Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva has aimed a dig at Arsenal, whilst also appearing to admit defeat in the title race.
Speaking to The Athletic about Arsenal, Silva said, "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, so, yeah, let’s see what happens."
Arsenal have been runners-up in the Premier League in each of the last three seasons. They have twice surrendered the division to City, and supporters at the Etihad Stadium loved to taunt the Gunners with 'bottling' the league.
Silva, using the phrase "man up," portrays the Gunners in previous seasons as being weak and immature. However, Arsenal are now two points ahead of City with just two games to play. The title appears to be heading to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since the 2003/04 season.
Where will Bernardo Silva go next?
Silva will be leaving City at the end of the season, and Arsenal has been mentioned as a possible destination for him. However, this move appears to be very unlikely due to the rivalry between the two clubs. The likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko made the move in the past, and even Mikel Arteta became Arsenal manager after working as Pep Guardiola's assistant at City. This was before the two clubs were fighting for Premier League titles, though.
A move to another top European club appears more likely right now. Juventus is interested, and this will allow Silva the opportunity to try a different league at a very historic club. Other likely options include Galatasaray, but Silva may feel at 31 he is still too good for the Super Lig.
Likewise, there have been previous links to Inter Miami and Al-Hilal. There has also been a rumor that the Brazilian club Flamengo would like him. However, Silva will probably feel that he has more to achieve in European soccer. He has also been linked with Barcelona, a move which many City players, such as Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan, have made in the past.
Silva began his career at Benfica before moving to Monaco and then City. An emotional return to Benfica could be on the cards. However, we do not know who their manager will be next season, with Jose Mourinho being heavily linked with a return to Real Madrid.
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