Iraola praises ‘top professional’ Semenyo amid Man City transfer links

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola described Antoine Semenyo as a “top professional” as he confirmed the winger will feature against Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

All eyes will be on Semenyo, with the Cherries star man reportedly on his way to Manchester City for a fee in the region of £65m.

No Bournemouth player has scored more goals (nine), made more assists (three), had more shots (45), had more touches in the opposition box (86) or played more passes into the box (96) than Semenyo in the Premier League this season.

And only Erling Haaland (23) has directly contributed to more goals in the English top-flight than the Ghanaian this term (12).

Iraola admitted that he does not know whether Semenyo wants to stay or leave, while praising the winger’s work ethic during the ongoing uncertainty.

“He is playing very well. He is doing the right things. He is a top professional, a top guy,” said Iraola.

Arsenal at home is our first game of 2026 pic.twitter.com/cjR8A3kOKE

— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) January 2, 2026

“He wants to help the team, he wants to help his team-mates and I have no doubt about that. I have no doubt he will do his best.

“You will have to ask him [whether he wants to leave]. I don’t know. I know what I want.

“I think Antoine is behaving really, really well. There is a lot of noise around him and he is being a top professional and I’m sure he will be, until the last day.

“Obviously, he is a massive player. Not only this season. But, everyone has to give their best.

“If we lose Antoine, that is going to be a massive hit, but you have to move on. It is like this in football.”

Having won just one of their first 14 Premier League games against Arsenal (D2 L11), Bournemouth did the double over the Gunners last season.

However, the Cherries have lost 12 of their 13 Premier League games against sides starting the day top of the table, with the exception being a 2-1 home win over Man City in November 2024.