Arena: Schmid deserved to stay at Seattle helm

LA Galaxy manager Bruce Arena is used to sharing the sidelines with a familiar face when his team takes on the Seattle Sounders, but long-serving manager Sigi Schmid won't be there to shake his hand after the final whistle on Sunday.

The Sounders recently parted ways with Schmid after he spent eight seasons at the helm, and the club is now actively looking to appoint a new manager, only the second in the franchise's MLS history.

While Seattle has endured a tough 2016 campaign, Arena says his counterpart in Seattle should not have been relieved of his post.

"I personally think after all the success he's had there and what he's brought to that club, I would have loved to, obviously, have seen him stay," Arena said, according to MLSsoccer.com. "I would have thought that he earned that."

The two tacticians are considered as pillars in MLS managerial circles, their influence inspiring many other head coaches in the league. The Sounders sit second from the bottom in the Western Conference, however, averaging about one point per game and losing 12 of its 20 matches in 2016.

"(Seattle) need to do what they think is right for their club," Arena said. "I know the ownership group there, the management group. They're good people. So I think they just felt it was in their best interest. I don't have to agree with that, but that's the way it came down."