Arsenal face Premier League Champions Liverpool on Sunday afternoon at Anfield.
The Gunners travel to Merseyside looking to secure a place in the top five of the English top flight, with victory all but guaranteeing Champions League qualification for next season.
Paris Saint-Germain knocked Arsenal out of Europe’s elite competition in midweek, meaning Mikel Arteta’s side finish a fifth straight season trophy-less.
Meanwhile, Liverpool were crowned league winners in April, and the North Londoners will be forced to take part in a party atmosphere in the north-west on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta breaks silence on giving Liverpool guard of honour
While Arsenal need to ensure they’re not further dragged into the top-five race by getting a result at Anfield, the focus on the day will almost be more on events that take place off the pitch.
Narratives have been circling the internet about Arsenal and Liverpool’s respective seasons, with many Gunners supporters feeling the Merseysiders have been somewhat fortunate that Arteta’s team have encountered so many issues out of their control.
This has added fuel to a growing rivalry between the two clubs, and the London outfit may be forced to congratulate their counterparts this weekend.
Premier League winners typically receive a guard of honour from their opponents, and there’s been a lot of discourse about whether Arsenal would do this for Liverpool, with the action not technically being compulsory.
Arteta addressed this in his press conference on Friday afternoon, confirming that his players will be giving Liverpool a guard of honour.
“They deserve that,” he said.
“They have been the better team, the most consistent. They fully deserve it and that’s sport.
“When somebody is better, you have to applaud.”
On using the guard of honour to motivate his players ahead of next season, the manager said: “Yeah, something has to drive you, to motivate you, and pain is probably a good one to use sometimes when you don’t really want to do something. But it’s the right thing to do, to use it as motivation for next season.”
Arsenal can learn from Liverpool’s transfer strategy
While Arsenal have time to mull over where things went wrong for them this season, they should be closely observing the way their rivals Liverpool operate in the transfer market.
Willing to take cheap punts on rejuvenation projects like Federico Chiesa and Ryan Gravenberch, they rarely spend big money unless it’s on someone they’re certain can be a crucial piece in their team.
They’re also willing to shop outside of the Premier League market to find better value, while Arsenal have become somewhat obsessed with purchasing players from their domestic rivals, which is often more expensive.
Of course, Liverpool have had their transfer hiccups, but generally their record has been outstanding since the mid 2010s.
They clearly lean into the data and scouting meticulously, and Arsenal could learn a thing or two from that.
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