Arsenal supporters were left furious as they watched Premier League title rivals Manchester City take on Brentford as Josep Guardiola’s side avoided being reduced to 10 men at the Etihad.
Bernardo Silva could have been sent off against Brentford (Image: Offside, Getty Images)
Arsenal supporters are furious after Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva avoided a red card against Brentford on Saturday. Josep Guardiola’s side beat the Bees 3-0, moving them within two points of Mikel Arteta’s side.
The Gunners could regain their five-point cushion with a win against West Ham United on Sunday (4.30pm). But City were hoping to extend their advantage even further after their game against European hopefuls Brentford at the Etihad Stadium, but goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmouche secured all three points for Guardiola’s side.
Arsenal fans were further incensed by the accident involving Silva in the first half. The Portuguese midfielder was made an exception after getting involved in a scuffle in the box after getting crowded near the touchline.
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The 31-year-old, who is due to leave City this summer, appeared to fall under pressure from defender Nathan Collins and hit the back of his foot.
As Mr Collins raised his hands to protest his innocence, Mr Silva jumped to his feet and continued to face him, but Nico O’Reilly intervened.
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VAR briefly reviewed the incident but quickly concluded that the contact was insufficient to merit a red card and did not instruct referee Michael Salisbury to look at the pitchside monitor.
Gunners fans then took to social media platform X to vent their anger.
Bernardo Silva was lucky
“Are we allowed to punch anymore?” one user asked. “There’s no way an Arsenal player can get away with that. Every pundit in the country will say he’s stupid and deserves a red,” another claimed.
One fan wrote: “If it was Arsenal, any player within a 20 meter radius would have been sent off.”
Another supporter agreed: “I don’t want to see City fans complaining about Gabriel not giving Haaland a red card. Silva just struck out with his fist and got a yellow.”
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Arsenal know that with three wins from their remaining three games, they are firmly within reach of the title, enough to clinch their first league title since 2004.
Arteta addressed the media at Friday’s pre-match press conference and talked about how valuable past experience will be for the team, who have finished runners-up three times in a row.
He said: “I think there’s something to do with your intuition.
“What the game wants, what the players are like, how they imagine the game, where they can have the most impact, and you never know if it’s right or wrong.
“But if you do what you feel like, at least you have the confidence that you’re prepared and you’ve thought about it. Then when it’s time to actually do it, it’s a different thing.”
