Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that his players will give newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool a guard of honour ahead of their clash at Anfield on Sunday.
The Gunners had been Liverpool’s closest challengers this season but will go into the game 15 points behind Arne Slot’s men, who secured the title late last month with four rounds of fixtures to spare.
‘We will give Liverpool a guard of honour,’ Arteta told reporters on Friday. ‘They deserve it. They have been the better team, they have been the most consistent. That is the sport; when somebody is better, then you have to applaud and accept and try to reach that level.’
This gesture follows a similar one by Chelsea, who formed a guard of honour for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge last weekend before beating the champions 3-1.
Despite acknowledging Liverpool’s domestic dominance, Arteta doubled down on his earlier claim that Arsenal had been the best team in this season’s Champions League, despite losing home and away in their semi-final defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
‘One hundred per cent,’ he said. ‘I’m watching it back, I’m watching all the statistics.
Mikel Arteta has confirmed his Arsenal team will give Liverpool a guard of honour on Sunday
Liverpool received a guard of honour prior to last weekend’s 3-1 defeat by Chelsea in London
The 2024-25 Premier League champions will now be given another guard of honour at Anfield
‘And when you look at the important stats that normally give you the best platform to win football matches, it is crystal clear who was better.
‘But it is not about the winning probability, or what you’ve managed; it is actually about making it happen and making it count.’
Arsenal’s European campaign featured a record-breaking 7-1 away win over PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 and a commanding 5-1 aggregate victory against 15-time champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
However, they were eliminated by PSG on Wednesday following a 3-1 aggregate defeat.
Arteta’s comments have drawn criticism from some quarters. Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy labelled him ‘deluded’ for claiming Arsenal were superior over both legs against PSG.
Meanwhile, PSG manager Luis Enrique also disagreed with Arteta’s assessment.
After starting the season with lofty ambitions of winning major silverware, Arsenal’s primary objective for the remainder of the campaign is now to make sure they qualify for the next edition of the Champions League.
They go into this weekend’s fixtures in second place, six points above Nottingham Forest in sixth place.
