Arsenal's chief negotiator Dick Law has defended the club's traditional management model, with Arsene Wenger making all key decisions, as "the most successful in football."
Law's comments came amid debate about whether the club should hire a sporting director.
But he also argued that Arsenal's system had worked best when Wenger was collaborating with former vice-chairman David Dein.
Law, who oversees transfer and contract negotiations at Arsenal, gave a presentation in Brazil as part of "Somos Futebol 2017," arranged by the CBF (Brazilian FA) in which he outlined the different management structures used by Premier League clubs.
In the presentation, made a day before Wenger told a news conference that a director of football was not needed at Arsenal, he described the club's structure as "the outlier model," where the manager maintains control of all football operations.
He compared the collaboration of Wenger and Dein to that of Alex Ferguson and David Gill at Manchester United, pointing out that Arsenal had moved away from the system under current CEO Ivan Gazidis.
Dein hired Wenger in 1996, but left the club in 2007 after a dispute with the rest of the board. Gazidis became CEO in 2009, with two FA Cups Arsenal's only trophies since then.
"In this model the manager has complete autonomy over football decisions but works very closely with the executive board member," Law said.
"In the case of Manchester United, the board member was David Gill and the manager was Alex Ferguson. In the case of Arsenal it was Arsene Wenger and David Dein.
"The one key thing I'd like to point out in this model is how total control of the football department was the common element between the two managers.
"This is perhaps the most successful management model in football, and it's important to note that this model doesn't exist any more [in the same way]. Today, neither Arsenal nor Manchester United use this model."
Law's comments come amid a potential rift between Wenger and the board over a possible restructuring.
The manager has yet to sign a two-year contract extension, but made it clear that he would not work with a director of football.
"As long as I'm manager of Arsenal Football Club, I will decide what happens on the technical front. And that's it," he said.
Critics have argued that Wenger has too much influence over non-football matters, and that a restructuring would help modernise the way the club is run.
Law said the increasing complexity of running a top club had led most in the Premier League to use one of three management structures: a director of football, a committee approach, or an executive director model.
Director of football:
This system is commonly used among European clubs but less in the Premier League, although Manchester City's Txiki Begiristain is an example. While the role may vary, Law described the director of football as having "control over the entire football department."
The committee approach
Law said this model "predominates today" and consists of a director of football operations who oversees all major departments but does not make decisions on his own, meaning they "serve more as an administrator of information."
He said this model "has several strengths, and an important weakness," adding: "By having more opinions in the room, you're likely to minimise the bias. However, you don't have a clear decision-maker. Who makes the final decision?"
Executive Director
This model originated in German football and is used at Southampton. It consists of having two separate executives working under the chairman -- a CEO in charge of commercial and financial operations and an executive director of football.
The "outlier" model
The model used at Arsenal, where the manager maintains full control of all football operations. "We have a unique management structure that reflects the character of the club and its senior management," Law said. "Wenger's responsibility is every operating area in football."