Bernardo Silva fires clear response to Arsenal tactics with subtle dig after Manchester City draw

News about Manchester City as Bernardo Silva discusses Arsenal tactics that Pep Guardiola’s team was unable to counter

Bernardo Silva was frustrated with how Arsenal limited Man City (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Bernardo Silva of Manchester City appeared to take a subtle jab at the way Arsenal prepared to defeat Manchester City on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium.

The Gunners fought to a scoreless draw away from home to maintain their one-point lead over their title rivals, but Liverpool emerged victorious after leading the game earlier in the day.

Arsenal’s backs-to-the-wall performance, which ended a seven-game losing streak away from home against Pep Guardiola’s team, did not impress everyone and drew a lot of criticism online and from Gary Neville during the first half.

Neville said, “Arsenal are just sat back there,” while providing commentary during the first half of the match, when Arsenal barely left their side of the field. “Arsenal are not really getting out; they’re not really pressing.”

With this outcome, Arsenal has now won all three of their meetings with City, including the Community Shield. They have been able to restrict service to Erling Haaland and prevent the creation of a normally fluid attack room during that time.

Arsenal kept their hosts frustrated throughout the match by opting to press more cautiously and frequently diving deep to defend the box and the area surrounding the goal. In the end, David Raya’s contributions were insufficient, and neither side produced enough to earn three points.

Despite his initial reservations, Neville ultimately praised Arsenal for their masterful game management. “I’ve never seen a team make it so difficult for Manchester City in the final third – there just didn’t seem to be any spaces,” he continued.

“De Bruyne appears to be trying to get the ball into the box with his head up, but it doesn’t appear to be there. I always hesitate to criticize Manchester City because even at their worst, they play at a high level.

“They continue to maintain a spotless record, exert control over possession, press, and make an effort to act appropriately. To claim that they made a mistake in Arsenal’s unique style of defense is exceptional.”

“They answered two big questions today,” Neville continued. First, could they survive a crucial match against Manchester City in terms of mentality? Recall that last year they crumbled miserably here, but today they appeared like a team with far greater mental toughness, capable of handling a championship challenge. Given how challenging it is to get here, that was a significant question that was addressed.

“Clearly, the defensive end of things is the other one. They suffered without Saliba last year, and today’s evidence supports that. Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, in my opinion, were both enormous today, and the two wide players and two forwards had amazing work ethics.

They truly banded together against Haaland; it was a traditional ‘one go tight, the other drop off’ strategy. However, they were able to do so because there were numerous players nearby. The midfield was compact with the full-backs positioned narrowly and tightly, and the two forwards were tucked in when needed.”

“It often baffles me when I see people playing against elite players; don’t feel like you have to double up out of embarrassment. It is necessary to bring someone else along, and Jesus accomplished that. [Gabriel] Today Jesus saved [Jakub] Kiwior from a great deal of trouble. With Jesus standing beside him and [Bukayo] Saka standing next to Ben White, he was having a tough game early on. They played a fantastic game.”

Although Silva was not pleased with how his team was faced with a low block when in possession, he did acknowledge Arsenal’s high level of organisation. “It was difficult,” he acknowledged.

“We faced off against an elite squad. Extremely competitive, well-organized, and rhythmic. Honestly, it could have gone either way. On the pitch, I felt exactly like that.

“I believe we had a stronger start, but they played a really solid and well-organized game as well. They were always dangerous, but I felt like we had more possession and control over them.

It was difficult to play against them because, in man-to-man play, their wingers were essentially playing in a line of six when they were pressing high and defending low. Therefore, it is never simple to play against teams that play such deep defense and high pressing.”

“I sensed that in the opening moments of our build-up, they were attempting to play man-to-man, pressing high and being aggressive. Their wingers would then retreat and they would be patient, not jumping, once we were able to string three or four passes together and put them deeper. There were two entirely different games, and both were extremely well-planned. Making opportunities for our strikers to score goals wasn’t simple.”

It was unexpected to see Arsenal drop their wingers so deep, at times defending in a manner reminiscent of Jose Mourinho, considering how daring and attacking these teams have been in recent years. Arsenal will see their plans as justified because City was unable to deal with the bodies in front of them.