Veteran Premier League referee Mike Dean says he "always found it tough" being in charge of Arsenal matches during Arsene Wenger's period as manager, but adds that three of Wenger's best players were his favourite to officiate.
Wirral official Dean will call time on a 22-year on-pitch Premier League career at the end of the current season, although he has been linked with taking up a job as a full-time VAR referee.
Dean has often been seen as a larger than life figure during his time in the top-flight, having several brushes with both players and managers.
But when asked by BBC Sport if Manchester United icon Sir Alex Ferguson was the most combustible manager to come up against, he said that it was actually Wenger who proved more difficult.
"He [Ferguson] used to get a lot of stick saying he'd come in and bang the door down," said Dean.
"He would come in now and then to express his views if something had gone really badly, but he wasn't as bad as people made him out to be."
When identifying Wenger as a more difficult manager to deal with, he added: "I always found it tough, not refereeing Arsenal in general but refereeing Arsenal when he was the manager.
"It was just his presence - he wanted the best for Arsenal all the time and if he could get any way of getting one over you he would do.
"Since he has finished football I have seen him and he has been great. Cross the white line and everyone is different, like referees. We are normal people."
Despite his difficulties with Wenger, Dean says that three of the Frenchman's Gunners icons are among his favourite players he has officiated.
"The likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Vieira," he said. "That was a good time to be involved in football."
The 53-year-old has yet to confirm whether or not he will be stepping into the VAR booth for next season, adding that he has yet to be formally offered a role.
He admits, however, that his initially wasn't a fan of the new technology.
"When it first came in I used to hate it," he said.
"I had a run-in with the bosses about it. It wasn't for me. I had refereed by then for 19 years without someone in my ear telling me what to do.
"I have found in the past two or three years it has helped me 100 per cent.
"I'd rather be sent to the screen and make the right decision than make the wrong decision and drive home and be battered in the press."
