Arsenal hero hammered chef in foul-mouthed rant – 'I can't eat this f***ing food'

Freddie Ljungberg unknowingly found himself unleashing a foul-mouthed rant on an chef during his playing days. After breaking through the ranks of Halmstad in his homeland of Sweden, the Gunners brought the winger to Highbury in a £3million deal in 1998.

While he knew some English upon arrival, he wasn't quite fluent, and a language barrier proved problematic on one occasion in particular according to his former team-mate, . Speaking about arrival in north London, Keown told : "I remember early training sessions thinking, 'wow this kid. He can play, he's got a massive personality'.

"But it felt like a Jack Russell, like a young dog. I've got to just, kind of, snap the leash occasionally."

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And Ljungberg's personality landed him in hot water after he didn't realise that he had launched a foul-mouthed rant at a chef in the canteen.

Keown added: "One day you were hammering the chefs, saying 'I can't taste this f***ing rubbish', and I was saying, 'Freddie, no, no, no... on the pitch'. And then you said, 'why? What have I said?' Because you were trying to develop your language."

Explaining the incident, Ljungberg said: "I remember I got the kit man to teach me all of the slang, because I wanted to understand what you guys were saying. I felt with , when you guys spoke sometimes I was like, 'what are they saying?'

"I didn't understand a word. So I tried to like figure those things out, and yes sometimes maybe then the swear words I hadn't really understood the severity of what you guys were saying in the dressing room. You couldn't say them when you left the dressing room.

"So I learned after a while, so I appreciate that." With a hint of comedy, Keown then quoted Ljungberg by saying: "'I can't eat this f***ing food'. Are you sure?" The former winger chuckled back.

Ljungberg ultimately spent eight years at Arsenal between 1998 and 2007, lifting two titles and four domestic trophies under , partially thanks to his 72 goals and 40 assists in 328 games.

He then played for , , , , Shimizu S-Pulse, and Mumbai City, before retiring in 2014.

In the years since, Ljungberg has gone on to manage Arsenal's U15 and U23 sides, as well as a stint as caretaker manager of the first-team in 2019 following the departure of and ahead of the arrival of current head coach, .

Elsewhere, he currently manages the N5 FC team in the Baller League, alongside and .

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