The two sides played out a stormy 2-2 draw in Sunday's (22.09.24) fixture and the City midfielder was unimpressed with the defensive tactics employed by Mikel Arteta's team following Leandro Trossard's red card on the stroke of half-time.

Silva told TNT Sports Brazil: "There was only one team that came to play football. The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee, unfortunately.

"I'm glad we always enter the pitch to try to win every match."

The Portuguese international questioned referee Michael Oliver for allowing the Gunners to deploy time-wasting tactics and making the challenges that caused an injury to midfield lynchpin Rodri.

Silva said: "It all started in the very first second. In the first action we realised what was going to happen.

"We had a player injured after they sent him to the ground twice in 10 minutes. We had a goal conceded after the referee called our captain and then didn't allow him to recover his position.

"The second goal is already their usual block to our keeper allowed by the referee. And then the referee allowed a sequence of time-wasting events.

"The thing that bothers me the most is having a lot of meetings with the FA at the beginning of each season. They tell us they will control this kind of situation and will stop them, but at the end it doesn't have any worth. They say a lot but nothing happens."

Silva also aimed a jibe at Arsenal's failure to win the Premier League or Champions League in recent years as he discussed the difference between the rivalry between the two sides compared to the battles City had with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool team.

He said: "I don't know. Maybe that Liverpool have already won a Premier League, Arsenal haven't. That Liverpool have won a Champions League, Arsenal haven't.

"Liverpool always faced us face-to-face to try to win the games, so by this perspective the games against Arsenal haven't been like the ones we had and have against Liverpool."