Now the Manchester United manager and his great French rival have been proved totally correct.

Maybe it was the experience of being in the situation so many times during his own illustrious career that saw Ferguson reach such a positive conclusion about Henry's abrupt departure from Arsenal.

But, while many predicted it would be the end of the Gunners as a major Premier League force, the opposite has been proved correct.

And, on the eve of Saturday's mouth-watering first bout of the season between not only the top two of this campaign but the top two managers of the past decade, Ferguson revealed the blinkered approach required to enjoy sustained success at the highest level.

"Anyone who is in control of a football team is going to be faced with decisions," he said.

"Sometimes, they are minimal, sometimes they are hugely important.

"But when you are assessing your football team, it is black and white. You want to be successful and you want to win.

"Your analysis of the team is crucial of how to achieve that. When you have a situation where you feel it is time for one of your great players to leave, you have to do it. It is as simple as that."

Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam, Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis are just half a dozen of the big names Ferguson has waved out of the United exit door before many fans would have wished.

Yet, only in Stam's case has the decision been proved incorrect.

It is not, as many would think, a case of no room for sentiment, more the requirement of a manager to serve the people who pay his wages.

"Of course you have feelings," said Ferguson.

"You are sentimental about it. When you are at one club for any length of time you get emotional about players and they become attached to you.

"But you have to decide how effective they are. I work for Manchester United. I am paid by Manchester United. I have to make bold, hard decisions for the benefit of the club.

"Thierry Henry was the most important individual at Arsenal for the past few years. But his time there was spent. It was time for him to move on and I felt Arsene would sell him."

Whether it is a conscious thing, or belief reinforced by last season's title success and a current run of eight successive wins, Ferguson appears completely relaxed at present.

There was not even the hint of an attempt to stir up his old rivalry with Wenger. Indeed, there was a claim the frostiness of their relationship was 'over-hyped'.

"We have no contact but that doesn't mean we have no relationship," he suggested.

Ferguson is calm about the appointment of Howard Webb as referee, even though the official only took charge of an Arsenal game last week, adding: "Howard is without question the best referee in the league. We have no complaints, there will be no issues around that."

The United manager accepts Webb might be in for a difficult afternoon but there should be none of the problems which have characterised recent skirmishes, notably the Red Devils' 4-2 win at Highbury in 2005 when Keane squared up to Patrick Vieira in the tunnel.

Instead, Ferguson, who aside from his long-term injury victims has only skipper Gary Neville missing, is predicting a sumptuous feast befitting a meeting between his own team - who have just won eight successive league games - and opponents who are on an impressive unbeaten run which stretches back to April when they lost at home to West Ham.

Ferguson said: "It is going to be tense. Big games always are. The pace of the game will escape no-one.

"It is far too early to say this is a title decider. My experience suggests there are rough times ahead because teams in this league can drop points against anyone.

"But, at this moment in time, both ourselves and Arsenal are enjoying a good spell and both teams will be hell-bent on ensuring they win.

"That is the mouth-watering aspect of tomorrow's game. The form of both teams, the football they are playing and the goals they are scoring means anyone who has a ticket will be rubbing their hands."