Fantasy Football Insider – Gameweek 23: Bulk up your Arsenal

For the second week in a row managers have a double Gameweek to look forward to, with those inconsistent Gooners offering the best prospect of a big points haul.

Gameweek 22 review

If there was any doubt about the importance of a double Gameweek they were surely blown out of the water after the past few days, with eight of the 11 players in this week’s Dream Team coming from the teams in action twice, Chelsea and Southampton.

We recommended the selection of Juan Mata because of his consistency compared to his Chelsea teammates and although the Spaniard delivered with 16 points, he was upstaged by Eden Hazard, who scored two goals and built up four bonus points over two games for a 19-point haul.

Joining Mata and Hazard were midfielder Frank Lampard (13) and defender Cesar Azpilicueta (10), while Southampton were represented by two-goal Rickie Lambert (14), Jason Puncheon (12), defender Nathaniel Clyne (11) and former Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc (8).

Manchester United’s defender Nemanja Vidic (11) gets a look in after inadvertently diverting the ball into the net against Liverpool on Sunday and is joined by former teammate Carlos Tevez (11) and Reading’s Jimmy Kebe (13) as the only non-Chelsea or Southampton representatives to make the cut.

J-League

The double gameweek had a profound effect on the top of the J-League, with traditional league leader Barry McCabe and his Breffni Blues side almost knocked out of the top five altogether after an underwhelming return of 65 points for the week that was in it.

While Barry just about clings onto his place in the top five, he’s still only ten points behind new leaders Marty’s Muppets, managed by Martin Hanway, who registered a 92-point score, bettered in the top five only by Neill McNicholas’ 123, who broke the 100-point barrier with 109 points.

It’s fairly bunched at the top as it currently stands, with Andy Twomey’s Athtrasna only four points off the top spot in second, Darren McCann’s Dazzleros a point further back in third with Neill McNicholas’ 123 and Barry McCabe’s Breffni Blues in hot pursuit.

With another double gameweek to follow this week, we expect equal if not greater amounts of moving and shaking at the top over the next few days.

J-League Top 5:

1. Marty’s Muppets – Martin Hanway: 1,351 points
2. Athtrasna – Andy Twomey: 1,347 points
3. Dazzleros – Darren McCann: 1,346 points
4. 123 – Neill McNicholas: 1,342 points
5. Breffni Blues – Barry McCabe: 1,341 points

Bulk up your Arsenal

Arsenal are hardly a team you can set your watch by, particularly this season, so there’s no telling whether managers will be incredibly happy or incredibly frustrated if they end up loading up on Gunners for the double gameweek this week.

And it’s not as if their two fixtures are easy either. Chelsea away on Sunday will certainly be no walk in the park and although you’d expect them to dispose of West Ham on home turf, they should also have been able to beat the likes of Swansea and Sunderland (2-0 defeat and 0-0 draw) at the Emirates as well.

That said, if there’s a repeat of the 7-3 thrashing of Newcastle or the 6-1 pummelling of Southampton you won’t want to miss out, so here are a few players worthy of consideration for the Gameweek ahead.

Arsenal’s options at the back aren’t great, but full-backs Keiran Gibbs (£5.6 million) and Bacary Sagna (£5.1 million) have played 90 minutes in all of Arsenal’s recent games, although five assists for Gibbs possibly make him the more attractive option.

On the other hand, managers are spoiled for choice when it comes to Arsenal’s midfield. Only four midfielders have scored more points than Santi Cazorla (£9.6 million) and even though his form has dipped a little of late, it was the same story before the game with Reading last month when he clocked up a hat-trick and 23 points.

Theo Walcott (£9.1 million), meanwhile, is almost a must-have for any manager this weekend. Walcott is classed as a midfielder but has been playing as a lone striker of late and rarely seems to go more than two games without contributing something to the cause in terms of goals or assists. A big day like he had against Newcastle a few weeks back and anybody who has him captain will be laughing their way to the top of the table.

Last but certainly not least, Jack Wilshere is one of those players in Fantasy Football whose points tally certainly doesn’t coincide with the level of influence he has on his team. Still, he’s been by far Arsenal’s best player in recent weeks, he’s coming off the back of a match-winning goal and man of the match performance against Swansea, is pretty cheap at £6.4 million and is virtually guaranteed to play both games, so you certainly could do worse.

JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:

Top Dollar: Carlos Tevez (£8.9 million). Looked very sharp against Arsenal last weekend and will be up against a Fulham side who have a habit of going missing when they go on the road.

Mid-Range: Daniel Sturridge (£7.3 million). Did enough in 45 minutes at Old Trafford on Sunday to suggest he could be a success at Liverpool. Has already scored on his full debut and his Premier League debut and could well do so on his  Anfield debut against Norwich on Saturday.

Bargain Basement: Carlton Cole (£4.9 million). Two goals and an assist is a very poor return for the season so far, but he’s ridiculously cheap, has started the last seven matches and has two chances to do the business this week.

Irish Pick: James McClean (£5.7 million). A goal and three bonus points last weekend, the Derryman seems to have overcome his early season blues.

Captain’s Pick: Theo Walcott (£9.1 million). Playing up front but classed as a midfielder and with two games to build up the points, Theo will be a popular choice as skipper this weekend.