Arsenal have been told they should refuse to offer Liverpool a guard of honour ahead of next weekend’s Premier League clash at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s side wrapped up the title last weekend with four games to spare after thrashing Tottenham 5-1.
The Reds travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend where they will be afforded the traditional guard of honour.
Speaking ahead of the match, Enzo Maresca confirmed: ‘Yes. It’s tradition. We have to do that, and we are going to do that. They won the Premier League, so they deserve it.
‘In terms of the gap (between Chelsea and Liverpool), it is there, you can see this clearly. My feeling is we are (moving) in the right direction and hopefully this gap can be smaller and smaller and smaller.
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‘The difference is they have been consistent compared to us. For part of the season, we were very good, then we lost some games.
‘This has probably been the main reason why. And also in terms of experienced players that know how to win games and these kinds of things, I think they have something more compared to us.’
Liverpool host the Gunners a week on Sunday but former Watford striker Troy Deeney believes all the pomp and ceremony is over the top and humiliating for teams who have to stand and applaud their opponents.
He told The Sun: ‘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 is 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.
Should football teams give guard of honours?
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Yes, it’s traditional and respectful
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No, it’s embarrassing for all players
‘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.’