The Arsenal midfield and attack have deservedly been getting plenty of plaudits for their performances this season, but the boys at the back deserve plenty of kudos as well.
Gameweek 14 review
Rarely has a round of midweek fixtures delivered as much quality as what we saw during the week and rarely has it been a cause for as much celebration as it was for the managers who followed our advice – because they clearly wouldn’t have done so otherwise – and selected Luis Suarez as captain.
The Uruguayan clearly loves playing against Norwich – he has now scored 11 goals in his last four games against the Canaries – and he scored a whopping 24 points after four goals, each more ridiculous than the last, and an assist in the Reds’ 5-1 victory at Anfield.
Suarez’s 24-point haul was seven better than his nearest challenger Eden Hazard, who would have managed 18 points had he not removed his jersey after one of his two excellent goals against Sunderland. High-scoring midfielders were in plentiful supply during the week and Yaya Toure was next best with 15 after his brace against West Brom, with Jonjo Shelvey (14), Fabian Delph (13) and Raheem Sterling (12) also reaching double figures.
Everyone was talking about Nicklas Bendtner after a rare goal against Hull but it was the man who set it up, Carl Jenkinson, who made the Dream Team with 12 points and he was joined by Gabby Agbonlahor (11), Vlad Chiriches (10), Aleksandar Kolarov (9) and Julian Speroni (8).
J-League
It is a testament to the quality of the J-League that you have to go down to 12th place before finding a manager who didn’t manage to exceed 100 points this week, so shame on Damian Lowry’s Ballyhide Boggers for posting the ‘measly’ total of 97 points.
Despite the high scores, the top three remain unchanged as Stuart McGoldrick’s Champions 2013/14 continue to keep Barry Curran’s Gambitbeer and Brian Ruane’s Dukes of Hazard at bay.
119 points from Sean O’Donoghue’s Celtic D’s catapult them into fourth place, with Paul McInaw’s Poppycock Wednesday and Anthony Murphy’s Sea Dogs locked on the same points in fifth place after the pair of them managed 106 points apiece this week.
J-League Top 5:
- Champions 2013/14 – Stuart McGoldrick: 996 points
- Gambitbeer – Barry Curran: 982 points
- Dukes of Hazard – Brian Ruane: 972 points
- Celtic D’s – Sean O’Donoghue: 969 points
- Poppycock Wednesday – Paul McInaw, Sea Dogs – Anthony Murphy: 957 points
The case for the Arsenal defence
One of the biggest criticisms levelled at Arsenal in recent years is that they have something of a ‘soft centre’.
Arsene Wenger’s teams have always been attractive to watch and have included some brilliant individual players, but there was a feeling that they lacked characters of the likes of Adams, Bould and Keown or Vieira and Petit and that they were particularly vulnerable at the centre of the defence.
That vulnerability was often shown up in the big games and often at the Emirates against Manchester United or Chelsea, but the Gunners have displayed a mean streak this season and perhaps aren’t getting the credit they deserve because of the exploits of Cazorla, Giroud, Ozil and that man Ramsey so far.
The bare stats make for very impressive reading. With only ten goals conceded in the league so far, Arsenal have conceded three fewer goals than any other team in the league and have let in only seven in 13 since the shock opening day defeat to Aston Villa.
Apart from Robin van Persie’s winner at Old Trafford last month, Wojciech Szczesny hasn’t had to pick the ball out of the back of his net since October 19 and that clash with Man United is the only time Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet in the last six league games.
With stats like that, you would think that Arsenal’s defenders are expensive, but there are 11 defenders more expensive than Per Mertesacker – the most expensive Arsenal defender at £5.9 million – while Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna are also very affordable at £5.4 million.
Sagna’s out injured at the moment but Carl Jenkinson is an able replacement and comes very cheap (£4.1 million), while the previously unreliable Szczesny has looked more solid than ever this season and is the second highest-scoring goalkeeper behind Tim Howard.
Ideally, the Gunners rearguard would get involved at the other end on a more regular basis, as only Mertesacker and Sagna have scored (one goal each) and Carl Jenkinson has more assists (2) than any other defender despite playing far fewer games.
The other issue is that Arsenal play Everton, Manchester City and Chelsea in their next three games and will be under far more pressure in those games than they have been of late, but their performances to date have justified a little respect (just a little bit) and faith from managers whom they have served well to date.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Eden Hazard (£9.7 million). The Belgian had been simmering nicely for a few weeks before coming to the boil in spectacular fashion against Sunderland in midweek. Stoke could suffer similarly at the Britannia tomorrow afternoon.
Mid-Range: Aaron Ramsey (£7.5 million). When in doubt go with Ramsey, who looked as if he was in the middle of a mini-drought with no goals in two games before making up for it with two goals, an assist and 21 points since Saturday.
Bargain Basement: Jonjo Shelvey (£5.4 million). Two goals and two assists in the last four games for the former Liverpool man, who’s picked up 26 points during that period.
Irish Pick: Damien Delaney (£4.4 million). Believe it or not, Palace have kept clean sheets in three of their last four games, conceding only a single goal in the process and Delaney has been there for every minute of the recent revival.
Captain’s Pick: Luis Suarez (£12.5 million). After what he did to Norwich on Wednesday night, we hardly have to justify his selection as skipper ahead of a home clash with West Ham this weekend.
