Bernardo Silva blasts Arsenal for 'anti-football' as Man City star points finger at ref in Etihad epic

Portugal star Silva has slammed the Gunners approach in the thrilling 2-2 draw and accused referee Michael Oliver of allowing them to waste time

Bernardo Silva has slated Arsenal for their negative tactics and time-wasting in the thrilling 2-2 encounter at Manchester City.

John Stones snatched a last-gasp equaliser in the dramatic final moments of the 98th-minute, with Manchester City overwhelming the 10-man Arsenal team with a relentless second-half performance at the Etihad Stadium. Mikel Arteta's squad appeared to engage in delays post-interval in an attempt to tick the clock down, a strategy that drew sharp criticism from Silva, who branded the Gunners' conduct as 'anti-football.

Echoing his disapproval, Silva remarked: "There was only one team that came to play football. The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee, unfortunately. But at the end we got a draw, the best we could get considering the context of the last moments of the match."

Silva, content with City's efforts, added: "We're not happy as we wanted the three points, but personally I'm happy with the way we came to play and faced the game. I'm glad we always enter the pitch to try to win every match", reports the Mirror.

Further lambasting Arsenals tactics from the outset, Silva pointed a finger at referee Michael Oliver for not addressing the issue, saying: "It all started in the very first second. In the first action we realised what was going to happen. We had a player injured after they sent him to the ground twice in 10 minutes."

Silva launched a scathing attack, criticising the match refereeing and airing his grievances with football authorities in England: "We had a goal conceded after the referee called our captain and then didn't allow him to recover his position. The second goal is already their usual block to our keeper, which was allowed by the referee."

He further lambasted the lack of action against time-wasting tactics: "Then the referee allowed a sequence of time-wasting events. The thing that bothers me the most is having a lot of meetings with the FA at the beginning of each season. They tell us they will control this kind of situation and will stop them, but in the end it doesn't have any worth. They say a lot but nothing happens."

Silva also contrasted Arsenal's approach with that of Liverpool, highlighting differences in achievements and play styles: "The difference? I don't know," said Silva. "Maybe that Liverpool have already won the Premier League, Arsenal haven't. That Liverpool have won the Champions League, Arsenal haven't."

He opined on the nature of the rivalry with Liverpool as compared to Arsenal: "Liverpool always faced us face to face to try to win the games, so from this perspective the games against Arsenal haven't been like the ones we had and have against Liverpool. So yes, maybe a different rivalry."

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