After falling to defeat to their London rivals Chelsea at the Europa League Final, Arsenal found themselves quite frankly where we’re used to seeing them, just outside the Top 4. We’re on the brink of a very different looking Arsenal side though with Ramsay over at Juventus and Koscielny with his toys firmly out of the pram. Some exciting incomings with Dani Ceballos already on loan, Celtic defender Kieran Tierney nearing a deal and of course the big one – Nicolas Pepe might be just days away from a deal with the Gunners.
Pre-Season Form
Pre-Season has been largely positive for Arsenal, a couple of losses to Lyon and Real Madrid but enough to give fans hope. The defence however looks as flimsy as ever, that centre back position isn’t going to be solved by a returning Callum Chambers. Eddie Nketiah has been the main star of pre-season and has found himself on the scoresheet 3 times but at 20 years old and behind Lacazette and Aubameyang in the pecking order, it’s difficult to see him getting enough minutes to make him a viable FPL option – at least not yet. Aubameyang and Lacazette have continued where they left off last season too and Lacazette going off with a twisted ankle in their last friendly shouldn’t worry anyone.
Star Man – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m)
It’s difficult to see past Aubameyang being the highest point scorer again for Arsenal this year, scoring more than any other forward last year he relished in one key area where others didn’t – consistency. The striker never went more than 3 games with a blank and even that only happened twice. His premium lies in the reliability of a place in the 11, a key factor above his teammate Lacazette who he actually bettered in Points Per 90 too. Aubameyang, whilst fairly well owned on the official FPL site itself seems widely under owned across a lot of the teams I’ve seen pre-season.
Hidden Gem – Alex Iwobi (£6.0m)
It feels like it’s time to start talking about Alex Iwobi. With the most minutes played of any of Arsenal’s attacking midfielders last season he’s quietly found himself in Arsenal’s starting 11 more often than not. His shots per 90 have decreased in the last season but his key passes have increased, which shows he’s become more of a cog to the team machine rather than an attacking option serving as a roll of the dice. This season could well be the season he steps up and starts claiming some of the limelight.
Gamble Pick – Mesut Ozil (£7.5m)
In his time at Arsenal, Ozil has never really been cheap or a differential. This season? He’s both. Having this guy in your team is nothing but a pure unashamedly massive punt, nothing from last season at all justifies him getting a starting place in anyone’s FPL team (and Arsenal’s team for that matter) but I just can’t shake off that feeling that him and Arsenal aren’t done. Emery has to believe in him, simply on the basic fact that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be at Arsenal anymore. At £7.5m you’ll struggle to find a player with the same FPL calibre as Ozil.
Predicted Line-up
Leno
Maitland-Niles – Sokratis – Mustafi – Monreal
Xhaka – Ceballos – Iwobi – Pepe
Aubameyang – Lacazette
Written by FPL Bandit (@FPLBandit)
