Bernardo Silva says the rivalry between Manchester City and Arsenal has yet to match that which the champions had with Liverpool, following Sunday’s dramatic 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
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Speaking in the aftermath of a heated finale in which City avoided a first home defeat in almost two years, thanks to John Stones’ goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Portuguese midfielder Silva questioned Arsenal’s appetite to attack and compared this unfavourably to another of his club's closest adversaries.
"The difference? I don't know. Maybe that Liverpool have already won a Premier League, Arsenal haven't. That Liverpool have won a Champions League, Arsenal haven't," said Silva when asked about what was different in the rivalry City have with Mikel Arteta's Arsenal and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool team of 2018-2022.
“Liverpool always faced us face-to-face to try to win the games. From this perspective, the games against Arsenal haven't been like the ones we had and have against Liverpool."
'Only one team came to play football'
Silva was also not impressed by the decision from Arsenal to take a defensive approach in the second half of the match, after being reduced to 10 men by Leandro Trossard’s second yellow card in first-half stoppage time.
“There was only one team that came to play football,” he said. “The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee.
"But at the end we got a draw, the best we could get considering the context of the last moments of the match.
"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's not the first time a Man City player has called out what they see as a negative approach by Arsenal when visiting.
"To be honest, I think it's in here, it's the mentality,” Rodri said, pointing to his head, as City celebrated winning the title on the final day of last season.
"Arsenal also deserved [to win the league], they had an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here [the head].
"When they came here, they faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said, 'Ah, these guys don't want to beat us, they just want a draw.'”
City's second-half supremacy
Certainly, Arteta decided that Arsenal could not go toe-to-toe with the champions with 10 men and instructed his men to sit back and defend their penalty area for the second half with a 2-1 lead.
The chart below shows how effective they were in keeping City away from the box until Stones' late equaliser, while effectively clearing the ball at any opportunity.
City dominated the second half, making 211 passes to Arsenal’s 23 up to the 70th minute.
Overall, Arsenal recorded only 22 per cent possession, their second-lowest total on record (since 2003/04) in a Premier League game, after their 20 per cent, also with 10 men against City in August 2021. In the second half, Arsenal's possession dropped to 12.5 per cent.
City’s superiority after the break was reflected in their tally of shots. Only once has their return of 28 on Sunday been bettered - by City, in fact, during that incredible title-clinching 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers in May 2012, when they fired 34 attempts at the 10-man visitors’ goal.
That remarkable siege of 12 years ago secured their first Premier League title thanks to Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero’s late goals.
It remains to be seen how pivotal Stones’ effort on Sunday will prove to be as their patience and perseverance paid off once again.
