Arsene Wenger expects to see Brendan Rodgers back in management after Liverpool sacked the Northern Irishman on Sunday.
Arsenal boss Wenger said Rodgers has shown he has the ability to manage at the highest level and admitted he was sorry to see him leave Anfield.
Speaking shortly after Liverpool announced Rodgers had departed, Wenger said: "I am always sad when that happens because I think he is a quality manager.
"Unfortunately, the pressure is always bigger on the managers and to resist the disappointment's more difficult.
"I think he was unlucky not to win the Premiership. He was the closest certainly to win the Premiership of all the managers who have been working for the club.
"But that's the way it goes now and I wish him good luck. I am sure he will find a job again."
Further support for Rodgers came from his former club Swansea, where manager Garry Monk was stunned by Liverpool's decision.
"I can't believe that. A very, very harsh decision. I don't think he deserved that at all," said Monk, who played under Rodgers at the south Wales club.
"He is a top manager. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors but I was surprised.
"I will speak to him at some point. He was fantastic here at Swansea. I can't see who else is going to do a better job for Liverpool at this moment in time so I am sad to hear that.
"I learned so much from him - he gave me the in-depth insight to be a manager and he is a top man as well. I am very surprised. It doesn't make sense to me, to be honest."
Former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher said the club's owners must get the next appointment right, and suggested Rodgers should have gone sooner.
Reflecting on a dismal end to last season, Carragher said: "They finished poorly - you think of the (FA Cup) semi-final against Aston Villa, games against Hull, Palace and that finish at Stoke (where Liverpool lost 6-1 on the final day), so he's lucky to keep his job.
"But to then keep him in charge, give him that money and then change the manager after seven games, he will know himself he had to make a big start and he hasn't so that's where the pressure comes from."
Addressing the challenge facing owners Fenway Sports Group, Carragher was critical of their performance at the helm of the club.
He said: "They've made a lot of decisions since they've come that haven't worked. At the moment the owners' track record in making changes for Liverpool Football Club over the last two or three years has not been good enough. It's miles off.
"I'd have preferred them to do it (sack Rodgers) in the summer. He's been there three and a bit years, they haven't won a trophy and they've played Champions League football once, that's not good enough for Liverpool.
"Liverpool have won one Carling Cup in 10 years. Liverpool are becoming Tottenham: they think they're a big club but the real big clubs are not too worried about them, who they buy and what they're going to do.
"That's the situation it's become for Liverpool, even when I was there towards the end. I'm not just blaming Brendan Rodgers and this set of players.
"What are these owners of the club going to do to get Liverpool back to where they need to be, which is consistently in CL and challenging for trophies?"
Graeme Souness, who captained and managed Liverpool, said the club had fallen behind their supposed rivals, notably in the transfer market.
"The teams that buy the finished article are Man Utd, Chelsea and Man City, and what do they have in common? They win the Premier League," Souness said. "I'm amazed by the story and I'm not sure which way it'll turn now."
