City were just minutes away from securing a crucial win against Arsenal on Sunday but Martinelli spoiled Pep Guardiola’s party as the Brazilian winger came off the bench to score a dramatic 93rd-minute equaliser. The result ensured the Gunners stay second in the Premier League table while City are down in ninth.
Arsenal went into the key Premier League fixture after playing Athletic Club last Tuesday in the Champions League, while City took on Napoli two days later.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News after the match, Silva bemoaned the lack of recovery time for City, saying: “I am saying this because we didn’t lose. If we lost, I wouldn’t say this. But the reality is, we cannot come to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest. It is not fair to play one of these games like this. It is just not right. They had five days, and we had two-and-a-half days. In one of the most important games, this cannot happen.
“I wasn’t feeling in a perfect condition to play like this, and people who have not played at the highest level don’t know how it feels to play a game like this. You need to be at your best condition. We saw [Abdukodir] Khusanov getting injured because these games demand a lot. I feel it is just frustrating that we couldn’t be at our best level simply because of the decision of someone that thinks it is fair to come away after two-and-a-half less days than Arsenal. But in the end we did well in terms of fighting, resilience and sticking together and sticking to the plan. It is just frustrating we conceded very late in the game.”
He added: “I felt the difference in the first half. If you play at the highest level you know that two days playing against one of the best teams in the league, away, with the travel, you need at least one more day to recover. It doesn’t matter if Arsenal had four, five or six days [to recover], just give us one more day, and that gives us three-and-a-half days. Then you make it an even game. Two-and-a-half days is not enough to recover our bodies and to perform at the highest level. It is just not enough.”
The Portugal international once again hit out at the congested fixture schedule, which is taking a toll on the fitness levels of players across Europe. “We have tried, they don’t listen to us. It is what it is. We would like to change something, but it never changes,” Silva said. “It does not really matter, but for the fans, for the respect of the clubs, and for the fairness of the competition, I don’t think what happened today [on Sunday] was good. Look, the schedule is the schedule and I understand you have different competitions and UEFA, the Premier League, and the broadcasters want to make their money and I understand all those sorts of things.
“What we ask is that we don’t mind playing every three or four days, and we don’t mind playing 60 games because we are used to that. But what we ask for is common sense because this is one of the biggest games of the season. And it is not because of us. I don’t think that they are trying to make us lose a game. It could happen to Arsenal or Liverpool in a few months. But when you are playing an Arsenal vs City or a City vs Liverpool or Liverpool vs Arsenal, you need to have a bit of common sense, and understanding of these situations and in such an important game, the players need to be in the same physical conditions otherwise, I don’t think it is fair. I know it might have happened to other teams in the past. It did not feel like we were in the same physical condition as them.”
Guardiola will be expected to rotate his starting lineup heavily for City’s Carabao Cup third-round fixture against Huddersfield Town on Wednesday. City are due to host Burnley in their next Premier League fixture three days later.
