So we was 'sacked' then.

[Rich]

I don't even think it is hindsight for quite a few. I think there were a lot of people face palming at the time.

I think it was a lot about saving face. We had Alexis and Özil, who were both stalling on a new deal. Be this due to lack of ambition/investment in the squad, we don’t know. But they were stalling.

The club could not be seen to lose both of its premier stars on free transfers in one summer, so we had to agree with one.

Alexis wanted City (and who can blame him?) but then United thundered in with £500k a week plus a cut of image rights. This was a deal that Arsenal will never be able to match.

That left Özil as the one we couldn’t afford to lose. Not because of what he does on the pitch, but because of his stature in the game.