to fix now and that we can do better. I have a list of about 10 to 15 things we need to urgently get right, but you can’t do all those things at once.”