Bernardo Silva has revealed who he believes are the favourites to win the Premier League title come May, ahead of Manchester City’s game against Arsenal on Sunday.
The Gunners host City at the Emirates in what is a huge clash, which will have significant ramifications on the title race.
Liverpool currently sit three points ahead of Arsenal after beating the North Londoners at Anfield in August, while the Citizens are six points behind the leaders.
If Mikel Arteta’s team lose against Pep Guardiola’s men, then they will already be in a somewhat precarious position in the race for the prestigious piece of silverware.
Bernardo Silva reveals who he thinks are Premier League title favourites
Arsenal are certainly favourites to beat Manchester City on Sunday.
Not only do the Gunners have home advantage, but they’ve also had an additional 48 hours of rest ahead of the encounter. Arsenal beat Athletic Club in Bilbao on Tuesday night, while City overcame Napoli on Thursday night at the Etihad.
However, it’s not just these factors that make the North Londoners favourites, with Arteta’s side generally performing at a much higher level than their counterparts over the last 12 months.
City have some glaring weaknesses, particularly in midfield, while Arsenal are a well-oiled machine that haven’t conceded an open-play goal so far this season.
The Gunners are evidently in a good position to finish above the Citizens, but the questions arise around their ability to usurp Liverpool for the title.
Speaking to Man City’s official website before Sunday’s game, Bernardo Silva simply said that both Liverpool and Arsenal are favourites, with City clearly the outsiders.
“I would say that Liverpool and Arsenal are the favourites but, it’s the beginning and last season everyone said Manchester City were the favourites,” Silva said.
“Last season the favourites were Manchester City and Arsenal. Liverpool were not a favourite and they won the Premier League. In the beginning you can’t do a lot of maths.
“Of course, we can speak for our team and say that our level is still not where we want it to be, but we know that if we reach that level, not a lot of teams can stop us.”
What Bernardo Silva said about Arsenal’s win over Manchester City last season
If last season’s iteration of Sunday’s fixture is anything to go by, Arteta should be confident.
Arsenal ran out 5-1 winners over City in what was an exceptional display from the Spaniard’s side. Martin Odegaard gave the Gunners an early lead, before Erling Haaland drew City level shortly after half-time.
The home team then went on a second-period onslaught, with goals from Thomas Partey, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz, and Ethan Nwaneri condemning City to a humiliating defeat.
While a glorious afternoon for Arsenal, Silva unsurprisingly does not remember it fondly.
“It was a period during the season where we didn’t have the level to compete with any team,” Bernardo recalled.
“They saw the opportunity to come after the guys who took away their title for two years, and they came for us, which is normal.”
“It was tough for us for three months and then when we recovered it was too late, because we were already 25 points or something behind.”
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