Bernardo Silva brands Man City scheduling ‘disadvantage’ for Arsenal game unfair

A furious Bernardo Silva has claimed Arsenal were handed an unfair advantage following their 1-1 draw against Manchester City – as the midfielder accused football’s lawmakers of “not listening” and “lacking common sense and respect”.

City kicked off their Premier League clash against rivals Arsenal at the Emirates just 66 hours after the conclusion of their Champions League win over 10-man Napoli at the Etihad.

Arsenal began their European campaign two days earlier than City against Athletic Bilbao in Spain.

Gabriel Martinelli struck in the third minute of stoppage time to cancel out Erling Haaland’s first-half opener as Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola, who named an unchanged side from the one that saw off Napoli on Thursday, shared a point in north London.

However, an irate Silva said: “The reality is we cannot come in to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest. It is not fair to play one of these games like this. It is just not right.

“They had five days (to recover), and we had two and a half days. In one of the most important games, this cannot happen. It is just not enough.

“I wasn’t feeling in a perfect condition to play like this, and people who have not played at the highest level don’t know how it feels to play a game like this. You need to be at your best condition.

“We saw (Abdukodir) Khusanov getting injured because these games demand a lot. I feel it is just frustrating that we couldn’t be at our best level simply because of the decision of someone that thinks it is fair to come away after two and a half less days than Arsenal.

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— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 21, 2025

“With the travel, you need at least one more day to