Ljungberg and Bould switch roles at Arsenal
Bould (left) goes back to the Academy
Written by Simon Austin — June 17, 2019
FREDDIE LJUNGBERG and Steve Bould have swapped jobs at Arsenal, with the Swede becoming assistant manager and the long-serving Englishman taking on the club’s U23s.
Ljungberg, who won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners, has been in charge of the U23s for the last year. Prior to that, he was U15s and U9s coach and has also been assistant manager of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.
Bould is a true Arsenal stalwart, having made 372 appearances for the club over 11 years before joining them as a coach in 2001. He was with the Academy from 2001 to 2012 and then replaced Pat Rice as Arsene Wenger’s assistant in 2012.
Some have described the job swap as a demotion for Bould, but TGG understands that the Englishman is looking forward to being more hands-on with coaching in his new job.
When Unai Emery replaced Wenger as manager last summer, he brought in his own inner circle of Spanish assistants.
Ljungberg said: “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.
“I’m looking forward to working in this new structure and to pass on my experience and knowledge about what is needed to succeed at this level.”
Bould, who will also take up his new role on July 1st, added: “I have always had a deep commitment to developing young players and am delighted to be back working in an area which is so important to the future of our club. We have great young players and my job will be to help them maximise their potential."
Head of football Raul Sanllehi said: “Identifying, recruiting and developing young players is a key part of our strategy. We have some great talent coming through our younger age groups and, like all top clubs, the challenge is to help them make the most of their abilities.
"The hardest part is always the transition from Academy football to senior football. We already have good programmes in place but these staff changes will ensure our plans are even more robust and clear for every single player.
"I'm confident it will make a significant difference to our ability to bring players through to the first team.”
Meanwhile, first-team goalkeeping coach Sal Bibbo, will take on additional responsibilities and lead on the transition of our keepers from Academy to the senior side.
