Manchester City superstar caught sneakily eavesdropping on Arsenal team in cheeky moment during 0-0 draw at Etihad

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was spotted trying to eavesdrop on an Arsenal group huddle during the two sides' 0-0 draw on Sunday (March 31). Mikel Arteta's side didn't seem to notice the Portuguese star listening in on their conversation.

The incident occurred around the 30th minute when Nathan Ake had to be subbed off with an apparent injury. With Rico Lewis preparing himself to come onto the pitch for the Netherlands international, Arteta's side were having a quick tactical discussion with Silva eavesdropping.

Manchester City and Arsenal disappointed many neutrals by playing out a goalless draw on Sunday. Billed as a fixture set to have massive implications in the title race, the two contenders seemed to be content to share the points.

City enjoyed the lion's share of the possession but could manage only one shot on target throughout the game as the Gunners put forth a disciplined defensive performance.

Their draw along with Liverpool's 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion means that the Reds now top the Premier League table, holding a two-point advantage over the north London side. Guardiola's men are a point further behind and with nine games to go, the title race promises to be one for the ages.

Manchester City star hits out at Arsenal's defensive strategy

Akanji claimed that the referee should have done better.

Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji accused Arsenal of resorting to repeated tactical fouling when the two sides met in the Premier League. The Switzerland international also expressed frustration with the referee Anthony Taylor for allowing this to continue and said (via The Guardian):

“For me, it is clearly a yellow card. I don’t want to say just against us. There were also some decisions against them that I didn’t understand why he gave a foul.

“There are some rules and I think there are clear yellow cards where it should be. I remember with Jorginho when he’d already done a tackle [which was a foul] and did the second one and he didn’t even give a yellow card for one [foul]. I didn’t understand some of the decisions but, in the end, we still should be able to score a goal.”

The Gunners finished the game with 20 fouls, compared to the hosts' nine. They seemed to be content with defending deep and looked to hit the defending champions on the counter.

Akanji went on to emphasize the importance of Manchester City's remaining fixtures, starting with a clash at the Etihad Stadium against Aston Villa midweek. Arsenal, meanwhile, will face Luton Town at home next time out.