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Bernardo Silva has declared it is high time Arsenal showed enough backbone to genuinely compete with Manchester City for the Premier League crown.
The Gunners fell short behind City in both 2023 and 2024, then missed out to Liverpool the following season. This campaign, though, they sit in the driving seat, holding a two-point advantage over Pep Guardiola's squad with just two matches remaining.
"They've been growing and ... well, it's a team that has been together for, what, five years now, so it's only natural that they would man up a little bit and start challenging for titles," Silva told The Athletic. "So, yeah, let's see what happens."
Silva was fully conscious of the bluntness of his remarks, and it was pointed out to him that he clearly holds no particular affection for Arsenal.
"No, I'm not in love," he emphasized. "I do believe our main rivals [during his time with City] were Liverpool by far."
Silva: Man City Should Have Already Won Title
Should Arsenal claim victory in their two remaining Premier League outings, they will wrap up the season as title winners on 85 points.
That total would have been sufficient to clinch the championship last season—Liverpool lifted the trophy with 84—but you have to look back as far as Leicester City's remarkable triumph in 2015–16 for the last occasion champions accumulated so few points (81). That extraordinary season represented the lowest tally since Manchester United won the title with 80 back in 2010–11.
Supporters around the world have been quick to suggest this Premier League campaign has ultimately fallen short in terms of overall quality. City rank among the chief contributors to that decline in standards, with their recent 3–3 stalemate against Everton—which effectively ended their title hopes—being just the latest in a lengthy series of underwhelming performances.
Silva did not sidestep City's poor run of form, contending that Guardiola's men would have been crowned champions had they managed to meet their own lofty expectations.
"I also believe—and I know this is very subjective—that if we were not in a transitional season and if we didn't make so many mistakes, we would have won this league," he stressed.
"I don't say we would have won easily, but we would have won this league. So it's quite frustrating."
For the time being, Silva and City can only keep pursuing Arsenal into the final day of the season. Even a flawless finish may not be enough, as City require a stumble from the league leaders if they are to reclaim the trophy.