Freddie, good afternoon, you’ve had time after Norwich, what were the positives from that game?
“Of course there was a lot of reflection after the game. I’ve watched the game twice and the general feeling is the same form after the game. We started extremely well, playing very well offensively, we have a problem transition-wise so they got shots on target from an 80-yard sprint.
“That’s something we will focus on. Other things, we are getting behind their (Norwich’s) midfield and behind their backline, a lot has been backed up by data within the club.
“We have skyrocketed up to one of the top teams in the league for getting into pockets and in behind. So that feels good that my feelings after the game were backed up by the data and of course we will try to keep on doing that.
“I wanted to win the game and I’m very disappointed not to win it. If we play the transition game as we did we won’t win any games but that’s something I can coach and try to change.”
“We have skyrocketed up to one of the top teams in the league for getting into pockets and in behind. So that feels good that my feelings after the game were backed up by the data and of course we will try to keep on doing that.
“I wanted to win the game and I’m very disappointed not to win it. If we play the transition game as we did we won’t win any games but that’s something I can coach and try to change.”
Have you thought about leading Arsenal out at the Emirates Stadium?
“It’s been quite hectic so I haven’t thought about it much but of course it’s going to be a proud moment.
“When I made my national team debut, my debut here (as a player) and my debut as a manager at Norwich are probably the proudest moments I’ve ever had.”
I’ll start with an important question. Why were you not wearing a suit on Sunday?
“That’s extremely important. It happened so quickly that the suit was at the dry cleaners and I couldn’t get it ready.
“I’ve seen in the Premiership coaches with a tracksuit, with a suit and I’ve seen coaches with a sweater. So I’ll decide on matchday which one I will use.”
Have you been fitted for a club suit or will you wear your own?
“We’ll see. We haven’t had me fitted yet with a club suit but I can’t really see that’s a discussion. But I will make sure you know what I will wear.
What kind of challenge are you expecting from Brighton?
“I watched them a little bit. They look good, they change formations a lot so we’ll see what they come with. They try to play out, defend well and are well organized but for me, we need to concentrate on our own game.
“We play at home so I take into account how I think they will play but I have to develop the gameplan how we want to play football and that’s what I try to concentrate on.”
Have you been aware of the atmosphere at the Emirates and how can you change that?
“I think the only way to change an atmosphere in the stadium is by how you play. As you said, the fans were amazing at Norwich. I felt like they got more and more energy the more that we played in the first half.
“We were on top of Norwich and I think the Arsenal fans got energy from that. That helped. But they were great, even when we went 1-0 down or 2-1 down, they were even louder and they helped us. That’s important for the players.
“When it comes to the Emirates, the fans want us to win football games. They want us to play good football and I think the only way to try to get a good atmosphere and get them going is to try to achieve that. Whether that’s me or someone else as a coach, I don’t think that matters so much.”
Do you think the criticism of the Arsenal defense is fair?
“No, I think my players try to defend. Of course, you can have different types of players in the squad. That’s just a fact, that you have different types of players.
“We’ve had a gameplan we’ve tried to execute and I want to defend. Of course, we need to try to find solutions. If players are not super quick and we say, ‘You’ve got to sprint for this or that’, that’s going to be difficult for that player.
“In general terms, we try to put out a structure so that everybody knows what to do. The main thing I saw in the game is that we let them get into situations where it was just a sprint. It was not about football or technical stuff, they just went in a competitive sprint with our player. We want to stop that.”
Do you think it’s acceptable for Arsenal to go almost two months without winning a Premier League game?
“What I try to focus on is going forward. I’ve been here, I’ve done two training sessions now and I don’t want to talk about the coaches before. I think Unai did a great job and was a great leader and a fantastic coach.
“That’s not for me to judge. I look forward. The main thing for me was that when we were at Norwich, we hadn’t won an away game since the first game of the season.
“I felt that the players could react that way and in my opinion, we played well offensively. It was good. But now we go forward.”
Would you be happy to stay at the club if you’re not the new manager?
“Yeah of course. I work for the club and what the club wants me to do, that’s where I’m going to be. Of course, I’m very proud to have this opportunity but the future will tell what happens.”
Can we expect changes against Brighton?
“It would be a bit silly of me to tell you what I’m going to do! We’ll see. We’ll need to look at the fitness levels of the players and who’s fit, who isn’t. We have some players who were still injured before. We’ll see.”
What can you fix between the Norwich and Brighton games?
“Yesterday was a recovery day for the ones who played. Again, today, they have to recover because we play a lot. We’re training but the ones who played at Norwich will join us tomorrow in a short session. Of course, we look at videos and small details.
“I think it’s vital to change against Brighton. Of course, as I said before if you have a pre-season for six or eight weeks, there’s a lot of things you can work on. Here you have to think, ‘That little piece is very important so that’s what we’re going to focus on’. That’s what we want to do.”
Have you spoken to Arsene Wenger and do you plan to do so?
“No (not yet), I would really like to speak to him. I’m in contact with him but I haven’t spoken to him because it’s been a bit hectic, but it’s on my list to do so.”
Will we see a different Arsenal on Thursday?
“I’ve tried to build on what you saw at Norwich, that’s what we’re going to try and build on.
“At the same time, Brighton is a different opponent, they are very well organized, I think they look good so it’s going to be tough for us but, of course, we are going to try and build on what we did in the last game.”
Does this squad need additions in January and will you have those conversations?
“I’m going on a match by match time now so there’s nothing that I will get involved in. I think we have a very good squad but it’s up to the big bosses of the club in regards to what they want to do.
You’re the first Swede to manage in the Premier League since Sven-Goran Eriksson was here. Why is that?
“I don’t know why that is, I think there are a lot of great Swedish coaches. Of course, it’s an honour and it feels special.
I lived here for a long time now and I’ve just been trying to work as hard as I can to get a chance and they gave me a chance.