‘Music to my ears’ - Antoine Semenyo reveals excitement over Enzo Maresca’s tactical plan for Manchester City after Pep Guardiola exit

Maresca's tactical blueprint excites Semenyo

Semenyo has hailed Maresca's style of play after showcasing early signs of his role under the Italian. City were defeated on penalties by Inter Milan in Maresca's first game in charge in Hong Kong, but the side demonstrated the attacking intent the new boss will deploy after replacing Pep Guardiola. Semenyo played the opening 45 minutes and helping to set up Divine Mukasa's goal for City. The winger is relishing the opportunity to operate in a system that prioritizes width and individual brilliance on the flanks.

"When he got appointed, that was the first thing I thought about because when you've played Chelsea previously when he was there, his wide men were always high and quite free. So that was one of the things that excited me the most when he got appointed and it's exciting for me as a winger. I get to have one-v-one situations most of the game and I am looking forward to it," Semenyo said.

"I have had individual meetings with him on how he wants to set up, how he wants to play his wide men and just overall as a team. I think his ideas are great, quite similar to Pep, but if you watched the [Inter] game, you would have seen a couple of his ideas play out and it was good. Enzo is just [stay] out wide and when you get the ball, just create opportunities. So it is music to my ears."

The Guardiola influence

His debut half-season at the Etihad Stadium was nothing short of spectacular, as he played a pivotal role in the club's silverware haul. Semenyo scored a total of 21 goals for club and country last season, netting the winning goal in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea. He added: "I think for me, I just wanted the next step to be the big one and Manchester City was the option. Pep spoke to me beforehand and he said, 'look, when you come, I am going to make you a better player'.

"You want to get better, you want to improve every season and he definitely helped me with that in the first five months, but obviously sad for him to leave."

Bournemouth launches player's career

Semenyo joined City from Bournemouth for £65m in the January transfer window. Despite the high-profile move, he remains deeply grateful to the club that provided him with a platform to shine in the English top flight.

"I owe them everything to be honest, "They helped my Premier League career flourish and obviously the management, the staff behind the scenes, they were all amazing, they made everything so smooth," Semenyo noted.

Faith as the foundation for success

Beyond the pitch, Semenyo is a devout Christian and has faith-based tattoos etched across his body. The commitment to his spiritual life is something he views as essential to his professional performance. "I know that I am obviously walking with God at the moment, and I want to maximise my faith as much as I can, so practising gives me the opportunity to do that," Semenyo said. "I wouldn't be here without him God, so there is always going to be faith and football after."

"I think God gave me the talent to be a footballer, he gave me all the skills, he gave the mindset and the mentality, so I owe it to him to perform and maximise his words to the world."