Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that it was painful to sell Robin van Persie to Manchester United this summer.
The Dutch striker moved to Old Trafford for £24m in August and Wenger has revealed that he would have preferred the 29-year-old to have left England instead of joining their rivals.
Wenger said: "You have to accept it, it's part of life. Obviously, it hurts to see him in another shirt.
"I'd have preferred him to go to a foreign club, so that he doesn't haunt us."
Arsenal face Montpellier in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
