“We will give Liverpool a guard of honour, they deserve it”
English champion and runner-up face each other on Sunday
Arsenal are on the verge of finishing bottom of the Premier League for the third season running . After finishing behind champions Manchester City for the last two seasons , Mikel Arteta’s side were pipped to the post by Liverpool .
Despite this, the Spanish coach recognizes the superiority of the opponent he visits this Sunday and leaves a guarantee: the rival will have the right to a guard of honor.
“They deserve it! They were the best team, the most consistent. What Arne Slot and his staff did is fascinating. It was really good,” he said in the preview of the match, showing great fair play.
“This is sport. If someone is better, you have to accept it, applaud it and try to reach that level. When you are so close to winning big trophies and you don’t manage it, you have to immediately move on to a new competition at the highest level,” he added.
The Spanish coach also argued that, despite feeling that Arsenal had taken steps forward in Europe, having reached the semi-finals of the Champions League – they were eliminated by PSG -, they had worsened in the Premier League , having surpassed 80 points in the last two seasons.
“We improved in the Champions League, but we still haven’t achieved what we wanted, because we wanted to win. And in the league we took a step back. The points we picked up show that we weren’t as good as last season,” said Arteta, at a time when the best the Gunners can achieve is 76 points.
