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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.(Image: Lars Baron - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta admits Liverpool have been the best team in the Premier League this season and confirmed his Arsenal side will give the champions a guard of honour at Anfield on Sunday.

The Reds saw off the Gunners with five games to go in the title race, clinching the championship against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield two weeks ago.

It has since been a different spell for Arsenal, who were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in each leg of their Champions League semi-final to exit the competition.

And it has led to some bullish claims from Arteta, who insisted that his team were the best in the Champions League despite their elimination, and that Liverpool had won the title with "less points" than Arsenal had managed in the previous two seasons.

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However, pressed on whether Arsenal would give Liverpool the traditional guard of honour when the two sides meet on Sunday, Arteta confirmed that the Reds deserved their respect.

He said: ""They deserve it.

What the coaching team have done has been fascinating, it has been really good and they fully deserve it.

"That is the sport, when somebody is better then you have to applaud and accept and try to reach that level."

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Arsenal will now fight for second place, with Manchester City sitting just three points behind the Gunners, having gained ground in recent weeks as Arteta's side wobbled.

And the Champions League exit means the Gunners have lifted just the FA Cup in the five years since Arteta took charge, with his side consistently challenging but missing out on top honours.

Asked how to convert those near misses into silverware, the Spaniard said: "This is where we are.

With the amount of points we have generated in the last two seasons, we should have, we could have two Premier Leagues.

Again, what we did in the Champions League - with those numbers, you have a big probability of winning it."

"There are many factors.

The bigger the margins are, it will be very difficult for the opposition."

He added that his side have taken a step forwards in Europe but gone backwards domestically.

"For sure in the Champions League we have because we have done better than last season but not what we want because we want to win it," he said.

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"In the Premier League we have taken a step backwards, the points that we have created it is clear that we haven't done as good as last season - that is obvious."

And asked if beating Liverpool on Sunday would send a message that his team could challenge for the title again, he said: "It's about this season.
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