Arsene Wenger was left feeling "really hurt" by Arsenal in the wake of his Emirates exit, according to the Gunners' former vice-chairman David Dein.
The Frenchman walked away from his post after 22 years at Arsenal back in 2018 amid increasing discontent from the fanbase, some of whom have since been accused of hounding him out of his job. At the end of his reign, Wenger's Arsenal honours list included three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups.
Planes flying over stadiums with messages calling for his sacking marked a steep demise from the days Wenger was guiding the Gunners to league titles while going the entire campaign unbeaten. Nowadays, he is FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development - but Dein feels Arsenal are missing a trick by not hiring their former boss in a new role.
"He was a miracle worker, and they just let him go," Dein explained to the Daily Mail. "He left in a similar way to me. I thought the club owed Arsene a duty of care, at least a discussion.
"We need a change but how do you want this to be done? Do you want to be involved? What can we do? Would you like a different role, or would you prefer to exit elegantly? You must have dialogue. It didn't happen in my case, didn't happen in his. And that really hurt him. I would have done it differently.
"He's an Arsenal man, 22 years at the club. Wasn’t his knowledge worth cultivating? Look at where he is now? So he's not good enough for Arsenal, but he is good enough to be head of global development for FIFA, in charge of 211 countries. He should have been used by us surely, his knowledge, his skill, his encyclopaedic awareness of players. He's got to be used."
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Much like Wenger, Dein's Arsenal exit could have potentially been handled better than it was after he was sacked from the board in 2007 after helping to oversee one of the greatest chapters in the club's history.
While Dein has since gone back to the Emirates to watch his beloved Arsenal play, the same cannot be said for Wenger who is yet to return. He has explained that previously, admitting in 2020: "I have chosen to keep a complete distance. It doesn't mean emotionally, just physically.
"It's important people don't see you as a shadow. It may look like you're still trying to influence things and have your way. I felt that the best thing to do is cut it away."
Arsenal's on-pitch efforts took some time to recover from Wenger's departure, but over four years on the Gunners are now top of the league under the guidance of one of the Frenchman's students in Mikel Arteta.
