Exclusive: ‘Really lucky’ Bernardo Silva escaped for Arsenal kick vs Man City
Man City midfielder Bernardo Silva was very fortunate to not have been punished for his “kick out” on Leandro Trossard in Arsenal’s 5-1 victory, according to Keith Hackett
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official told Football Insider that he found it “difficult to understand” why the referees didn’t take action against the Portuguese midfielder.
Trossard had the ball near the corner flag when Silva fouled him, before seemingly kicking the Belgian while he was on the ground.
The match was full of tension, including a clash between Gabriel Magalhaes and Erling Haaland, where Hackett argued the Arsenal defender should have been booked.
Man City frustrations boil over in heavy defeat to Arsenal
The Gunners dominated Pep Guardiola’s side at the Emirates, keeping their title hopes alive sitting six points behind Liverpool.
For Man City, the defeat leaves them in fourth place, a massive 15 points behind Arne Slot’s side.
Tensions were high throughout the match, with animosity carrying over from the reverse fixture. In that game, Erling Haaland sparked controversy by telling Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” while also swearing at others.
Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly got the last laugh this time, mimicking Haaland’s celebration after scoring to put his team 3-1 up.
The scale of the defeat will have come as a shock to some City players and fans, marking their heaviest loss of the season against a former title rival.
Silva’s frustration boiled over when he kicked out at Trossard—an incident that went unnoticed by the officials.
Hackett was critical of both the officials and Silva and told Football Insider:
“Bernardo Silva was really lucky not to receive a yellow card for his kick out against an opponent.
“Difficult to understand why the referee took no action. I can only assume he didn’t see it.
“It was certainly at minimum a yellow card for reckless [play].”
In other news, Man City fans have been left raging at Phil Foden after his performance against Arsenal.
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