It's a subject which has dominated the conversation more than the game itself. After falling way short in the title race this season, Arsenal travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League.
It will be a painful and cutting afternoon for Mikel Arteta's side, having failed to really challenge the Reds for the title this year. Things will be made worse by the fact they are expected to give Arne Slot's side a guard of honour, in the same way Chelsea did when Liverpool travelled to Stamford Bridge one week previously. However, a debate has been raised as to whether the Gunners, or any team for that matter, should be obliged to offer one to the Premier League champions. Express Sport delves into the subject to ascertain whether the north Londoners are expected to give one.
Those with an interest in rules and regulations, not to mention guard of honours, will know that there is no precedent or rule that dictates to a club that they must give the title winners a guard of honour. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca insisted that his side should give one, citing the gesture is "tradition" in the Premier League.
If it is, then it is not an old one as the first club to carry out a guard of honour was Everton, who offered the gesture to Manchester United as a mark of respect in 2003. Arsenal did not receive a guard of honour when they won the Premier League in 2004, but Chelsea did receive one from United in 2005.
After Chelsea returned the favour for United in 2007, four years passed without the gesture, until Blackpool offered one for the Red Devils in 2011. Since 2013, Arsenal have given a guard of honour to United (2013) - which particularly stung as ex-Gunners captain Robin van Persie was playing for United - and, ironically, for Liverpool in 2020, albeit they were one of seven clubs to give one to Jurgen Klopp's rampant reds.
With the title going to the final day last season, no guard of honour was given to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side last year. But with Slot's team confirming the title with their 5-1 hammering of Tottenham at the end of April, the debate has been jump-started.
Former Watford striker Troy Deenery recently told the Gunners to refuse the guard of honour, particularly if there is no rules compelling them to do so. He said to 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'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.'"
Looking back on a similar experience when he was at Watford, he added: "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."