Guardiola hopes Arsene Wenger would not be lost to football

Since then there has been an outpouring from the world of football paying tribute to his achievements during his time as Gunners boss.

Explaining the decision to make the news public on Friday, he said: “We wanted to have the opportunity for the Arsenal family to come together to express our affection and gratitude to this man”.

“I think he does very well but overall, this Premier League is special. I think to live football in this way, your career could be less long because you live football with more pressure than in the past”.

“We are in a better place today than we could ever have imagined 22 years ago”.

“He has inspired people around him”.

Carlo Ancelotti would be “pleased from a professional point of view” if he was part of Arsenal’s plans in their search to find Arsene Wenger’s replacement.

In spite of Arsenal’s struggles on the field in recent seasons, they remain the sixth richest club in the world, according to financial consultants Deloitte’s annual Football Money League. Current coach Leonardo Jardim – in charge when Monaco surprisingly beat PSG to the Ligue 1 trophy last season – is among the names reportedly in the frame for the newly created Arsenal vacancy.

But even if the split between the club and manager was one best for both parties, Wenger leaves a daunting legacy behind and a Herculean task for his successor to live up to at the helm of the Gunners.

This would be a relatively swift return, all things considered to the Premier League big six for the Northern Irishman. In his three years at the helm of Barca, the 47-year-old Enrique won the La Liga title twice, the Copa del Rey on three occasions and the 2015 Champions League crown. He worked for two years as a club administrator before becoming its reserve team and elite development squad manager.

But, having led the club to the double in his first full season in charge, he became viewed as a revolutionary figure, introducing sophisticated methods to the preparation of players as well as tapping into the overseas market to sign unheralded players such as Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit who turned out to be world-class talents. Maybe he will take over a general manager position but to work as a coach at another club I don’t know if he wants it. I urge our fans to stand behind the team to finish on a high.

But Arsenal and Gazidis now have their Ferguson moment and they would be wise to learn from the mistakes made by United. “Arsene wasn’t necessarily on a lot of people’s radar when he arrived, so we need to be bold and get the person we believe is the right person”. The flak from the fans continued, but the Arsenal top brass always backed their under-fire manager.

Wenger has been conscious of trying to protect his loyal coaching staff and has partially given his endorsement to former Arsenal favourite Patrick Vieira, who is now in charge of New York City.

Ferguson and Wenger oversaw some titanic battles between 1996 and 2013, including one of the greatest games in FA Cup history – the 1999 semi-final replay at Villa Park.

“I respect him for what a good football man he is”.

Arsenal said they would seek to replace Wenger, who had just one more year left on his contract, as soon as possible.

“I hope for him he has a few wins now because he totally deserves it”.

“If I find the right possibility, the right project, I will be delighted to continue”.