Arsenal made good on a promise from manager Mikel Arteta by giving Premier League champions Liverpool a guard of honour before Sunday's game at Anfield.
Liverpool clinched the title with a 5-1 win over Tottenham last month, confirming that Arsenal's chase for their first league title since 2004-05 will go on.
It is not mandatory to give another team a guard of honour -- where a set of players line up by the tunnel and clap their opponents onto the pitch -- although it is typically observed. Chelsea were the first to give Liverpool the honour before their clash last weekend.
In a news conference on Friday, Arteta said he Liverpool deserve to be rewarded with applause from their title rivals and challenged his players to let it motivate them.
"They deserve that [a guard of honour]," Arteta said. "They've been the best team, they've been the most consistent, what Arne [Slot] and the coaching staff have done has been fascinating, it's been really good and they fully deserve it. And that's the sport, when somebody is better you have to applaud and accept and try to reach that level.
"Something has to drive you, motivate you, and pain probably is a good one to use sometimes when you don't really want to do something but it's the right thing to do, usually as a motivation for next season."
Arsenal were dealt a blow on Wednesday, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinals. It means Arteta's sole trophy at Arsenal remains the 2020 FA Cup.