Ljungberg beams about future after Arsenal youngsters secure top spot

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Freddie Ljungberg praised the resiliency of his young Arsenal side after a standout performance from 18-year-old Bukayo Saka ensured the Gunners advanced as group winners.

The skies looked bleak for much of the evening as a tepid Arsenal performance presented the possibility of a tricky round-of-32 draw against a seeded team dropping down from the Champions League.

An impressive four minute burst late in the second half dragged the Gunners back into the contest, however, with the 2-2 draw proving sufficient on the night.

Speaking on the fortitude and mental toughness his young side showed to come back from two goals down, the Swede said: “We played really well in our gameplan in the first half. They didn’t have any shots on target. We should have maybe been one or two up at half-time.

“We got sucker-punched a bit, they scored two deflected goals… you can’t really slam the players for that.

“We could have folded but we didn’t. 2-2, we could have got a 3-2 but I had the information about the other score so we didn’t go too hard.”

Topping the group ensured Arsenal will avoid the dangerous quartet of Inter Milan, Benfica, Ajax and Red Bull Salzburg at the round-of-32 stage.

The importance of this development was not lost on Ljungberg.

“It’s very, very good. We started the group really well and had some problems,” said the boss.

 

“We played a lot of games lately, I wanted to give the young ones a chance but I needed to rotate. We have a game again on Sunday. Of course it was a small gamble but I believe in those young players and they pulled through and we’re top of the group.”

“What I meant was that it was not fair to put the pressure on the young players. Experienced players need to take the lead.

“I hope that’s because the experienced players have allowed them to express themselves.”

Arsenal have received a host of criticism this season but the fightback showed their spirit had not been broken.

Ljungberg was full of praise when asked about the character his charges showed.

“It’s tremendous. I’m really proud of them,” said the Swede.

“They showed belief in how they can play football.

“It’s good for us in the future.

“The energy, they go and go. They don’t stop.”

Read how all the action unfolded in Belgium via our match report here.