Bernardo Silva brands Man City scheduling for Arsenal game ‘a disadvantage’ | OneFootball

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.

“With the travel, you need at least one more day to recover. It doesn’t matter if Arsenal had four, five or six days (to recover), just give us one more day, and that gives us three-and-a-half days, and then you make it an even game.”

Put to Silva that the quick turnaround might be dangerous for players, he replied: “Look, the schedule is the schedule and I understand you have different competitions, and UEFA, the Premier League, and the broadcasters want to make their money.

“We don’t mind playing every three or four days, and we don’t mind playing 60 games (in a season) because we are used to that. But what we ask for is common sense because this is one of the biggest games of the season.

“I don’t think that they are trying to make us lose a game. It could happen to Arsenal or Liverpool in a few months. But when you are playing an Arsenal vs City, or a City vs Liverpool, or a Liverpool vs Arsenal, you need to have a bit of common sense, and understanding of these situations, and in such an important game, the players need to be in the same physical conditions otherwise I don’t think it is fair.

“It did not feel like we were in the same physical condition as them.”

Silva claimed attempts have been made to speak to the game’s lawmakers but the 31-year-old continued: “They don’t listen to us. We would like to change something. But it never changes.

“It does not really matter, but for the fans, for the respect of the clubs, and for the fairness of the competition, I don’t think what happened was good.”

Arsenal are five points behind Liverpool in the Premier League after the opening five rounds, with City eight points off the championship pace.