Freddie Ljungberg’s at the wheel, so could Arsenal’s new interim boss ‘do a Solskjaer’?

It was seven winless games and out for Unai Emery at Arsenal, with Freddie Ljungberg taking interim charge for the foreseeable future.

There’s plenty to be said about Emery and the potential runners and riders linked with the vacancy (why not click on any of the bullet points above), so we’ll focus here on the man who can impress the Arsenal hierarchy from the inside.

Ljungberg spent nine fruitful seasons at Arsenal as a player – winning the Premier League twice, plus three FA Cups – and he returned to the club as the U23 coach last year.

He became Emery’s assistant in the summer, and is now set to take charge of Arsenal’s trip to the Norwich on Sunday, which kicks off a busy December for the Gunners.

Once the dust settled on Emery’s sacking, Ljungberg took to Twitter to declare he will “give everything” to reversing Arsenal’s fortunes:

Tottenham took under 24 hours to replace Mauricio Pochettino with Jose Mourinho, but Arsenal’s appointment of Ljungberg as interim head coach shows they are following Bayern Munich’s patient approach.

Hans-Dieter Flick will manage Bayern until after Christmas, enough time for the club’s board to consider their options without making a rash decision.

For Arsenal, there is no need to be hasty either, and while they ponder whether Max Allegri would want the job, if Mauricio Pochettino would dare take the job, or which young manager might fancy the challenge, they have a man they can trust to take interim charge.

The Solskjaer comparisons are therefore impossible to ignore.

Solskjaer may have spent time at Cardiff City and Molde between stints as United’s reserves manager and then interim manager, but here was a man who knew the club and importantly what made the fans at Old Trafford tick.

The same can be said for Ljungberg and Arsenal. He was a key part of Arsenal’s early success under Wenger, an Invicible from the 2003-04 season, and perhaps forgotten recipient of the 2001-02 Premier League Player of the Season.

The Swede remembers the good times at Arsenal and will be desperate to bring them back.

However, and there must be a however, one can only wonder whether Solskjaer’s appointment will serve as a cautionary tale to the powers that be at Arsenal.

Solskjaer's haul of 25 points from his first 10 league games as United boss was the best in Premier League history, but it has been a much bumpier ride since.

Ljungberg could well arrest Arsenal’s poor run of form and put their top-four challenge back on track, he could well have the supporters on his side for months to come, but that does not necessarily mean it will be the right appointment.

There are manager’s more qualified than Ljungberg who could take the Arsenal job full-time, just as there were with Solskjaer and United, and so it is difficult to predict what baring this audition will have on the Kroenkes’ thought process.

But for now, Ljungberg’s at the wheel. So long as he doesn’t steer them into further trouble, he’ll be a contender whenever a decision is made.