‘Man Up’—Bernardo Silva’s Brutal Swipe at Arsenal Ahead of Premier League Title Climax

Bernardo Silva has insisted it is about time Arsenal learned how to “man up” and challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title.

The Gunners came up short behind City in both 2023 and 2024, before losing out to Liverpool last season. This year, however, they are in pole position, two points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side with two games left to play.

“They’ve been growing and ... well, it’s a team that has been together for, what, five years now, so it’s only natural that they would man up a little bit and start challenging for titles,” Silva told The Athletic. “So, yeah, let’s see what happens.”

Silva was well aware of the harsh nature of his words and it was put to him that he is clearly not “in love” with Arsenal.

“No, I’m not in love,” he stressed. “I do believe our main rivals [during his time with City] were Liverpool by far.”

Silva: Man City Should Have Already Won Title

If Arsenal win their remaining two Premier League fixtures, they will end the season as champions with 85 points.

That tally would have been enough to win the title last season—Liverpool took the crown with 84—but you have to go all the way back to Leicester City’s fairytale triumph of 2015–16 for the last time the champions accumulated so few points (81). That anomaly of a season was the lowest since Manchester United won it with 80 in 2010–11.

Many fans across the globe have been quick to claim this Premier League season has ultimately been lacking in quality. City are among the primary culprits of that drop in standards, with the recent 3–3 draw with Everton that took the title race out of their hands just the latest in a long line of disappointing showings.

Silva did not shy away from City’s slump, arguing Guardiola’s side would have been crowned champions had they managed to live up to their usual standards.

“I also believe—and I know this is very subjective—that if we were not in a transitional season and if we didn’t make so many mistakes, we would have won this league,” he stressed.

“I don’t say we would have won easily, but we would have won this league. So it’s quite frustrating.”

For now, Silva and City can only try and continue chasing Arsenal down to the final day. Even perfection may not be enough, with City needing a slip-up from the leaders if they are to get their hands back on the trophy.

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