Silva is 'better than Ozil', says Noble after Spanish sorcerer dazzles West Ham in City victory.

Here's a question: who's better, Mesut Ozil or David Silva? 'At the minute Silva is probably better,' said West Ham midfielder Mark Noble after the Spaniard’s vintage performance propelled Manchester City to their first Premier League away win of the season.
'He has got that experience. He has won things with Spain. He has won a championship here, he has won cups here and he is like that week in, week out.
'He is one of the best players on the pitch every time he goes out there. We have seen that over the last how many years since he has been here.'

Finishing touch: David Silva curls home Manchester City's third goal against West Ham to complete an excellent performance

Heads up: Arsenal's Mesut Ozil scores the first of his two goals against Norwich on Saturday

But there is certainly substance behind Noble’s praise. When Silva plays well, invariably, so do City.
That was most definitely the case against West Ham as he added to Sergio Aguero’s two with a sumptuous goal to ease late City nerves.
West Ham had no answer to the Spaniard’s magic at Upton Park — much like Silva’s team-mates on a daily basis.

At his best: Silva glides past West Ham's Mohamed Diame during City's 3-1 win

Admirer: West Ham midfielder Mark Noble believes Silva is a better player than Ozil

‘We call him Merlin, he’s like a little wizard, isn’t he? He is class,’ said City defender Micah Richards.
‘It’s ridiculous. He is probably the best player I have played with.
‘He just makes it look easy, the way he goes past people. He is just amazing.’
So what does Richards do to stop Silva in training? ‘I don’t give him any room — I just smash him,’ said the full back. ‘He doesn’t come near me! We have an agreement — you don’t come near me, I won’t hurt you. You know what I mean? That is the only way you can stop him.’

Big fan: City defender Micah Richards believes Silva is probably the best player he's ever played alongside

But while Merlin’s magic helped City to victory over Sam Allardyce’s side, Manuel’s mind-games also played a part. We will never know how Southampton’s late equaliser against arch-rivals Manchester United may have influenced City’s display against West Ham.
However, as Richards revealed, City boss Manuel Pellegrini was not leaving it to chance.
‘We didn’t actually know (Southampton had equalised), we thought United were winning 1-0,’ said the defender. ‘The manager said, "United have won, Arsenal have won and Chelsea have won, so we have to win today".
‘Maybe it was a bit of reverse psychology, but United will come strong again.
‘They are a massive club, they have been in these positions before and they know how to get out of them.’

Mind games: Manuel Pellegrini told his City players that Manchester United had beaten Southampton even though they'd drawn

Richards added: ‘Let’s not kid ourselves, Sir Alex Ferguson is probably the best manager ever. He’s probably like having a 12th man in your team.
‘It will be hard for them, losing Fergie, but I think in time David Moyes will get it right because he is a fantastic manager.’