The question of whether Arsenal will present Liverpool with a guard of honor at Anfield this Sunday afternoon has now been decided. This past weekend, Chelsea cheered the recently crowned 20-time Premier League winners onto the field at Stamford Bridge, giving the Reds their first such honor.
This ancient English football custom has swiftly been accepted and is frequently regarded as a show of respect. Before Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to the Blues, new manager Arne Slot hailed it as one of the cultural quirks he likes about his new environment, but the tradition has come under increasing fire from others.
When Arsenal visits Anfield on May 11, former Watford striker Troy Deeney asked them to skip the guard of honor. In the meantime, commentators Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch called the practice “embarrassing” in a TNT Sports broadcast, echoing the disapproval.
It is anticipated that Arsenal will present Liverpool with the Guard of Honor.
Appeals to go against the grain have gone unheeded by the Gunners.
There is nothing in the Premier League rulebook that requires clubs to provide a guard of honor for the winners, hence it is not required. However, according to a Daily Mail article, it is now known that Mikel Arteta’s team would disregard Deeney’s requests and cheer their opponents onto the field this weekend.
The Gunners would not be the first to have to do this; in fact, seven opponents paid their respects in all during the Reds’ most recent championship run, which took place five years ago. A more notable event occurred in 2013, when the north Londoners reluctantly welcomed Robin van Persie back to the Emirates Stadium following Manchester United’s league title victory. View the incident below:
The Gunners are still in the running for the Champions League, but their own title challenge is gone as they were relegated to a third consecutive time as bridesmaids. They want to overcome a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital tomorrow night in order to advance to the final, where they will play either Barcelona or Inter Milan in Munich on May 31.
Rangers refused to provide rivals Celtic with a guard of honor on Sunday, prior to their 1-1 draw with the Scottish champions. However, there are significant differences between the two Glaswegian sides due to historical, religious, and political tensions, and the people of north London will want to avoid the controversy that surrounded Bernardo Silva five years ago when he chose to sip his coffee rather than acknowledge the Reds.
xz
