Josep Guardiola nearly tears up as he pays tribute to Manchester City star after Premier League win over Arsenal – ‘It makes me cry’

Asked about the Portuguese midfielder in a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Guardiola said: “Be careful, I’ll cry if I keep talking about him any more. It’s going to be a very emotional moment when he’s about to leave. Bernardo is Bernardo. You can’t define him.”

“Sometimes I feel like he’s not seen as a public figure. He’s not tall, he’s not fast, he’s not strong… But football starts here (points to head) and ends with the feet.

“I am grateful to this man for all his accomplishments over the years.”

Silva has repeatedly helped City get over the line in the title race so far, winning six Premier League trophies since joining from Monaco in 2017.

But Guardiola insisted the battle was still far from won.

“If I were to say the momentum has changed, I would say Arsenal’s momentum is bad, looking at how they played today,” he added. “What about this bad momentum?

“I have a lot of respect for him, but of course we want to win. We also played a lot. For many of the players today, it was their first time playing in the Premier League and they felt a little bit of pressure. Our performance wasn’t at the top, but that’s normal. It’s a process.”

Guardiola also praised Nico O’Reilly, who has once again impressed at left-back.

“They’re unbelievable defensively, attackingly and set-piece-wise,” he said. “What a great player he has become, playing in so many different positions. He is special. Today he calmly won the ball, got into the final third again and scored the second goal.

“What a season! I don’t know if he’s the best player of the season or the man of the season, but he’s a young player? Guys, yeah.”

‘This is a new league’: Arteta says Arsenal have ‘everything to play for’ after Man City defeat

Video credit: SNTV

Arteta: ‘It’s there to be had’

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta remained positive despite the heartbreaking defeat.

“I fully believe we can do it,” he told Sky Sports. “Today we showed the team once again who we are. It’s in our hands and we’re there to get it.”

When asked about the team’s overall performance, he added: “You could see the attitude of the team at the end of the game and right from the start. We could have been a little more calm in certain moments, but we certainly took the game to where we wanted it and had a great chance to win.

“It was very close, but it wasn’t close enough. I have to admit that we missed a big chance today, but we still have five games left. There are a lot of positives to take from this game, so we need to reset and move forward again.”

Three of Arsenal’s last five Premier League games will be at home against Newcastle United, Fulham and Burnley.

Arteta’s side also have away trips to West Ham United and Crystal Palace, as well as a UEFA Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.