Rival fans have mocked Arsenal after footage emerged of the club rehearsing for a potential Premier League trophy presentation at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are still in the title race ahead of the final day of the season but will need to beat Everton and hope for a huge favour from West Ham to pip Manchester City to the Premier League crown.
Arsenal have enjoyed another impressive season under Mikel Arteta but even amassing 89 points may not be enough to clinch the title for the first time since 2004.
That is because Manchester City beat Tottenham in midweek to ensure they will start the final day at the top of the Premier League, a position from which no team has ever failed to win the title.
Pep Guardiola’s side, who are bidding to win a record fourth successive Premier League, play host to West Ham and know victory over David Moyes’ side would finally end Arsenal’s resistance.
Given Arsenal still stand a chance of becoming Premier League champions, the club have had to prepare for such an occasion and have been filmed rehearsing a trophy presentation at the Emirates.
In the clip, club staff can be seen walking onto a platform where an identical Premier League trophy has been placed, even shaking hands and pretending to put on winners’ medals as the stadium announcer reads out players’ names.
Such precautions are undoubtedly necessary ahead of a potentially defining moment in the club’s history, but that has not stopped rivals fans from poking fun at Arsenal.
‘Thanks for preparing the meme material for tomorrow,’ one wrote on X, while another said: ‘This is great banter, Arsenal will never learn.’
Another cheeky fan said: ‘You lot aren’t winning nothing,’ with several laughing emojis, while another said on Reddit: ‘Why would you do this to yourself?!’
Even Arsenal supporters were aware of the backlash they could expect from the video, with one posting on X: ‘This is definitely going to come back to bite us man.’
Another said: ‘Rival fans are going to cook us for generations because of this.’
The Premier League have confirmed two identical trophies will be at Manchester City and Arsenal on the final day of the season.
The odds are stacked against Arsenal but Arteta is still ‘dreaming’ of lifting the Premier League trophy come Sunday evening.
‘I do believe,’ said the Spaniard, who used to work for Man City rival Guardiola. ‘We wanted to be in this position.
‘We have earned the right to live a beautiful day in front of our people on Sunday with the hope and big opportunity that we can lift the trophy at the end of the match.
‘We have the possibility to live a beautiful day on Sunday where the dream is still alive and it’s still possible. It’s football; we have to live the moment.’
Asked if winning the Premier League would be his best achievement in football, Arteta added: ‘It probably would be the best. I didn’t achieve it as a player when I came here and I had that dream.
‘When I left, I knew one day I wanted to come in a different role. In this case it has been as the manager and trying to lead this club to win major trophies. We want to start to do that. This is the opportunity we have on Sunday.
‘After everything we have been through for many years, I think it would be the best moment.’
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