Bayer Leverkusen have sacked their manager Roger Schmidt after leading the club to their worst ever season in the Bundesliga for 14 years, via the Mirror.
Schmidt has been highly-rated and has been put on Arsenal's list of potential managers to replace Arsene Wenger should he decided to leave the club.
A new two-year deal has been offered to Wenger, but that contract is yet to receive his signature so the Gunners are continuing their contingency plans.
Schmidt however may have been crossed off the list after this awful season and his embarrassing sacking.
While Leverkusen are sitting in ninth this still their worst season for 14 years and losing three games in a row, thelast being a 6-2 away loss to Borussia Dortmund proved to be the breaking point.
Chief executive Rudi Voller said: "I consider Roger Schmidt to be an absolute top coach and I have therefore always and everywhere had full conviction for him. But we had to act now if we did not want to lose sight of our goals.
"First of all, it is simply a matter of taking up new impetus in a changed constellation and finally bringing constancy to our performance But the players are now, after the separation from Roger Schmidt, more than ever in the duty and responsibility to release these qualities again."
Pep Guardiola had praised Schmidt when he saw his Bayern Munich side defeated 3-0 by Schmidt's Red Bull Salzburg in a 2014 friendly. I've never in my career come across a team that plays with such intensity.� Guardiola declared.
Schmidt breathed new life into Leverkusen changing their play style to hard-pressing and fast attacking which has been so successful for Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and many others in the Bundesliga.
His two years in charge of the Austrian side brought him great success winning the league and cup double in 2013/14 with 68 of his 99 games being wins. In that season his side also scored more league goals at home then any other side did in all of their home and away fixtures combined.
This naturally attracted a lot of attention and Voller wanted him at Leverkusen so that the club could challenge Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the league.
Within nine seconds of Schmit's debut his side scored and he finished that season in third place, 18 points behind the two power houses. His intense attack focus play style could mix well with the pace and skill of the current Arsenal squad, but this season has left a stain on what was a successful three years.