Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted only unfortunate timing prevented David Bentley making the break through at the Emirates.Bentley, 23, is set to face his former club on Monday night following an impressive campaign with Blackburn, which saw him included in Fabio Capello's new-look England side against Switzerland at Wembley.
Wenger confessed he has always seen something special in Bentley, and is proud to have seen him mature as a player.
"Bentley is having a good development in his career and I am very happy for him," said the Arsenal manager.
"I let him go at a moment where I could have said 'no, you stay here' - but I was also conscious there were big players in front of him and he was not experienced enough.
"You have to consider is it fair to them not to let them go, even if it hurts you later.
"I knew there would be some stage where people said 'why did you let him go?' but when I make that kind of decision, I am then happy someone asks me that question because it means he has been a success elsewhere."
Wenger reflected: "It is sometimes difficult to let a player go when you know it is just a question of timing. But at the end of the day, you cannot keep everybody and it can come back to haunt you because Bentley is a great player now.
"He would play here now, whether he would be a regular or not, I don't know, but he has the quality.
"David always had the belief he was a good player and he will show it, not because he was bearing a grudge or anything against the club. He is convinced of his own ideas and has great belief in himself at that level."
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