“He held me in yesterday, He didn’t even let me through, You have to acknowledge He is an amazing player,” Man City star Bernardo Silva says of the one Arsenal player who really roughed him up yesterday.

When Manchester City and Arsenal played at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Bernardo Silva of Manchester City seemed to gently critique Arsenal’s defensive strategy.

Liverpool gained the most from the day after taking the top spot earlier, even though Arsenal won a hard-fought 0-0 draw away from home to keep their slim one-point lead over their title rivals.

Arsenal’s defensively minded performance against Pep Guardiola’s team did not win over everyone, despite ending a run of seven straight away losses. Particularly in the first half of the game, the strategy of settling in and absorbing pressure drew criticism from commentators such as Gary Neville and on the internet.