Last night Fulham brought the curtain down on a gameweek that will long remain in the memory due to the demise of Rafa’s men at the hand of an inflatable. I’m not sure who was more likely to score this gamweek; Bobby Zamora or a beachball. Not to worry; while one Liverpool fan no doubt learnt a harsh lesson, here’s my regular view on what we can take from the weekend…

Mannone will go the way of Ben Foster…
The young Italian keeper has impressed while Almunia has been out wheezing. The Spaniard was surprisingly benched against Birmingham but was comforted by the sight of Mannone gifting Bowyer Birmingham’s goal. Expect a recall for Almunia in the Champions League tonight then and an end to Mannone’s brief flirtation as a fantasy prospect.

Wenger has the confidence to bench Arshavin…
The Fabregas vs Arshavin debate took a twist when Wenger decided to start with Walcott and Rosicky either side of Van Persie, only for Theo’s injury to introduce another turn of events and allow the Russian to bring in some returns from a Fabregas assist. It looks as though Walcott could be sidelined for up to four weeks. That may hamper Wenger when it comes to resting and rotating Arshavin but let’s not lose sight of the fact that he started as an onlooker. As I’ve mentioned before, Rosicky’s and Eduardo’s (when fit) availability offer options on the left which Wenger may explore another half a dozen times in the league, given that he has Bendtner (when fit), Eboue and a Walcott (when fit) to accommodate on the right.

Frank’s fortunes continue to diminish…
Our Frank, formally a fantasy crown jewel, is currently being frozen out on the right of Ancelotti’s midfield diamond. His influence on matches has clearly taken a hit – his points goal and fantasy points return has followed suit. With the Chelsea boss deploying Deco on the point of the diamond on Saturday and with Joe Cole nearing fitness – the chances of Lampard being reinstated in a role that can earn him 15-20 goals this season look slight.

The Wolves are at the door…
Mick McCarthy’s side could yet provide us with some budget fantasy prospects. Kightly and Ebanks Blake – both pre-season budget favourites, were in the starting lineup at Goodison and, although they will take time to regain match fitness and adjust to the pace, they may yet provide some potential when the Wolves fixture list provides some assistance (not for a good while). Doyle’s form and recent returns continue to attract attention, while Halford was back in the midfield on Saturday.

Rovers pair offer returns…
Rovers have goals in them and in Dunn and Di Santo, they have players to create and take chances. Dunn has been a favourite on these pages for several weeks, while Di Santo, like Portsmouth’s Boateng, scored after being tipped in Desert Island Risks in last week’s podcast. Big Sam’s pair will get some investment then, although the next two against Chelsea and United appear to offer a very shaky platform for immediate returns. Longer term however, Di Santo could be an interesting prospect. The Argentine will surely return to Chelsea in January and with Drogba and Kalou off to the African Cup of Nations, he should be in line for some New Years starts for Ancelotti.

Beattie is back on the boil…
The brace against the hapless Hammers included a spot-kick but marked a return to form at last for one of last season’s big fantasy bargains. While the current trend is to back top price, heavy hitting strikers, the emergence of some cheaper alternatives could open the way for investment in differentials elsewhere in our squads. Beattie is a streaky player who normally maintains some form once he starts scoring. He certainly has some nice fixtures to help him (tot WLV hul POR bla).

Heitinga is the latest out of position defender…
With skipper Neville missing from his midfield holding role, David Moyes shoved new signing Heitinga into midfield and deployed the dependable Hibbert at right-back. With noises yesterday indicating that Rodwell is due a rest, it seems likely that Hibbert will hold down this position, whilst Heitinga becomes an semi-interesting prospect as a defender playing further forward. Add his input from direct free-kicks (he’s going to return on these at some point), Everton’s defensive form (2 goals conceded in 4 outings), plus their kind-ish run of fixtures (the double in gameweek 13 ) and you have another defender in the Song/Scharner/Zayatte mold, that’s worth a a look.

Rodallega is no longer central to Wigan…
The emergence of Jason Scotland as a credible option up front for Wigan has seen Roberto Martinez shift to a 4-3-2-1 system with N’Zogbia and Rodallega supporting either side of the big Trinidadian. Horrible forthcoming fixtures for Wigan make their players unattractive options for the next few weeks and Hugo is going to have work extra hard in his new role to repay his fantasy owners.