The charismatic Sweden captain was signed from Arsenal in July 2007 in a deal that could rise to £3m, following a nine-year spell with the Gunners.

Born in Vittsjo, the active young Ljungberg joined Halmstads at the age of five, and also played several other sports including ice hockey and handball, for which he was called up to the national youth squad.

He made his senior first division debut aged 17 against AIK on 23 October 1994 and went on to make 139 appearances - scoring 16 goals - for the club.

And after winning his first full cap for Sweden against the USA in January 1998, he then starred in Sweden's Euro 2000 qualifier victory over England nine months later.

That dazzling performance persuaded Arsene Wenger to splash the cash in a £3m deal and, on 20 September 1998, Ljungberg marked a memorable Highbury debut by stepping off the bench and sealing a 3-0 win against Manchester United with the first of his 72 goals for the north Londoners.

The Swede enjoyed immense success during his time at Highbury, where he made a total of 328 league and cup appearances. Indeed, he helped Arsenal to a Premiership and FA Cup double in 2002 and another Premier League title in 2004. Having scored in the 2002 final victory over Chelsea, he also picked up another two FA Cup winners medals in 2003 and 2005 and was runner-up five times in the chase for the Premier League (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005) and a loser in the 2001 FA Cup final, too.

And on the European front he also collected a runners-up medal in the Champions League final against Barcelona in May 2006.

On the international stage, the Calvin Klein underwear model also represented his country at the 2002 and 2006 World Cup finals plus the 2000 and 2004 European Championships and going into the 2007/08 campaign, the Swedish skipper had won 67 senior caps and scored 13 goals for his country.

In July 2007, the vastly experienced attacking midfielder sought a new challenge and duly moved to the Boleyn Ground before making his debut against Manchester City on the opening day of the 2007/08 season.