Raul Sanllehi and Edu have praised the "amazing" work that Freddie Ljungberg and Per Mertesacker have done in guiding the club in recent weeks.
It was announced on Friday that Mikel Arteta will take charge as our new head coach on Sunday - but our head of football and technical director were keen to emphasise just how grateful they are for the jobs done by Ljungberg and Mertesacker.
We spoke to Raul and Edu and this is what they told Arsenal Media:
Raul: Respect falls short. Recognition, gratefulness, it has been amazing. Freddie has driven such a difficult moment, he has driven our club, he has helped us keep it safe. We are very, very pleased with the work both of them have done. As I have said, it was a very difficult moment and it was. Privilege for us to know that we had Freddie and Per helping us for this short time. Having Freddie here, having been around the squad so he knew the players, it made it very soft something that could have been extremely traumatic, so absolute recognition and as I said thankfulness for the great job they have done.
Edu: Even more because the time which we were in where we changed the coach was new for Arsenal, so we never had that before and we never had interim coaches before for history maybe. I really like the way Freddie got that responsibility because he straightaway changed and said 'I want to be there to help the club'. That is beautiful, that came from someone who loves the club and we have to respect that a lot because we know Fred and even more we have respect for him. Of course Per too, because he is our academy manager, and when Fred came to talk to us about someone to help him, he asked for Per because he knows he dressing room, he knows the club, he has a big knowledge of football as well. And Per said 'Yes, of course I am going to be there to help the club, I want to help Freddie through that period.' That means we have very nice people around, professional people, people who love the club and that is very important.
Raul: We knew both of them live and breathe Arsenal. We didn't need them to prove it, but they did anyway. They absolutely proved, without any doubt, that their commitment to Arsenal is beyond their job description. Let me repeat it, I'm very, very grateful for the work they have both put in.
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