Arsenal fulfilled the promise of their coach, Mikel Arteta, by offering Liverpool, the Premier League champions, a guard of honor before Sunday’s match at Anfield.
Liverpool secured the title with a win last month, confirming that Arsenal’s quest for their first league title since the 2004-05 season will continue.
Although it is not mandatory, it is common for one team to give a guard of honor to another. Chelsea was the first to do it with Liverpool last week.
They deserve it [the guard of honor]. They have been the best team, the most consistent, what Arne [Slot] and the coaching staff have done has been fascinating, it has been very good and they completely deserve it. And that’s how sport is, when someone is better you have to applaud and accept and try to reach that level.
Mikel Arteta
Arteta urged his players to use this as motivation.
Arsenal suffered a setback on Wednesday, losing on aggregate against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals. This means that Arteta’s only trophy with Arsenal remains the 2020 FA Cup.
