Troy Deeney has advised Arsenal against honoring Liverpool with a guard of honour during their encounter on May 11.
With Manchester City struggling this season, many anticipated that the Gunners were on the verge of breaking their 20-year Premier League title drought.
However, Arne Slot’s inaugural season has left Mikel Arteta facing a third consecutive second-place finish, as the Reds secured their 20th English league title.
Injuries have certainly impeded the north London club’s ability to compete with their opponents this season.
Nevertheless, considering the situation, achieving a second-place finish and reaching the Champions League semi-finals can be seen as surpassing expectations.
What compounds the disappointment, however, is the expectation that they will be required to collectively applaud Liverpool when they come to Anfield next Sunday.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Gunners have had to do this – after all, during the Reds’ last title-winning campaign five years ago, seven teams paid their respects in total.
But this season, for whatever reason, fresh debate has cropped up over whether the guard of honour is now a tradition past its necessity, with some questioning if it’s time to scrap the practice altogether.
The idea of showing respect through a guard of honour is so deeply ingrained that any objections to the tradition will almost certainly turn Arsenal into a target for widespread criticism.
However, following Peter Crouch and Rio Ferdinand’s condemnation of the ’embarrassing’ gesture on TNT Sports (watch the segment below), Deeney has now weighed in, urging the Gunners to take steps towards scrapping the practice.
“Chelsea will give Liverpool a ‘guard of honour’ before tomorrow’s Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.
And next weekend, presumably, Arsenal will do the same,” he said in an interview with The Sun.
“But 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*****ks.
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’.”
He continued: “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 honour’.
“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.
“Bernardo Silva is one of the few players in recent memory to openly withhold full respect from newly crowned Premier League champions – infamously opting to sip his coffee rather than applaud during Liverpool’s last title celebration.
The backlash he received then (and continues to face) might serve as a reason for Arsenal to think twice about following Deeney’s advice.