Arsenal join Newcastle United in pursuit of highly-rated winger with 12 Premier League goals

Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal are expected to join Newcastle United in the race to sign talented Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo in January.

Earlier this week, GiveMeSport revealed that Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell had sent scouts to keep a close eye on Semenyo’s progress this season after another impressive display against the Magpies which saw him provide an assist for Marcus Tavernier in an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium.

This was not the first time that Semenyo has caused problems against the North East club and he was also lauded by pundits in February when he scored a long-range effort for the Cherries in a thrilling 2-2 draw at St James’ Park.

The 24-year-old, who once enjoyed a brief seven game loan spell with Newcastle’s bitter rivals Sunderland, is considered to be one of English football’s rising stars.

He caught the eye in the Championship with an impressive eight goals and 12 assists in his final full season with Bristol City before making the £10m move to Bournemouth in January 2023.

Since moving to the Premier League, Semenyo has continued his upwards trajectory, he slotted in eight goals and two assists from 33 appearances last season, and is already showing signs that he is capable of beating that number this term, with three goals and one assist in seven matches this term.

TeamTalk understands at this stage that Newcastle are the frontrunners to make a move for Semenyo in January. The Magpies are keen to improve their existing options of Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy on the right hand side of the attack, and see Semenyo at just 24 years of age as a player that could still significantly improve in the future.

However, Caught Offside understands that Arsenal have also identified Semenyo as a player that could potentially provide competition to Bukayo Saka on the right hand side of their attack. Arsenal currently have Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea, but are still deciding whether they want to pursue the England international on a permanent basis in the summer.

Semenyo recently signed a contract extension at Bournemouth back in July and is under contract until the summer of 2027, according to BBC Sport.

This leaves the Cherries in a strong position when it comes to negotiating and as we have seen with the recent club-record sale of Dominic Solanke, it is unlikely that Andoni Iraloa’s side will part with the player on the cheap.