Football clubs have been fain for years to shroud sackings in the vague verbiage of "mutual consent", and Arsenal have taken an even bolder step in disguising what is, to all intents and purposes, a sacking.
Arsene Wenger, having last Friday announced his intention to step down as Arsenal manager after 22 years in charge, admitted in a press conference today that he was effectively sacked.
Speaking ahead of the Europa League tie with Atletico Madrid, Wenger was asked why he is leaving at the end of this season in spite of his contract running until June 2019. Wenger, it must be remembered, always accentuated the fact that he has never broken a contract.
In response, Wenger admitted that "the timing was not really my decision. For the rest, I have spoken about it already".
Wenger effectively admits he was forced out of Arsenal. Asked why he is going now when he has a contract to 2019, he says: "The timing was not really my decision. For the rest, I have spoken about it already."
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) April 25, 2018
Wenger also confirmed he has no say in the identity of his successor, but when asked about the present frontrunner, Luis Enrique the outgoing manager said that he has "a high opinion of him, but I don’t want to influence the job for the next manager".
Whoever does replace Wenger is unlikely to have a huge budget to revamp the deeply flawed squad he will take over.
Jeremy Wilson of The Telegraph has the story that whoever succeeds Arsene Wenger will have £50 million to spend in the transfer window this summer, although can increase it through player sales.
The reason behind the relatively small budget is the lavish outlay over the last year or so, which has featured around £100 million on a pair of strikers in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette - neither of whom look particularly comfortable playing up front together. They've also taken a hit on the wages they've had to pay Mesut Ozil to convince him to stay - reportedly £350,000 week.
