Football news - Freddie Ljungberg defends Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after bathroom break

With the Gunners chasing the game and fellow striker Alexandre Lacazette already substituted, the Gabonese forward left the pitch to relieve himself.

However, Ljungberg has defended his decision to answer the call of nature.

"He ran off and came back two or three minutes later," said Ljungberg.

"If you feel bad you feel bad, it’s nothing you can change. I actually didn't even notice he went off, I just saw him come back on after he'd been off for a couple of minutes."

That was far from the only controversial incident involving Aubameyang in the loss, with the 30-year-old seen to berate Joe Willock after the young midfielder misplaced a pass.

The incident drew a controversial reaction from Arsenal fans, who took to social media to vent their frustration with how their star forward behaved.

Arsenal are quite simply a farce, a club mismanaged from top to bottom and they are now paying the price. Unai Emery proved to be the wrong appointment and his appalling man management skills tore the squad apart. The Granit Xhaka saga is a prime example of this. He threw his player under the bus in the face of overly zealous criticism from fans, left him in his captaincy post for too long, then fired him when the issue was largely in the past. In this context, Aubameyang seems to have been the wrong appointment. Undoubtedly a brilliant player, he is also an individualist whose game is based around goals and predatory instincts.

As for Ljungberg, he may one day prove to be a fine coach. However, this task would arguably be beyond some of the game's greatest managers and the Swede should hope that the club appoints someone on a permanent basis sooner rather than later purely so he can get out of the firing line.