Arsene Wenger knew four weeks ago that his 22-year reign at Arsenal was over when it was made clear to him that he would be asked to leave at the end of the season.
The club and close friends have been urging him to accept the inevitable and allow for an appropriate farewell as well as afford Arsenal time to recruit his successor, which is likely to be either Luis Enrique or Joachim Low, though Max Allegri, Brendan Rodgers and Leonardo Jardim are also being considered.
The past few weeks have been spent ensuring that the news, known only by a few key figures, did not leak out so that Wenger could make the announcement.