Top 44 Freddie Ljungberg Quotes

Wenger simply doesn’t like those who show a weakness. With him you generally feel as if you were in the army. It’s only in public that he may appear to be some sort of man of liberal views. In reality, his credo is natural selection.

I made a conscious decision when I was about 30 that I wanted to do something different with my life. I felt a little bit lost and didn’t trust people, so I decided to move to America.

I had hip surgery in America because I’d had problems during my last two years in Europe. They said out there that my hip was broken and I didn’t know about it.

I played team handball when I was a child. It is a very brutal sport.

I like entertaining football but, at the same time, you can’t concede goals. That’s a tricky balance to find.

I think Unai did a great job and was a great leader, and a fantastic coach.

One thing I’ve learned is that you have to be open-minded.

If there’s a back door somewhere, I take it. I try to get about without being noticed.

But I’m constantly surprised by the amount of interest in how I look. It’s flattering, but a little weird – at the end of the day, I’m a footballer.

Where I came from had a lot of friends. A big social circle.

Sweden usually don’t play good against the poor teams. We like being the underdogs.

It is up to the coaches to tell me how to play.

I felt Arsenal had let a lot of players go. When Thierry left I felt it was time for me to do something different and challenging.

I had a coach when I was younger who encouraged me to be myself, that is where I was lucky.

If you want to play at Arsenal you need to be top, top, you need precision.

I am not a big gym fan.

The problem in Sweden is that, when the players are younger, they are not allowed to develop their own style and skills.

I break out in a rash if I go to the gym; all I did was shave my chest.

When I went to Arsenal, people in Sweden said my game was more suited for Spain or Italy.

I felt, and it may sound a bit stupid, that I want to try things that are hard.

You can be yourself in London. If you are a bit different in the way you dress or look it is no problem.

I loved my time in Japan, and I am grateful to have had the chance to live in Japan and embrace the Japanese culture.

I think it’s important to learn about the culture of the place where you live.

I’m really excited by this opportunity to continue helping develop and work with some of the great young players we have coming through in the first-team environment and to work alongside Unai and his coaching team to help Arsenal win trophies.

Clubs have always wanted to buy me during the summer but I have always stayed loyal because I wanted to stay at Arsenal.

Some people thought I was crazy when I quit Europe to go to the U.S., but for me the quality of life and the place I live is important.

What I say in the dressing room always stays there.

You can see players do things in training that aren’t a problem but they can’t in a game situation. You have to work on it, relax and be brave.

I like it in Seattle.

The Swedish team plays very differently from Arsenal. There is more freedom with Arsenal and they play a passing game.

I have a house with its own dock and I can take my boat out when I want.

I played as a 10 and, in Sweden, they let me take as many touches as I could. All of a sudden, I come to Arsenal and I have to play one and two touches – it was a little bit alien to me.

I’ve always been interested in clothes and shopping, and I have a few friends who work in fashion.

And at West Ham no one gives you a puzzled look if you get called up for your national team and players are never asked to play on injections.

I go from day to day and game to game.

I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I first came to Seattle but I have to say that how the city and the fans have embraced me has gone beyond my wildest dreams and for that I am forever grateful.

I lived on being a quick player and my hamstring was breaking every time I made a quick move. I wondered what the hell was going on.

I am not particularly disciplined, but I am stubborn like few.

I have always dressed to please myself, not other people. I don’t care what they think.

When friends come over from Europe, they think it’s going to be rainy in Seattle but it’s beautiful. It’s a hidden pearl. And people here respect your private life.

I played against Ashley Cole all the time in training. For me, he is the best left-back in the world. He was the hardest opponent and I had him every day in training.

The important thing for me is we want to keep the ball, we want to have the ball because we are Arsenal football club.

Every time I sprinted 100 per cent, my hamstring broke. But I knew if I didn’t sprint 100 per cent, I could keep on playing, so that’s what you do. I was just lucky it was discovered in America and I haven’t had one problem since. I feel I can run past people again and that feels nice.

There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to leave Arsenal.