Arsenal no one-man team, says Silva

Manchester City star David Silva said his team will not focus solely on in-form Arsenal forward Robin van Persie in their clash on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Spaniard, who has established himself as one of the English Premier League’s top playmakers this season, said the free-scoring Arsenal captain is only one of several players who will pose an attacking threat to City.

Van Persie has netted 15 league goals this campaign, including 12 in his last eight Premier League games.

Silva told Goal.com: “Robin van Persie is scoring lots of goals at the moment, almost in every game, but City aren’t obsessed with him.”

“Arsenal have other very dangerous players in attack, so we have to be ready for that. We will need great concentration if we want to win.”

Silva spoke of his disappointment following last weekend’s defeat to Chelsea – City’s first in the Premier League this season – but believes a visit from Arsene Wenger’s team offers the perfect opportunity to bounce back from the loss at Stamford Bridge and the club’s recent Champions League exit.

“The defeat at Stamford Bridge left a bad taste in the mouth because the team worked well enough to win at least a point,” Silva said.

“Being knocked out of the Champions League has hurt us too, but we have to keep moving forward and think about the other competitions we are still in. It’s forgotten now and we are only thinking about the game on Sunday against Arsenal.”

“We have an advantage. We are first in the table in the Premier League and we have to know how to manage that correctly against rivals playing at their peak against us.”