Aryaman S

Arsenal FPL Dilemma: Gabriel & Saliba vs Timber & Calafiori – Who Should You Pick?

Fantasy Premier League

Arsenal’s defensive solidity has become a hallmark of Mikel Arteta’s side, making their backline a prime target for FPL managers. Arsenal are especially the team with the most goals from set pieces and corners. They seem to have mastered this craft under set piece coach Nicolas Jover. They have certainly become an easy set and forget option with there being a plethora of choices in their backline the question is which defender to go for?

Gabriel and Saliba CB Duo: Last season this was the choice, Gabriel had a better goal threat and Saliba was considered undroppable, playing 90 mins almost every match. These two were the safest option and were not at all a minutes risk. Both are also at the same £6.1m price tag at the moment. Saliba so far has only accumulated 0.01 xGI and Gabriel on 0.05 xGI, even though Arsenal have scored 3 goals from corners this season. Highlighting the fact that teams are targeting these two in their corner routines.

This is a picture from last season where we can see Brighton targeting Gabriel by having 2 defenders on him and blocking his path to goal.

Timber and Calafiori: While Gabriel and Saliba have been quiet, these two have been wreaking havoc inside the penalty box. Calafiori would score the only goal after an error in judgement by Bayindir from a corner. He would rack up a 13 pointer. He would strike again this week setting up Timber from a corner and also conjure up an assist from open play, getting two assists and racking up another 13 pointer making him the highest scoring defender and player even beating midfielders and forwards.

Timber who is second highest scoring player was on the bench against the Red Devils and would come after Ben White was taken off due to precaution and received a yellow card earning him a 0 pointer. It was however the match on Saturday that turned heads, Timber would earn the second highest single gameweek score by a defender with a massive 24 points.

He would score twice from a corner and setup Saka from open play. Both of these fullbacks have shown their ability to setup goals from open play as well as score from corners.

Surely you would go for Timber and Calafiori due to their goal threat and explosivity rather than banking on bonus and defcon points that Saliba and Gabriel offer while being £0.6m and £0.5m cheaper respectively.

Here is the downside of these fullbacks, as seen against Manchester United in their opening game Timber was Benched for Ben White. Calafiori was also subbed off for Lewis Skelly. Against Leeds both of them were withdrawn in the 64th minute for Lewis Skelly and Mosquera. Yes this could help them bank clean sheets by getting subbed off earlier but it also highlights the volatility they possess. We are also in the beginning stages of the season, and when the European and Cup midweek fixtures kick in they could become a problem due to rotation.

To conclude this all depends on how you are planning on playing if you want a set and forget option go for any of the CB duo, if you want a higher probability of goals and assists, go for Timber or Calafiori. Alternatively you could pick say Calafiori right now and then when the fixtures kick in go for Saliba/Gabriel.

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