Mikel Arteta admits he was stunned by the criticism of how Arsenal handled the summer exits of forwards Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli.
Jesus had claimed, "No one told me anything," about the reasons behind his request to train away from the first team before completing his move to Barcelona for 15 million euros.
Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright also questioned the treatment of Martinelli, who was left out of Arteta's squad for the opening matches of the season before sealing a 60 million pound move to Al Hilal.
Asked about the reaction to the pair's departures, Arteta told a press conference: "Very surprised, to be honest, especially as I had a one-on-one conversation with Jesus in the dressing room. I don't know what words were said, but that's on me. The words we used towards each other were about gratitude. I don't know, everything is fine, and sometimes I understand that when you have to deliver bad news or news that people do not expect, there can be reactions of that kind."
The Spaniard pointed to Leandro Trossard, who also left this summer in an 18 million euro deal to Beşiktaş but returned to the Emirates Stadium to watch the 2-1 win over Chelsea last Sunday.
"Someone has to play the role of the bad cop," Arteta continued. "If I have to be that person, then I will be, and I understand that. What usually matters is what happens after three months or six months, when Trossard comes and is with us in the dressing room, and the atmosphere and the relationship that binds us. Things reached their limit with other players until they left, but at some point the relationship was very good, and I hope it will be the same with these two."
A fresh test awaits on Saturday evening. Arsenal travel to Sunderland looking to keep their perfect start to the season intact.
Arteta confirmed Ben White is "fine" after being seen limping at the end of Wednesday's Champions League win over Napoli. Cristhian Mosquera, meanwhile, is undergoing medical assessment to overcome a muscular problem.
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