Manchester City stars Bernardo Silva and John Stones call Arsenal’s ‘dark arts’ into question after tensions during fiery 2-2 draw descended into angry scenes at the Etihad

Manchester City‘s Bernardo Silva and John Stones last night took aim at Arsenal‘s dark arts after a tempestuous 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

Stones broke Arsenal hearts when popping up with a 98th-minute equaliser on an afternoon when the Premier League champions were largely frustrated by their rivals for this year’s crown.

City’s players were visibly agitated by the perceived time-wasting antics of Mikel Arteta‘s side and Rodri – who came off with a nasty knee injury – was involved in an angry flashpoint with the away bench.

Silva and Stones criticised their opponents, after both sets of players were involved in a shoving match at the end of the game. ‘There was only one team that came to play football,’ said Silva. 

‘The other came to play to the limits of what it was possible to do and allowed by the referee (Michael Oliver), unfortunately.

Arsenal’s rough-house tactics were called into question too, after City midfielder Rodri was forced of the pitch with a knee injury

Stones, who scored City’s equaliser in the 98th-minute of the game, said: ‘They’ve come to expect it [from Arsenal players]’ who do it to ‘break-up and upset rhythm of game’

‘We’re not happy as we wanted the three points, but I’m happy with the way we came to play. I’m glad we always enter the pitch to try to win every match. It all started in the very first seconds. 

‘We had a player injured (Rodri) 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 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 stop this kind of situation, but at the end it doesn’t have any worth. They say a lot but nothing happens.’

Silva (below) was then asked if the rivalry was different from the one City built up against Liverpool and took the chance to remind Arsenal they have not won many trophies lately.

The 2-2 draw between City and Arsenal featured several angry flashpoints across the game

Goalscorers Erling Haaland (left) and Gabriel (right) got into a fiery touchline dispute after Haaland appeared to throw the ball at the Arsenal defenders head

The pair appeared to butt heads at full-time after clashing throughout the match 

‘The difference is maybe that Liverpool have already won a Premier League, Arsenal haven’t,’ said Silva.

‘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 against Liverpool.’

Stones agreed with his team-mate. ‘They’ve done it for a few years, we know to expect that,’ he added. ‘You can call it clever, dirty, whichever way you want to put it. They break up the game, and it upsets the rhythm.

‘It was a difficult afternoon, how they stopped the play, how they used the side of football that not many teams do.’

Erling Haaland threw the ball at Gabriel’s head after the Stones equaliser, while the players were embroiled in a brawl moments after when Haaland and Thomas Partey clashed. 

Erling Haaland threw the ball at Gabriel’s head after the Stones equaliser, while the players were embroiled in a brawl moments after

Pep Guardiola also vented his frustrations, saying: ‘I don’t know how many (Arsenal) players went down with cramp.’

Leandro Trossard also saw red for two bookings before half-time, the second of which was for kicking the ball away.

Pep Guardiola said: ‘I don’t know how many (Arsenal) players went down with cramp.’