By Philip O’Connor
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sebastian Larsson’s playing career came to an end on Sunday as the Swede with the most appearances in England’s Premier League went out on his own terms, battling to the very end as his AIK lost 1-0 to Elfsborg in the final Allsvenskan game of the season.
Over his final 90 minutes, the combative midfielder gave his usual display of metronomic passing, well-struck set-pieces and tough tackles, collecting his 11th yellow card of the 30-game season in the process.
In all, Larsson played 282 games in the English top flight during spells at Arsenal, Birmingham City and Sunderland, and he also had a spell in the Championship with Hull City before returning to Sweden to join AIK after representing his country at the 2018 World Cup.
“I’ve been quite good at pushing things to one side but when I look back, being the Swede that played most Premier League games is something that I’ll be really proud of,” he told Reuters following his final appearance.
“It’s a big achievement in my book, and we’ll see when someone breaks that record.”
Larsson’s arrival at AIK in 2018 gave the club a much-needed boost that carried them all the way to the league title, which was a far cry from his years often spent battling relegation from the Premier League.
“I had opportunities to leave England for, so to speak, bigger clubs in lesser leagues, but as long as I had the opportunity to be in the Premier League, that was the one thing for me,” the 37-year-old said.
“For me, that was the priority and yeah, I struggled a lot of the years, but maybe that suited my style of playing.”
It was a bittersweet day for AIK with Per Karlsson, who holds the club appearance record with 438, and former Celtic defender Mikael Lustig also calling it quits.
Despite the side’s disappointing fifth-placed finish in this year’s Allsvenskan, the vast majority of the 31,335 fans remained long after the final whistle to honour the trio.
Larsson said he intended to spend some time prioritising his family while staying in football in some capacity, adding that he would like to be remembered for one thing.
“As a guy that always gave his all, you know? Quality aside, we can debate that all day long, but I want supporters of the teams I’ve played for to think that I’ve worn my heart on my sleeve and gave it my all,” he said.
(This story has been refiled to correct number of Premier League appearances)
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
