Oleksandr Zinchenko reveals Bernardo Silva's brutal 'stay at home' response after Arsenal star reached out to ex-Man City team-mate

In the Ukraine international's new book 'Believe', he revealed a string of text messages he received from former City team-mate Silva when they were both in France for their respective summer holidays. After asking where he could train, the Portuguese sent a frosty reply saying he should "stay at home."

The Arsenal left-back revealed: “We need to learn from their [City's] consistency and their attitude, even on our holidays. In the off-season, I went to the south of France. I saw on Instagram that Bernardo Silva was there as well. I texted him, asking if he knew a pitch to do some exercises.

“He wrote back saying, ‘For what, do you need a pitch?’ I replied, ‘I need to run’. He wrote back, ‘Run? For what? You’re going to try to win the Premier League again? Forget about it. Stay at home.' I bumped into their Belgian winger, Jeremy Doku, a few days later and showed him the chat. He was laughing his head off. We’ve been pushing each other for two seasons already. That experience will make us stronger.”

Arsenal have twice been pipped to the Premier League title by City in the last two seasons, despite being in, seemingly, winnable positions. The two teams played out a heated 2-2 draw at the Etihad in September and even managers Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta may not be as close as they once were as a result of this competition. And this battle will rage on this season, too.

Zinchenko's Arsenal, who sit third in the Premier League table, host early pacesetters Liverpool at the Emirates on Sunday, whereas second-placed City entertain lowly Southampton a day prior.