Arsenal: Joe Willock paving the way for the Freddie Ljungberg effect

On Tuesday, Joe Willock hailed the input of Arsenal coach Freddie Ljungberg. As the club tries to utilise the former under-23 manager’s experience and awareness of the young talent, Willock is paving the way for how it can take effect in the first team.

When Arsenal essentially swapped the coaching roles of Steve Bould and Freddie Ljungberg in the summer, it was not meant to be a meaningless coaching reshuffle. This was a significant step to commit to the youth movement that has been hinted at ever since Unai Emery’s arrival at the club a little over a year ago.

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Ljungberg was hired as the under-23 manager the year prior, a key individual in the youth set-up at the club alongside fellow former first-teamer, Per Mertesacker, the new head of the academy. But this year, he would be a key aide for Emery in the first-team coaching set-up. Emery wanted the input of a youth expert.

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There was a very noticeable and purposeful step made here: Arsenal want to use the wonderfully talented crop of young player that they presently possess in the first team, and promoting Ljungberg was a key part of that.

And one of the players that Ljungberg has invested a great deal of time in, Joe Willock, heralded the influence and tutelage of the former Invincible:

"“Freddie is not only such a legend at the club, he’s an unbelievable manager and coach. He’s a mentor for me, he showed me a lot behind the scenes that people don’t really know about. Every day I’m working with him and I’m learning from him. He’s improved my whole overall game. If I’m being specific, getting in the pockets when I’m playing No.10 and attacking at No.8. He showed me a lot of different tactics to get space and turn to attack other teams. Those are the main things really.”"

For Willock, and I presume for other players in his situation, Ljungberg’s value is not being missed. He is a well-regarded coach, a ‘mentor’, as Willock puts it, and a key cog in the newly assembled ‘transition team’, which is designed to master the period from 18 years of age to 21 as academy graduates look to move from the youth to senior squads.

And what Willock has achieved during this summer and the first two matches of the season, establishing as a key part of the central midfield rotation, especially as Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira find their match fitness after disrupted preparations for the season ahead, is precisely what Ljungberg and Arsenal are striving for from these players.

Reiss Nelson also started both Premier League matches, though will lose his place to Nicolas Pepe in due course. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is now seen as a crucial, versatile chess piece, while Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and others will surely be pushing for game time as the season progresses, especially once the Europa League and domestic cups roll around.

Arsenal are undoubtedly committed to developing young players and trusting them in the first team. It is why they promoted Ljungberg in the first place. And it is precisely what Willock is doing right now. He is paving the way. Hopefully, more will follow.