“I spoke to the guys the night before” – Antoine Semenyo reveals secret Bournemouth plea for Arsenal shock win

We were getting ready for Man City training when Arsenal played Bournemouth, says Semenyo

In a recent sit-down with the All Out Football podcast, Semenyo has admitted that he requested his ex-Bournemouth teammates for a favour in the title race before the Cherries went on and shocked the Emirates Stadium with a valiant 2-1 win.

“It was more so Bournemouth (why I was watching),” Semenyo said. “I spoke to the guys the night before, and just said, ‘Oh do us a favour’. That was the only reason why I was watching but we were getting ready for training.”

City need not wish for external favours on Sunday as they look to take control of the title race by picking up a fourth consecutive win – off the back of triumphs over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final and Chelsea in the Premier League – in the last three weeks.

Semenyo caused havoc on the right wing for Manchester City at Stamford Bridge and is expected to keep his starting place in attack against Arsenal, alongside Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku.

Semenyo reveals whether he was nervous before the Carabao Cup final

Semenyo has scored eight times and provided three assists in 19 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City since joining from Bournemouth for £64 million in January.

Predicted Starting Line-Up: Manchester City vs Arsenal (Premier League)

The 26-year-old forward won the first trophy of his professional career at Wembley last month as Manchester City beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final courtesy of a brace of headers from Nico O’Reilly in a dominant second-half performance from the sky Blues.

On whether he was nervous ahead of the Carabao Cup final, Semenyo added: “Nah,” in characteristically confident fashion that has been reflected in his seamless integration to life at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City can land a monumental blow to Arsenal’s hopes of winning a first Premier League title in 22 seasons with three points at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday – and the Blues’ form and confidence shows that they might just pull off another miraculous hijack.