Bernardo Silva keeps Man City & Arsenal rivalry burning with brutal Odegaard hack

There’s no love lost between Bernardo Silva and Arsenal fans – and the former Manchester City star did little to change that on Sunday.

After lining up for Portugal against a Norway side captained by Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard, Silva – now of Real Madrid at club level – has certainly ruffled some feathers.

A late challenge by Silva – cynical and needless – wiped out Odegaard in stoppage time near the end of the game.

But it was how he reacted, more so than the foul itself, that has sparked ire from Arsenal fans concerned over the wellbeing of their captain.

“It’s football, my friend,” was Silva’s response to Odegaard after the game.

That’s not quite how Odegaard himself saw it.

“It doesn’t belong on a football field,” he told TV2. “It’s a shame that people do that.”

“It’s a head fog from him. Just kicks me down long after I’ve played the ball away. I don’t understand what he’s doing.”

Odegaard then refused to repeat on TV what he shouted at Silva after the clash. Probably for the best.

Silva’s actions have been interpreted by some Arsenal fans as a way to derail them even after leaving the Premier League.

Funnily enough, Silva regularly downplayed any sort of rivalry between City and Arsenal, insisting Liverpool were the team that threatened City the most over the years.

In September 2024, he offered: “The difference? Maybe that Liverpool have already won the Premier League, Arsenal haven’t. That Liverpool have won the Champions League, Arsenal haven’t.

“Liverpool always faced us face to face to try to win the games, so from this perspective the games against Arsenal haven’t been like the ones we had and have against Liverpool. So yes, maybe a different rivalry.”

And even earlier this year, with Arsenal finally able to call themselves Premier League winners again, Silva insisted: “I do believe our main rivals were Liverpool by far.”

Now, his dig at Odegaard has got some wondering if the animosity really is as one-sided as he suggested.

It remains to be seen how serious Odegaard’s potential injury is. He had to limp away from the stadium after the knock to his ankle.

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