(Reuters) – Manchester City suffered their first Premier League defeat to Arsenal in eight years on Sunday to drop to third in the standings, but midfielder Bernardo Silva said the loss was “not the end of the world”.
After a closely fought match at the Emirates, substitute Gabriel Martinelli struck late to secure a 1-0 win as Arsenal moved level on 20 points with league leaders Tottenham Hotspur. Champions City have 18 points.
City, who have lost their last two Premier League games, were involved in an intense two-way title race with Arsenal last season, in which City were trailing before Arsenal faltered in the run-in.
“We need to rest mentally and physically to be ready for the next games because they are going to be tough, and improve in the areas where we can improve like last season,” Silva said in an interview on City’s website.
“We will try to come back stronger from the international break. It’s not the end of the world. We have been in much worse positions.
“We need to try and come back from these two defeats in a row in the Premier League and come back to the top where I think we belong.”
City are next in action on Oct. 21, when they face Brighton & Hove Albion. They then take on rivals Manchester United on Oct. 29.
Manager Pep Guardiola called on his side to bounce back from their loss, telling reporters: “We are behind, but it is October. It’s not the first time. Last season it happened, we were much further behind, but the season is long.
“We have people coming back and we will try to break (the losing run) and beat upcoming opponents like Brighton and United. We will continue.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
