The debate over whether Arsenal should give Liverpool a guard of honour at Anfield has overshadowed the actual match. With Arsenal falling short in the title race, Mikel Arteta’s men set to face Liverpool in something of a dead rubber on Sunday.
Discussions around the tradition of guards of honour have been rife, with no official rule mandating such an act for the title winners. Chelsea’s manager Enzo Maresca called for his team to uphold what he sees as a “tradition” within the Premier League last weekend.
However, this so-called tradition isn’t particularly longstanding. Everton was the first to offer a guard of honour to Manchester United in 2003. When Arsenal clinched the title in 2004, it didn’t receive one, but Chelsea did from United the following year.
Chelsea reciprocated the gesture for United in 2007, and after a four-year hiatus, Blackpool lined up for United in 2011. Since then, Arsenal has participated in the ritual for United in 2013 – a bitter moment as former Gunner Robin van Persie was in the United squad—and for Liverpool in 2020, joining six other clubs in honouring Jurgen Klopp’s triumphant side.
With Manchester City clinching the title before the last day of the season, unlike last year’s down-to-the-wire finish, the tradition of the guard of honor has sparked conversation anew.
Ex-Watford frontman Troy Deeney voiced his disapproval towards the gesture, arguing against its necessity when there’s no regulation mandating it.
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He remarked: “Like so many other things in modern football, it’s something I will never understand. Frankly, I think it’s a load of old b——-.”
“It’s not so much a mark of respect as a humiliation for the team lining up to give the champions a little clap. It’s as if Chelsea and Arsenal and everyone who plays the champs for the rest of the season, is saying, ‘Well done, we’re perfectly happy you beat us.'”.
“When my Watford team lost an FA Cup final to Manchester City, we had to stand and clap while they got their medals. But that’s after the match, that’s fair enough. I was never in a position where I was expected to be part of a ‘guard of honor’
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“During my top-flight days, Watford never played against a team who had already been confirmed as champions. But if I had been in that situation, I’d have refused point-blank.
“That’s what Arsenal, Liverpool’s nearest challengers this season, should do next Sunday. That would really set down a marker for next season. No more Mr Nice Guys.”
But Arteta has suggested his side will pay their respects to the title winners, revealing in his pre-match press conference: “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.”
