French International and Arsenal centre-back, William Saliba was forced to leave the pitch after the first half against Crystal Palace after he sustained a knock. Eberechi Eze’s first-half goal was enough to see the Gunners move four points clear at the top of the Premier League table as their yet another excellent start to the season continues.
This isn’t the first time he has been injured this season as he was forced to leave the pitch against Liverpool, just 4 minutes after the first half began, due to an ankle injury. The defending champions would then go on to win the match 1-0, thanks to a world class free-kick from Hungarian midfielder Domink Szoboszlai.
The 24 year-old didn’t make the squad for Arsenal’s victory over Brighton in the Carabao Cup Round of 16, which has raised questions about his fitness and whether or not he’s available to face Burnley in the Premier League, over the weekend.
What does it mean for FPL managers?
The reason for Saliba’s injury is unknown as of now, as neither manager Mikel Arteta, nor the club have released a statement regarding the injury concern. Being a key first-choice centre-back for the former Gunner manager, the 24 year-old has averaged 6.2 points per game when playing the full 90 minutes. Arsenal has just conceded 3 goals in their opening 9 matches and could potentially break Chelsea’s historic record of conceding just 15 goals in 38 games during the 2004/05 season under Jose Mourinho.
It is more than an understatement when said that Saliba is the core component of Arsenal’s world class defence along with Brazilian centre-back Gabriel, who are arguably one of the best centre-back pairings in the world. Arsenal’s defensive style of play generates a lot of clean sheets for FPL managers and are heavily favoured to win their next three fixtures against Burnley (A), Sunderland (A), and Tottenham (H), respectively.
Over 67,000 FPL managers have decided to part ways with Saliba, this gameweek along while nearly 30,000 managers have entrusted him for their teams. Whether or not if he’ll feature in the squad for Arsenal’s trip to Lancashire to face newly promoted side Burnley, is unclear for now.
Replacements for William Saliba
Marc Cucurella: The Euros and Club World Cup winner has developed into arguable the best left-back in the world, as his role under Enzo Maresca makes him the core component in Chelsea’s shift from defence to attack and vice versa. The Spaniard scored 7 goals and provided 4 assists across all competitions and has been an absolute Def-Con machine for the World Champions. Whether it’s scoring goals or making crucial defensive challenges, somehow the Spaniard finds himself doing it all perfectly, which makes him a very good defensive option for FPL managers.
Gabriel: At just £6.5M, Gabriel is one of, if not the best choice for a starting centre-back for managers in their FPL teams, with a form rating of 10.0, he sits at the top of the list of 246 defenders, with him also being the most selected defender by managers at a whopping 37.4%. Just like Saliba, his solidarity in defence has produced cleans sheets after clean sheets for Arsenal.
Jurrien Timber: The Dutch international costs just £6.1M and has been one of the best point scoring defenders this season with over 24% of managers giving him the nod for their teams. With an incredible form rating of 7.7, making him the fourth best defender in the league, he is one of the best options for replacing William Saliba.
With the transfer deadline being till Saturday, November 1, before 13:30 GMT (19:00 IST), it gives managers plenty of time to review their FPL teams according to all the club’s team news ahead of GW10.
