Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was swift to congratulate Liverpool’s No.1 Alisson before their Premier League clash at Anfield. The Reds have been setting the domestic pace and recently secured the top flight title.
The Gunners were their nearest competitors, although they found it difficult to apply any significant pressure on Arne Slot and his team. Consequently, Liverpool were declared champions with several matches still to play, but Raya harboured no resentment.
He approached his fellow goalkeeper during the warm-up and extended his congratulations in front of the Kop, despite the disappointment felt by the north Londoners for missing out yet again.
Alisson was among the Reds’ players who clinched the title back in 2020 and has now won the top flight for the second time. The Brazilian was moved to tears at the final whistle when they confirmed their Premier League success with a recent victory over Tottenham.
Arsenal visited Anfield on Sunday afternoon and, despite being rivals, chose to give Liverpool a Guard of Honour as they entered the pitch. It has become traditional to acknowledge the champions in this way, though the gesture is not obligatory, reports the Mirror.
Mikel Arteta’s team could end up finishing second for the third consecutive season. The Spaniard has had to defend his trophy record, with the former Manchester City assistant not winning any silverware since the FA Cup in 2020, but he was eager to highlight that Arsenal’s points total would have been sufficient to crown them champions in previous years.
He pointed out: “Winning trophies is about being in the right moment in the right place. Liverpool have won the title with less points than we have in the last two seasons. With the points of the past two season we have two Premier League [titles].”
The Gunners’ boss also mentioned the high number of draws and the team’s injury woes, alongside a spate of red cards that have hampered their campaign. “One is the amount of games and time that we have played with 10 men, and then the availability of the squad throughout the 38 games,” he said.
“It’s very, very difficult to manage and to have very strong performance consistently. We dropped a lot of points, we dropped a lot of points when we were ahead as well which is something that really needs to improve.”
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