Pep Guardiola is pulling out the stops in a bid to get his Manchester City side to beat Arsenal to the Premier League title.
In Wayne Rooney’s eyes, Arsenal’s only competitor in the title race is Man City, who currently sit six points behind the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta will be desperate to get the better of his former colleague, Guardiola, but Pep is making it very clear that he will do everything in his power to keep Arsenal away from the title.
One tactic is the January transfer window, as Guardiola wants to sign Marc Guehi to bolster his defence, as well as Antoine Semenyo.
Fill the blanks: Arsenal will get __ points from these games and Manchester City will get __.
Pep Guardiola wanted Antoine Semenyo to play against Arsenal before signing for Manchester City
Arsenal appreciate Semenyo, but saw the winger as an acquisition more suited to the summer than January.
Man City wasted no time and swooped for the Ghanaian, and while a move was plotted weeks ago, there’s one reason why we have yet to see Semenyo in sky blue.
What was previously a suspicion has now been confirmed by The Athletic, who revealed that Man City and Bournemouth had an ‘agreement’ to let Semenyo play against Chelsea and Arsenal before his move.
It’s unsurprising to learn that Guardiola did in fact want to see his pending new signing trouble the Gunners, who just beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Man City boss, things didn’t play out as hoped, as not only did Arsenal win, but Semenyo played a part in the result for the wrong reasons.
How worried are you by Manchester City’s move for Antoine Semenyo?
Noni Madueke made Guardiola’s plan backfire
Guardiola might’ve envisaged Semenyo scoring against Arsenal to hand Man City an advantage, but instead, it was the 25-year-old who helped the Gunners to score.
Gabriel Magalhaes had an instant reply to Bournemouth’s opener, scoring six minutes after his mishap with a goal crafted by Noni Madueke.
| Antoine Semenyo vs Arsenal |
| 35% duels won |
| 16x possession lost |
| 2 fouls committed |
| 0 shots on target |
In the build-up, Madueke twisted and turned on the flank, isolating Semenyo in a one-versus-one situation where he humiliated the City-bound winger.
Madueke starred against Bournemouth and left Semenyo red-faced in the process to help Arsenal on their way to a win, ruining Guardiola’s plan.
There’s no doubting that signing Semenyo strengthens Arsenal’s title rivals, but for now, the Gunners will be solely focused on themselves, flexing a six-point lead.
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