Bernardo Silva makes bold Liverpool comparison and brutally mocks Arsenal
Bernardo Silva was left furious at Arsenal's tactics after their draw with Premier League title rivals Manchester City, with the midfielder launching a brutal blast at the Gunners
by Jacob Leeks · The MirrorBernardo Silva brutally mocked Arsenal's lack of silverware in recent years as he slammed the Gunners for the way they approached their trip to Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta's men travelled to their title rivals for the biggest game of the Premier League season so far. After Erling Haaland's early opener, Ricciardo Calafiori's wondergoal saw the visitors equalise before they took the lead with Gabriel's crashing header.
But right at the end of the first-half, Leandro Trossard was sent off for a second bookable offence after he stupidly kicked the ball away. That led to boss Arteta deploying incredibly defensive tactics in the second half, with his side camped in their box for virtually the entire second period.
That move nearly paid off, with Arsenal holding onto their precious lead right until John Stones equalised in the 98th minute. But while Gunners fans lauded their side for their grit and determination, Silva was less than impressed.
Silva played all 90 minutes at the Etihad and after the game launched a ferocious attack on his side's rivals. He compared Arsenal to City's former title rivals Liverpool as a reason why their defensive tactics were unnecessary.
"The difference? I don't know," Silva said when asked to compare Liverpool and Arsenal. "Maybe that Liverpool have already won the Premier League, Arsenal haven't. That Liverpool have won the Champions League, Arsenal haven't.
"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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Silva was fuming after seeing his side frustrated by their title rivals. He insisted only one team 'came to play' and criticised referee Michael Oliver for allowing Arsenal to get under City's skin.
"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," he 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. 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. 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.
"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."
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