Keown: Arsenal stars lack desire & hunger and Ljungberg is lucky

Arsenal were guilty of a lack of desire and Freddie Ljungberg was lucky to see his side draw 2-2 with Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday, claims Martin Keown.

Needing to simply avoid a 5-0 defeat to qualify for the next stage, the Gunners found themselves trailing 2-0 after 69 minutes as they were made to pay for defensive lapses.

"One thing you need when you’re a manager is luck and Freddie Ljungberg was very lucky tonight," Keown said on BT Sport .

"The game changed when [Gabriel] Martinelli came off the bench tonight – 69th minute, a young player, a desire and a work-rate you’d expect from the senior players.

"I didn’t see a role model in that team. He came on and changed it. The older players were a long time getting to that level for Arsenal.

"I think Freddie Ljungberg should have kept it simple. He should have played a back four, pretty much the same team he played the other night.

"There was too many changes. We need to get back the desire and hunger from the players. And while Freddie is in charge, he should be implementing that change at Arsenal."

Ljungberg fielded a new-look starting side on Thursday with Keown adamant that so many changes were a mistake and a step back under their interim manager.

"I was so disappointed with the lack of desire and hunger from the team. Keep it simple," he continued.

"As a young coach I wouldn’t have even bothered going to a back three. I wouldn’t have been certain I understood it well enough.

"I would have picked the same players to say, 'When you work with me you work hard, you’re not staying back home relaxing, this is now about work ethic'.

"There needs to be a change in mood. That’s gone from Freddie, he’s limped through tonight. You can’t turn a tap on and off so quickly. But they’re going to be seeded, so that’s really good news."

Arsenal are next in action against Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday with the Gunners currently sitting ninth in the Premier League.