Arsenal’s players fulfilled the promise of manager Mikel Arteta as they performed a guard of honor to mark Liverpool’s Premier League title win.
The Reds secured a record-equalling 20th top flight championship last month following a 5-1 demolition job victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. A second English crown in the space of 35 years, Arne Slot delivered a remarkable triumph with four games to spare – with nearest challengers now Arsenal trailing them by 15 points.
Having fallen short of expectations in the league, the Gunners then crashed out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage after a 3-1 aggregate loss at the hands of PSG in midweek. Following an underwhelming campaign from the North London outfit this term, Arteta’s crestfallen side next travelled to Merseyside to face the newly-crowned English champions.
Amid wider discourse over whether his Gunners players would show their respects for Slot’s men in the form of a guard of honor at Anfield, Arteta confirmed that they will perform the traditional gesture ahead of the game. Speak at a press conference before the trip up north, he confirmed: “They deserve that.
“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.”
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His players carried out his wishes before the clash, as Reds captain Virgil van Dijk led out his victorious team to applauds from their rivals. Supporters gathered in the stands in L4 also greeted their heroes with a rapturous reception as they emerged from the famous tunnel in the ground’s Main Stand.
Heading into the fixture, Arteta admitted that he will use the pain of missing out on the title as motivation ahead of next season. He confirmed: “Something has to drive you, to motivate you and pain is probably a good one to use when you don’t really want to do something, but it’s the right thing to do and then use that as a motivation for next season.”
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Meanwhile, the Spaniard confessed that he had been left wounded by Liverpool’s landmark success this term at his own expense. He continued: “Yeah, big time. It was in my tummy [that it hurt], yeah. I understand that it’s a team that’s being more consistent, and it has a lot of ingredients that you need to win it. But it’s very painful, yeah.
“I take the opportunity as well to congratulate Liverpool and what they’ve done, the management they’ve done, how consistent they’ve been. I think they fully deserve to win.
“They were the better team, they had so many attributes, they had a consistent squad available. And we’re going to try again. But up to that moment next season, now we’re going to have to finish the season very strong.”
Vowing that his desire to lead Arsenal to major honors remains undiminished, the ex-Everton midfielder added: “I have so much to achieve and that is what drives me every day. The people and the staff and the players drive me every single day.
“If there is somebody that has raised the standard and the expectation the highest, it has been me. Because I have been demanding and expecting much more, and after that much more, and after that much more.
