Pep Guardiola, Manuel Akanji and Bernardo Silva were among the names in the Manchester City camp that made negative comments about Arsenal in September.
The Gunners and Manchester City shared the points in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad. But it was the aftermath of the game that drew all the attention.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal were furious that they had a player sent off for simply kicking the ball against Manchester City. Leandro Trossard saw a second yellow and was sent off, just weeks after Declan Rice was penalized for a similar incident.
Manchester City on the other hand were frustrated that they could not beat Arsenal and resorted to cheap shots in the post match press conferences. Bernardo Silva went as far as to accuse the Gunners of ‘not wanting to play football’:
“There was only one team that came to play football,” Silva told TNT Brazil. “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. 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.”
Bernardo Silva makes headlines again after dismissing Arsenal as rivals
It was not enough that the Portuguese midfielder made his opinion known after the game. In a recent interview with Pro Direct Soccer, Silva claimed Liverpool and Manchester United are tougher opponents to face:
“Who would you say your toughest opponent is in the Premier League?” Silva was asked.
“I always tend to go to Liverpool because I respect them a lot because of how good they are and how tough it was for us over the years to beat them. So Liverpool players are always the toughest I would say,’ Silva said.
“Who do you prefer to beat, Man United or Liverpool?” Silva was asked.
“As I said, Liverpool were our biggest rivals, I’ve been at Man City for seven years and a few months, and Liverpool were always the toughest, but I like beating Man United as well,” Silva said.
Manchester City have not been able to beat Arsenal in their last three meetings, which explains why City players have changed how they view them.
The back and forth between both clubs will continue as both teams seek to win the Premier League this season.