Joe Cole Advocates for Arsenal to Target Bernardo Silva
Joe Cole has encouraged Arsenal to explore a potential move for Bernardo Silva following the midfielder’s departure from Manchester City this summer. Silva made the announcement in April that the previous season would be his last with City, marking the end of a nine-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium.
Having joined from Monaco in 2017, Silva accumulated an impressive record of 76 goals and 77 assists in 460 appearances for City. His contributions were vital to the team’s success, helping them secure 18 major trophies over the years. The 31-year-old was keen on adding a seventh Premier League title to his collection this season, but City fell short in what was also Pep Guardiola’s final campaign in the north west.
Despite playing some of his best football towards the end of the season, including an extraordinary man-of-the-match performance against Arsenal, Silva had already made up his mind about leaving, as his contract was set to expire at the end of the month.
According to ESPN, Silva’s impending departure is causing a stir in the European transfer market, with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal all emerging as potential destinations for the soon-to-be free agent. With Arsenal reportedly interested in a move, ex-Chelsea and England winger Cole sees no reason why Mikel Arteta – who previously coached Silva at City – shouldn’t at least consider making an offer.
‘Would you make a cheeky bid for Bernardo Silva if he’s not sorted somewhere? Come and live in London!’ Cole suggested on The Dressing Room Podcast. When asked if Arsenal might need a younger midfielder with better work-rate, Cole responded: ‘Mate, he puts a shift in. He covers some ground.’
Defending Arsenal’s Performance in the Champions League Final
Cole also addressed last weekend’s Champions League final, where he defended Arsenal’s approach against what he described as ‘the best team in the world’ – PSG. He believed that Arteta’s side did a great job with their strategy, emphasizing that the criticism of Arsenal backing off was misplaced.
‘That’s the criticism, everyone is saying Arsenal backed off, but I personally think PSG are just the best team in the world,’ Cole said. He praised Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka for their efforts in doubling up and coming back, stating that they were simply pinned back by a strong opponent.
‘When you play defence against attack, English players, we want to go forward and we want to probe and everyone was saying they were moving it slow. That wasn’t slow. It’s slow when you’re watching it on the television but when you’re there watching it live, we had great seats, and you’re watching Arsenal shift as a unit. They did a great job defensively,’ he added.
Cole highlighted Cristhian Mosquera’s foul on Khvicha Kvaratskheli, which led to Ousmane Dembele’s equaliser from the spot, as a result of PSG wearing down Arsenal by ‘patiently’ dragging Arteta’s side from side to side.
‘The clever thing PSG were doing was Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz, who are top players by the way, they were running the Arsenal midfield away and then Vitinha was dropping off… Vitinha had all the time in the world but he wasn’t rushing it,’ he explained. ‘They were going side to side and when you play like that in a block, your legs are burning and eventually Cristhian Mosquera made a mistake because his legs [were burning], the lactic acid was building up, and he was in the wrong position. The patience they showed… I thought PSG’s patience was fantastic.’
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