Ballard ‘a legend here already’ insists old coach

FORMER Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has been mightily impressed by Sunderland’s Dan Ballard this season.

A Gunners’ favourite, the Swede has heaped praise on the Black Cats’ defender and described him as a “special man.”

Ballard, 26, played under the Swede as part of the Gunners’ academy system earlier in his career, but was forced to leave North London in a bid to carve out a pathway for himself elsewhere.

He certainly did that, with spells at Millwall and Blackpool before playing his way back into the Premier League with Sunderland, and the Northern Ireland international has thrived since he made the step up to the top flight.

That fact has pleased his former coach who is delighted with Ballard’s progress.

He said: “He [Ballard] is a special man. You know, you have a soft spot for players sometimes. Before I came in there [Arsenal], I had him with the 21s, some of them maybe didn’t rate him so highly. I was on the pitch for a bit and I was like, ‘I rate him’. He knows how to defend.

“When you spoke to him, he was like, ‘What can I do better? Can you help me with, like, sometimes I don’t really know when I come up in a pocket, what I should do here or there? Could you just help me?’.

“Every day, he would ask me a question, wanting to get better.

“He’s had injuries, he’s had massive injuries, setbacks, kept on fighting, had to leave Arsenal, go to smaller clubs, prove himself there. They said here, I think, he’s a legend here already. I want him in our dressing room every day of the week because he will do anything for you.”