Arsenal News: Arsene Wenger and his staff had received a whopping £17.1m in payoffs following his premature sacking

What's the story?

Arsene Wenger, who finally saw his reign at Arsenal come to an end last summer, and his backroom staff, were awarded a handsome amount £17.1 million in payoffs, according to a report in The Times.

The Frenchman had a full year remaining on his contract, thus the club's decision to severe ties with him prematurely ended up costing them very dearly, and its effect are still being felt by current manager Unai Emery, who has been limited to loan signings only in this transfer window.

In case you didn't know...

Wenger was in charge of the Gunners for 22 seasons before being shown the door at the end of last season.

He left the Premier League with 3 Premier League titles and 7 FA Cup triumphs to his name.

The amount of £17.1 million is one of the biggest compensation packages ever paid to a football manager in the history of the sport.

He is the only manager in the league's history to lead a team throughout a season without conceding a single defeat. His legendary 'Invincibles' team won the Premier League title in 2004.

The heart of the matter...

Wenger, who had fallen out of favor with the Emirates faithful over the past few seasons, saw his contract with Arsenal cut short last summer, with the club deciding that it was time for a change in the dugout.

The 69-year-old still had a year left on his contract and The Times reveals that the club’s accounts show that Arsenal paid him in full for at least that remaining year.

Some of the supporting staff also followed the former Monaco manager out of the Emirates, with some settlements also going to them.Thus, it costed them £17.1 million to part ways with their most successful manager.

To add to the woes of incoming manager Unai Emery, Arsenal had failed to qualify for the Champions League, which further increased the financial pressure on the 13 time English top-flight champions.

It should be noted here that Emery had conceded that the club doesn't have the financial strength to buy players this transfer window and could sign players only on loan.

What's next?

Wenger seems to be enjoying his sabbatical and is in no hurry to take up a new job, while his successor at the Emirates is fighting for a top-four spot.