Why Man City should keep Semenyo at Bournemouth a little longer

As 2026 dawns, the drawn-out saga of Antoine Semenyo's exit from Bournemouth seems finally close to its conclusion.

With a proposed £65m move to Manchester City having moved from "talks" to "advanced talks" (with, no doubt, "final talks" to come), Semenyo's body language after the final whistle of Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Chelsea, hugging team-mates and applauding the away fans, was that of a man saying goodbye.

However, Cherries boss Andoni Iraola's post-match interviews indicated he did not believe it was Semenyo's final game, and that he expected him to feature against Arsenal at Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Indeed, might it even be in City's broader interests for Semenyo to help Bournemouth take a point or two off the Gunners, who are City's main rivals for the Premier League title, before finalising his move?

Thankfully for all parties, Semenyo avoided picking up a fifth yellow card of the season at Stamford Bridge, having walked a disciplinary tightrope for the past three games.

A fifth caution would have ruled him out of the next round of matches, whichever shirt he wears – but having reached the 19-game mark safely, players are now safe from suspension unless they rack up 10 bookings in their first 32 league games.

An even more impressive high-wire act has come from Bournemouth defender Alex Jimenez, booked on his first three appearances after joining on loan from AC Milan, but only collecting one yellow card in his next 12 outings so he, too, has evaded a ban.