Wenger left Arsenal last summer but was paid in full for the remaining year of his contract

Arsenal’s decision to bring Arsène Wenger’s reign to a premature end cost the club £17.1 million in pay-offs to the manager and his coaching staff.

Wenger, 69, left at the end of last season after 22 years in charge, but with a year still remaining on his contract. The club’s accounts show that Arsenal paid him in full for at least that remaining year, with other settlements going to support staff who left at the same time.

Sir Chips Keswick, the Arsenal chairman, admitted that being in the Europa League instead of the Champions League this season had placed further financial pressure on the club. When Unai Emery succeeded Wenger in May, he kept Steve Bould as assistant manager but many others left, including Jens