Pep Guardiola reaction to Bernardo Silva booking gives Man City an unexpected transfer solution

Three games after Joao Cancelo left Manchester City because he couldn't displace Nathan Ake at left-back, and Ake has not played at left-back once.

At Arsenal, in City's biggest game of the season, Pep Guardiola repeated his experimental back three, with Bernardo Silva effectively making that a back-four by slotting in on the left out of possession. When Guardiola said earlier this month that he had a midfielder in mind who could fill the void left by Cancelo, we can probably assume that Bernardo was that player.

Bernardo was brilliant against Aston Villa, patrolling the base of midfield with Rodri and working well to cover the fact that City were without a left-back. He was so good that Guardiola kept the same system at Arsenal, but Bukayo Saka may have exposed one of the biggest risks in letting Cancelo leave.

ALSO READ: Man City player ratings vs Arsenal

This isn't to say Cancelo should or shouldn't have been allowed to leave. City have a clear policy that unhappy players can depart, and they have enough quality players to manage. Bernardo's relocation to a full-back proves that, and it's a tactic that could prove extremely effective against many Premier League opponents.

Arsenal are not an ordinary opposition, though, and in Saka they have one of Europe's most dangerous, most in-form wingers. Ake kept him quiet at the Etihad in the FA Cup last month, but Ake was used in a back three at the Emirates with Bernardo tasked with a man-to-man job on Saka.

For a while, it worked, with Saka pushed back and Bernardo winning the battle. But one late challenge became two, and two became three, resulting in a deserved booking for Bernardo. At one point, Guardiola used a break in play to issue some animated instructions to