Bernardo Silva tried to get the ultimate advantage in Sunday’s title showdown with Arsenal – by eavesdropping on Mikel Arteta’s team talk!
Games against title rivals are always about finding tiny margins where you can gain an advantage, and Man City’s Portuguese star tried exactly that during the clash with the Gunners.
At a break in play during the goalless draw between the two title contenders, both managers took the opportunity to pass on some tactical instructions to their teams.
Whilst Pep Guardiola was in deep discussion with City teen Rico Lewis, Mikel Arteta was at the centre of several Arsenal players and instructing them on what he wants.
What Arteta didn’t see, but was picked up by fans on social media, was the sight of Silva casually and slyly walking up to the huddle of Gunners stars and appearing to listen in to what the Arsenal boss had to say.
Bernardo Silva slyly walks up to the Arsenal huddle and seems to be listening in on the tactics
One of the Arsenal staff realises what he’s doing, but Mikel Arteta is oblivious to Silva
There was no hard feelings over Silva’s cheeky listen in on Arteta’s mid-hame team tactics
While one of the Arsenal coaching staff does seem to complain at Silva’s eavesdropping, Arteta is unaware of his presence and carries on talking to his players.
Eventually, the Portugal midfielder does walk away as Arteta remains in conversation with Jorginho.
The knowledge gained by Silva didn’t seem to make much difference to the overall result, with the two rivals cancelling each other out and sharing the spoils.
The draw leaves Manchester City a point behind the Gunners, and three points off Liverpool at the top of the Premier League – a position that following the game Silva had to be convinced City can still win the title from.
Silva had to be convinced of City’s title chances after not realising how many games were left
Whilst being interviewed by Sky Sports, the 29-year-old intially thought there were only seven games left and revealed he thought City were no longer favourites to retain their crown.
However, after interviewer Patrick Davidson informed Silva that there were nine games left, he changed his mind and stated his side were ‘back in it.’
City are next in action on Wednesday night when the entertain Aston Villa, while title rivals Arsenal play Luton and leaders Liverpool host Sheffield United a day later.
