Bernardo Silva has shared what Arsenal did during this past season that really surprised the Manchester City players with Pep Guardiola’s men just about getting across the line in the Premier League title race.
Manchester City may have won their fourth league crown in a row, but there is no question that Arsenal made real progress and pushed the champions all the way.
After an outstanding start to 2024, Mikel Arteta’s men had the title race in their own hands – up until the moment they played Aston Villa in April.
Heading into the game, Liverpool had suffered a shock defeat at Anfield at the hands of Crystal Palace, so there seemed to be an amazing opportunity for the Gunners.
Bernardo Silva surprised by what Arsenal did this season
However, Arsenal produced one of their worst performances of the season, with Unai Emery’s men winning 2-0 at the Emirates, with Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins scoring for the visitors.
That left Manchester City two points clear with six games remaining. And Bernardo Silva has told Sky Sports that he was stunned by what transpired over that weekend.
“Well, definitely this type of situations are a boost to the confidence and to the energy that you have in the dressing room because you feel that you have an opportunity again,” he said.
“We knew that both Liverpool, and Arsenal, and us as well, we had tough games, but to be honest, we weren’t expecting them to lose against Palace at home, Liverpool, and Arsenal to lose against Aston Villa. If I had to guess where they would drop points, it wouldn’t have been that weekend.
“So it was a big surprise for us, and it gave us, obviously we’re not going to lie, a bit of confidence to think we can go after them and we can grab it again.”
Pundit predicts where Gunners will finish next year
Mikel Arteta has potentially got his work cut out trying to lift his players after such an agonising final day, but Arsenal have made progress year on year under the Spaniard.
They dropped points in just two league games in 2024, and they definitely gave City a real scare.
So it is not entirely surprising that Simon Jordan believes that Arsenal will go on and win the title next year. And plenty of pundits will probably agree.
Certainly, Guardiola will know that asking his players to go again is not necessarily going to be the easiest task.