Bernardo Silva: Man City expected Arsenal to attack more

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has admitted he expected Arsenal to attack more during Sunday’s Premier League stalemate at the Etihad Stadium, but suggested it ultimately wasn't a surprise to see the Gunners prioritise defending.

Arsenal made it their mission to stop City from creating chances and succeeded, keeping the first clean sheet against the champions of any team since Aston Villa back on 6 December. It was a performance far removed from the one that saw the Gunners lose 4-1 in the fixture last April.

"To be honest, yes," Silva told Premier League Productions when asked if he thought Arsenal would attack more. But the Portuguese appeared to change his mind when he considered their response to what had happened just over 11 months ago in a game that derailed the Gunners' title challenge.

"Last season when they played against us and they always played very aggressive and very man-to-man and we won the three games. This season, even when they played at the Emirates, they still played sometimes in a low block, very patient, they got their results playing like that.

"So we were expecting them to play this way, to be honest."

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus effectively confirmed that executing a low block was a deliberate tactic learned from last season's shortcomings at the Etihad.

"We came last season and suffered a lot, we conceded goals and made some mistakes," the Brazilian explained. "To play against this team, normally it is hard and if you make some mistakes, it is even harder. [Sunday] was a bit different. We knew from the start at some point we had to suffer a little bit, [playing] deep. They are a team which loves the ball, we do as well, but sometimes it is difficult."

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