With the departure of Arsene Wenger and the arrival of Unai Emery, it won’t be a stretch to say that the landscape at Arsenal has seen an earth-shattering change. Many questions have risen from that. How does this change the football club? Will the style of football change? Will Emery focus more on the defence? But more importantly, who will deliver the most points and who should we consider for our respective fantasy teams? This article will try to shed light on the prospective fantasy picks from Arsenal with the official Fantasy Premier League in mind.
Arsenal in the Eyes of a Fantasy Football Player
Keepers
Petr Cech (5.0) seems to have established himself as the first choice but with a defence as brittle as Arsenal’s, one should probably consider keepers from other clubs. New signing Bernd Leno (4.8) is waiting to take Cech’s place as well so it might be better to look elsewhere.
Defenders
Even though clean sheets might be in short supply, there are still good picks available at the back for the Gunners. Hector Bellerin (5.4) and Nacho Monreal (5.5) offer excellent attacking potential. Monreal has an eye for a goal and has already scored against West Ham. Bellerin, on the other hand, has been rampaging down the right and sending some delicious cutbacks, only for players to miss sitters. He has only one assist to his name so far, which is a travesty as he deserves at least three assists. One was cruelly taken away by Alex Iwobi against the Hammers with a slight touch that hardly affected the trajectory of the ball. Regardless, Bellerin should do well fantasy-wise.
The other options are not that appealing as both Shkodran Mustafi (5.4) and Sokratis (5.3) are hardly consistent point generators. New signing Stephan Lichtsteiner (4.8) has not started yet. Once Laurent Koscielny (5.5) returns, Arsenal might start getting clean sheets, but for the moment, Bellerin and Monreal are the only ones worth considering.
Midfielders
There are a lot of good options in midfield but as Emery searches for the right formation and personnel, it’s difficult to pick out the players who will start week in week out.
The most popular midfielder pick from Arsenal this season so far has been Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7.2). He had a blinder at Chelsea and got 12 points but hasn’t done much in the other matches. His price makes him a really attractive prospect with good attacking potential. His starting status also has come under scrutiny as he was dropped against Cardiff.
The more expensive picks like Mesut Özil (8.3) and Aaron Ramsey (7.4) have not produced a lot so far this season. Their places also don’t seem to be guaranteed. Özil was left out against West Ham and there are reports of a rift between him and Emery. Ramsey has been decent but he only has a year left on his contract and that might affect his starting status.
When Alex Iwobi (5.5) plays, he has the potential to do well but his starting status is not guaranteed. He was left out of the squad against Cardiff and is currently ill.
Other options like Granit Xhaka (5.4), Lucas Torreira (4.9) and Matteo Guendouzi (4.5) do not offer much fantasy potential. They might get the odd assist but units are probably better spent elsewhere.
Forwards
Arsenal possess two of the most lethal forwards in Europe in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (10.9) and Alexandre Lacazette (9.4). Emery tried to fit them in together in the last match against Cardiff and both of them scored. However, Aubameyang was mostly ineffective out wide and was not involved as much as he should’ve been. Lacazette, on the other hand, had a great game and was a threat throughout. He looked good in the previous games as well coming off the bench.
With a lot of excellent forward picks available at six-seven units, fantasy players should probably look elsewhere. Lacazette could be a great differential for your side, though. He seems to be hungry for goals and on current form should start ahead of Aubameyang if Emery decided to just pick one striker. Danny Welbeck (6.5) is unlikely to start in the Premier League anytime soon.
Conclusion
Overall, Mkhitaryan (7.2), Lacazette (9.4), Bellerin (5.4) and Monreal (5.5) seem to be the best fantasy picks considering their prices and attacking potential.
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