As much of a cliché as it may be, games tend to be won and lost in midfield.
Especially contests as massive as the upcoming one between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday, with both teams perhaps possessing the best midfield cohorts in the Premier League.
While several factors point to the clash being a close affair, which midfield comes out on top could give either Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta’s side the edge at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola should start Bernardo Silva over Mateo Kovacic in midfield in Arsenal clash
As a result, the question many will pose is which midfielder Pep Guardiola will deploy to start alongside Rodri against the Gunners.
It seems unlikely that Phil Foden would be the candidate, considering he is yet to start in midfield alongside Kevin De Bruyne unless he has been afforded a free role like in City’s 3-1 win against Brentford.
The two options the Manchester City boss could consider as the partners to play alongside Rodri against Arsenal are Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic.
Considering Kovacic was exceptional in his latest start for the Sky Blues in their 2-0 win against Newcastle United in the FA Cup, one can understand why many would vouch for him to start.
But in our view, it is a no-brainer to side with the £43 million midfielder instead.
As terrific a player as Manchester City technician Mateo Kovacic is, Bernardo Silva is far more multifaceted as a midfielder and this very quality will likely be worth its weight in gold against Arsenal.
For starters, Bernardo has rarely ever had a game like Kovacic during City’s 3-2 win against Newcastle, where he was simply getting overrun in midfield.
The Croatian international is an adept tackler but he lacks the engine that the £300,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man possesses in abundance.
The 29-year-old famously covered the most distance in a single game out of any player in the Premier League on two occasions during the 2018/2019 season; once against Tottenham (13.65 km) and beating the record he set against Liverpool (13.7km) [via Manchester City on X].
Another reason why Bernardo Silva should be preferred over Mateo Kovacic against Arsenal is that he allows Pep Guardiola to set his Manchester City side up in a far more tactically flexible manner.
For instance, in City’s 3-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this season, it seemed like the hosts did not expect Bernardo to be deployed as a makeshift left-winger.
When the treble-winners had a hold of the ball, the Portuguese international drifted out to the left flank and as Diogo Dalot was forced to mark Jack Grealish, he had all the freedom in the world to put in crosses and dangerous passes into the box.
Kovacic, on the other hand, is not the most versatile player and apart from his favoured role in central midfield, no other position really gets the best out of him.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, while Mateo Kovacic could prove to be an asset if he started against Arsenal, when it comes to big games, especially in midfield, how can one look past Bernardo Silva?
The five-time Premier League winner has a case for being City’s greatest-ever big-game player and when tasked with the responsibility of playing in midfield as well, it would be anything but a surprise if he delivered a masterclass.
Bernardo Silva has done so in the past against teams like Real Madrid, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United in the past.
With all eyes on whether Manchester City’s chances of defending their title crown could be put in jeopardy by Arsenal, it would be wise to trust a midfielder who has been there and done that like not many else in the club’s history.
