The Premier League is less than a week away and along with it, commences he fantasy premier league or the FPL. Arsenal have been playing their best football in recent years, under Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners finished 2nd in last season’s Premier League to Pep’s City and looked like one of the most confident and sought after, possession-based teams all across Europe. they even managed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 7 years.
Arsenal’s players are quite popular in this season’s draft when compared to teams like Liverpool, Spurs or even Manchester City. This article provides a nuanced perspective to analyze some of the Arsenal assets that you can add to your fantasy squad.
Analyzing last season and pre-season:
Arsenal had one of their best seasons in recent years as they looked like the title contenders but eventually ran out of gas in their final 10 stretch of games with draws at Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton and eventually losing to the 2nd placed City, 4-1.
However, in Fantasy Premier League the team performed quite well, as they scored 88 goals last campaign.
When compared with champions, Manchester City they have 6 less as the blues scored 94 but if you look at the way the goals are divided, one can see that City’s major chunk of goals come from one source, Haaland who scored 36 out of the 94 whereas, Arsenal’s goals were quite evenly divided amongst their attackers with players like Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard having similar tallies and making them more attractive choices in FPL.
Arsenal statistics from GW17-GW26 when Jesus was injured #FPL
In pre-season, Arsenal had a mixed bag as they defeated FC Barcelona 5-3 but also lost against longtime rivals Manchester United, 2-0.
Gabriel Jesus faced an injury scare during preseason which means 8.0M attacker will be out for a few weeks which makes Bukayo Saka their out and out penalty taker and the introduction of Declan Rice from West Ham allows Arteta to implement his 3-2-4-1 system better as it required a ball carrier and Rice’s addition does just that, allowing more time spent in the opponent half and added fluidity across play.
Bukayo Saka
The young English winger is a must have given his performances in the league last season and Arsenal’s GW1-3 fixtures which include Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Fulham all of whom conceded close to or more than 50 goals last campaign.
Saka is the 2nd highest picked player across the game behind Haaland which makes him the most attractive Arsenal asset. Last season he managed to bag 14 goals and 11 assists last campaign and scored 202 fantasy points.
A major aspect which makes him so important to your squad is the fact he is a midfielder who is on penalties which can prove to be a great advantage over players from teams such as Tottenham and Manchester City who have a striker as their penalty taker. Saka is priced at 8.5 M which allows you to diversify your assets rather than breaking the bank on one premium player.
Reasons why I like Saka for GW1 Captain.
– Forest at home is easier than Burnley away.
– Good time of day. Forest have quite a few players who have enjoyed a relaxing summer. That 7.30am wake-up call in the hotel followed by 8.30am pasta is going to sting.
A major debate amongst managers online is between the choice of the Arsenal midfielders both had surprisingly high scoring season’s last campaign as they both managed to score 15 goals in the league, each.
The separating point however is that Martinelli if Jesus doesn’t play will be allowed to come inside a lot more with Havertz playing as a false nine and Odegaard’s restricted forward runs and 0.5M more expensive price makes Martinelli a more attractive option when comparing the two.
While a case can be made for the Norwegian who is on set pieces and has slightly better minutes, Martinelli seems the threatening option, attack wise and is more pocket friendly.
Odegaard – MID -£8.5m
I think the FPL headquarters has priced Arsenal’s skipper £0.5 too expensive to consider.
If you want an Arsenal attacker then picking Saka who is the same price as Ødegaard is simply the better pick or Martinelli 0.5m cheaper pic.twitter.com/18XcUBg3DT
The defender can very well be labeled under an enabler but also plays for one of the best teams in the division. Last season he played a major role in commandeering the Arsenal backline as they managed to keep 14 clean sheets.
Gabriel is a locked starter for Mikel Arteta and at the cheap price of 5.0M, he is a must have player from Arsenal’s squad.
The Brazilian center back scored 146 points last season and ranked in the top 10 amongst defenders for bonus points as well.
This season he is in the top 5 for the highest selected defenders in the game with a selection rate of 25.5%. he can prove to be quite an aerial threat from set pieces which makes him a bargain at 5.0M.
Gabriel Magalhaes 🔴
– Highest xG (5.04) amongst defenders last season. – Scored eight goals in his last two seasons. – Started every league game last season. – Playing for a top 3 defence at least. – Perfect hairline – Only £5.0m! pic.twitter.com/0RZiReNbpT
The Englishman had a breakout season last year and was even named in Premier League’s team of the season. he managed to keep 14 clean sheets in 38 games last campaign, starting all the games for Arteta which takes him far away from any type of rotation risk.
Ramsdale this season is priced at 5.0M which makes him a better option against the likes of Alisson and Ederson as they are 0.5M more expensive and Ederson’s lack of clean sheets and Liverpool’s ageing defense which include Van Dijk and Matip and injury problems faced by Ibrahima Konate make the reds more susceptible to goals and make Ramsdale seem more attractive.
Arsenal had the second highest clean sheet percentage last season and with the addition of Jurrien Timber, their defense looks quite solid but the rumored transfer of Spaniard David Raya can prove to be a hindrance for managers, it would be ideal to add the Englishman right at the deadline if the deal isn’t confirmed.
