Manchester City are working to finalise the £65million signing of Bournemouth winger and self-proclaimed Arsenal supporter Antoine Semenyo
Ryan Taylor
09:51, 29 Dec 2025Updated 10:07, 29 Dec 2025
Antoine Semenyo
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Bournemouth could be without Antoine Semenyo against Arsenal on Saturday
Arsenal could be handed a boost if Antoine Semenyo seals an early January transfer to Manchester City - even if a deal could prove damaging for their Premier League title bid.
The Gunners are not planning to enter the fray the Ghana international, who would likely feature on their summer shortlist if he was to somehow stay put at the Vitality Stadium until the end of the season.
Nonetheless, City are now pushing to close a deal with Bournemouth as they seek to trigger his £65million release clause which formally expires on January 10.
The current indications are that City are pressing to close a deal imminently and they want a transfer wrapped up ahead of January 1 - when the window opens - to avoid any risk of a potential hijack.
There have been loose rumblings that Liverpool could yet join the hunt for Semenyo's services but at this moment in time, Pep Guardiola's side are firmly in pole position to land their primary target.
While City signing Semenyo would undoubtedly come as a blow for Arsenal's title prospects, in the short-term, it would actually prove somewhat beneficial.
That's because the Gunners travel to Bournemouth on Saturday (5:30pm) and it would undeniably be handy if Bournemouth, who have not won in the Premier League since beating Nottingham Forest on October 26, were without their talisman.
On a personal level, the 25-year-old is in red-hot goalscoring form and has now netted in each of his last three top-flight outings after bagging a consolation in the 4-1 defeat at Brentford on Saturday.
Ten-man Arsenal were well beaten on the South Coast last season when William Saliba was sent off in an agonising 2-0 defeat.
Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert were both on target for the hosts, who will be striving to execute a similar result and performance against Mikel Arteta's title challengers this weekend.
Antoine Semenyo
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Antoine Semenyo is expected to join Manchester City in January(Image: Visionhaus)
It's understood Semenyo wants his impending move wrapped up as quickly as possible and that means Tuesday's trip to Chelsea could well be his last outing as a Cherry.
Andoni Iraola has already noted that despite speculation over his player's future, he will continue to select Semenyo because his attitude and commitment has remained faultless in recent weeks.
Bournemouth want to keep Semenyo as long as possible, even if they've long accepted it will prove difficult and there is also a firm argument it may too aid City if they were to allow the attacker to play against Arsenal on January 3 before switching to the Etihad Stadium.
Even if a deal isn't finalised before the weekend, Semenyo would be suspended against the Gunners anyway if he were to collect his fifth yellow card of the campaign (currently on four) against Chelsea on Tuesday.
Bournemouth have already devised a shortlist of potential targets in the event that Semenyo departs the club this winter.
Leicester's Abdul Fatawu is among several profiles admired by Iraola's side but it's hard to envisage them getting a new recruit through the door in time for Saturday's match against Arsenal.
The prospect of Semenyo departing before then is, sadly for Bournemouth, very much realistic. The Cherries came flying out of the blocks at the beginning of the season but their progress was halted by a number of notable injuries to key players. They currently sit 15th in the Premier League table and are winless in their past eight matches.
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