Silva fumes over lack of respect in fixtures row as Pep suffered over defensive plan

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva has slammed football's schedule makers for lacking respect and fairness after his side were given little time to prepare for their clash with Arsenal.

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City kicked off their 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday just 66 hours after the final whistle in the Champions League home win over Napoli.

While Pep Guardiola's team had virtually no time to rest and recover from the Napoli game before the crucial Premier League showdown in north London, Arsenal had played their Champions League opener at Athletic Bilbao 48 hours earlier on Tuesday.

Silva felt City's tiredness was decisive as Arsenal dominated after Erling Haaland's early strike before snatching a stoppage-time equaliser through Gabriel Martinelli.

Guardiola had named an unchanged side against Arsenal rather than rotating his players, but Silva is convinced it was the pressure of the fixture list that was to blame for City's late frustration.

"The reality is we cannot come in 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," he said.