Freddie Ljungberg slams Arsenal fans after how they treated £60m player
Freddie Ljungberg is one of Arsenal’s greatest ever wingers.
The Swede was a mainstay on the right wing under Arsene Wenger and played a massive part in the legendary Invincibles season.
Ljungberg later became a coach at Arsenal and worked closely with players. He even managed the first team after Unai Emery was sacked and Mikel Arteta was brought in.
During that time, the Arsenal legend got to know some players very well. One of them was Gabriel Martinelli.
Freddie Ljungberg says Arsenal fans forgot about Gabriel Martinelli’s contributions
Arsenal sold Martinelli in a club-record £60 million deal to Al-Hilal.
The Brazil international, for the most part, was a fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium, but after a couple of poor seasons, many supporters wanted an upgrade.
Arteta seemed to agree with that assessment and left Martinelli out of his squad for the Community Shield and the opening Premier League fixtures.
That made it clear that the attacker had to move on, and he accepted a move to the Saudi Pro League in the end.
Freddie Ljungberg was asked if he was surprised by the decision to sell Martinelli. The Swedish icon accepted that it was a big fee, but he seemed to disagree with fans wanting him out.
He said on Viaplay: “If you say, ‘a Brazilian footballer who works that hard and the age he had and the numbers’, that’s not a cheap football player, and they sold him for quite a lot of money.
“When people really wanted him out, when fans wanted him out, I was a bit like: ‘That’s a good player you just want out.’
“But I felt – that’s what everybody felt and seemed to be wanting – and they got rid of him. They got good money for him.
“I think sometimes the fans forget how much he has done for the club, how many important goals he has scored during the years.”
Arsenal were right to sell Gabriel Martinelli but they handled the situation terribly
Martinelli had entered the final year of his contract at Arsenal, and it made sense for the Gunners to cash in on him, even though they had an option to extend his deal by another 12 months.
The money they received from Al-Hilal was substantial too and beat their previous record sale – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – by £25 million.
Arsenal cannot be criticised for accepting that offer, but to leave him out of the side after he gave so much for the club does not feel right at all.
Even Ian Wright criticised the way Arsenal were treating Martinelli before he was sold.
That chapter is closed now, so there’s no point looking back. However, Arsenal should act a lot better in the future with players who have contributed as heavily as Martinelli has.
