Unai Emery sacked as Arsenal head coach

Freddie Ljungberg, who played for the club between 1998 and 2007, has been appointed as interim head coach.

Unai Emery has been sacked by Arsenal.

Arsenal has sacked head coach Unai Emery after Thursday’s Europa League defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt in front of a sparse crowd at the Emirates Stadium.

Freddie Ljungberg, who played for the club between 1998 and 2007, has been appointed as interim head coach. “Our most sincere thanks go to Unai and his colleagues who were unrelenting in their efforts to get the club back to competing at the level we all expect and demand. We wish Unai and his team nothing but future success," the football club said in a statement released on Friday.

The decision has been taken due to "results and performances not being at the level required", the statement further added.

The Gunners are now without a win for seven matches across all competitions. It will try and claim a first win since the start of October when it travels to Norwich City on Sunday.

Among those in the mix for the permanent job include former Gunners star Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola's assistant at champion Manchester City, ex-Juventus handler Massimiliano Allegri and Wolves Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

Emery's cause has not been helped by the stripping of the captaincy from fiery Swiss international Granit Xhaka after he swore at Gunners fans when being substituted against Crystal Palace last month.

And a potential saviour, Gunners record signing Pepe, has been a huge disappointment since his £72 million ($93 million) move from French Ligue 1 outfit Lille in the close season.

Emery's position had looked shaky enough when north London rival Tottenham Hotspur sacked Mauricio Pochettino last week only months after taking it to the Champions League final.

The former Paris Saint Germain handler's first season ended in disappointment. Arsenal blew two chances for a return to the Champions League, winning just one of its last five games to finish fifth in the Premier League and then losing the Europa League final 4-1 to Chelsea.

(With inputs from AFP)