Arsène Wenger took the seismic decision to walk away from Arsenal on his own terms because he was mindful of the very real threat that he would be sacked at the end of the season.

The club’s majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, and other directors had grown increasingly concerned by the team’s dismal Premier League performance and the huge number of fans who have chosen to stay away from home matches in recent weeks.

The Guardian understands the club began a drive to cold call Red Members of their supporter scheme on Wednesday to offer season tickets for 2018-19 in the face of record numbers of non-renewals. Red Members are below Gold and Silver members in terms of priority.

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal’s departing general, deserves a fitting farewell
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Wenger had routinely said he would fulfil the remaining year on his contract but the wagons have circled for some time. The chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, has made a series of appointments on the technical side as part of his “catalyst for change” agenda – most notably those of the head of football relations, Raúl Sanllehí, and the head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat.

The impression has been that Gazidis was putting a succession plan into place while Wenger was in the building.

Wenger has felt the pressure from board level, although there was a sense of shock among the squad when he informed them before a community event and a training session on Friday morning that he would step down from what he has referred to as his life’s work at the end of the season.

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