Freddie bye bye

West Ham have signed Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and will present the 30 year old Swedish international at a press conference this afternoon.

He joined Arsenal in 1998 from Halmstads in a 3m pound deal and has been Arsenal's longest serving player. He scored 72 goals in 325 games for the club. Much speculation about his destination had been in the media lately with Fiorentina and a linkup with fellow Swede Sven Goran Eriksson at Manchester City all thought to be strong possibilities, but it appears West Ham, desperate for more progress in the transfer market, have offered the best terms.

He had two years left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium but the club decided to move him and avoid the inevitable 1 year contract problem that all Arsenal elder statesmen seem to face. Robert Pires left for nothing last season.

Ljungberg will become West Ham's fifth signing this summer joining Craig Bellamy, Julien Faubert, Scott Parker and Richard Wright.

As for Ljungberg, he'll have to do his Calvin Klein underwear modeling in new colors.