Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has named two Arsenal players he’s a big fan of.
For the second year in a row, the Manchester club beat the Gunners to the Premier League title this season, resulting in City becoming the first side to win four in a row.
Having featured in 33 of City’s 38 league games across the most recent campaign, Silva played a key role in this latest title win.
Now though, the 29-year-old has highlighted two players currently in Mikel Arteta’s squad, who played a similarly important role for Arsenal as he did for City, whom he has a lot of admiration for.
Bernardo Silva picks two Arsenal stars he wishes were in the Portugal squad
In a recent video shared on Goal’s TikTok page, Silva was asked to name three non-Portuguese players he’d pick to be in the current Portugal squad.
He said: “I would say Kylian Mbappe, definitely. I played with him and he’s a beast. I love him.
“I’m going for one midfielder. I’m going to say Declan Rice, I really like him.
“I’m not going to say any City players so you don’t think that I’m going with friends otherwise I could have said Rodri or a striker or whatever, so I’m not going to say any teammates.
“I’m going to go with Saliba, I think he’s a really good defender.”
Rice and Saliba have been key figures for Arsenal
Looking back over the campaign, Rice and Saliba were the only two Arsenal players who appeared in all 38 league games, highlighting how significant they are for the Gunners.
In fact, the duo made more passes into the final third of the pitch than any other player in the Arsenal squad, with the Englishman topping the list with 240 passes and Saliba having 175.
Last month, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand claimed in a TikTok video that Saliba is the best centre-half in the Premier League.
Taking all of that on board, it’s understandable, in our view, why Silva admires the Arsenal duo and would relish the chance to play with them on the international stage.