Arsenal head of football Raul Sanllehi has suggested that the decision to let Aaron Ramsey leave on a free contract is 'best for the club'.
The Welsh midfielder shook hands on a four-year deal worth more than £200,000 a week earlier this month, only for the Gunners to withdraw the offer late on.
Reports suggest that Arsenal made the U-turn as they felt it would be better to spend the package put together for Ramsey's wages on another player, rumoured to be Sevilla's Ever Banega.
Asked about the decision to essentially let their longest-serving player depart the club for nothing when his deal expires next summer, Sanllehi told BBC Sport: "I am not here to talk about individual cases but to talk more of the philosophy we are bringing.
"Any decision that we take is thoroughly discussed, debated among several professional people sharing one common objective, which is what is best for the club?
"Any decision we take along this way, is always going to be based on whether this is good or bad for Arsenal , if it's a responsible decision or if it can be detrimental for Arsenal, that is basically our main criteria in every step of the decision making."
Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton, Juventus and AC Milan are all rumoured to be in the running to sign Ramsey, who is free to speak to foreign clubs from January.
