Olivier Giroud grabs a goal and assist in Arsenal’s late win over Norwich. Victor Anichebe helps fire Everton to victory over QPR, Luis Suarez suffers a fourth straight blank as Liverpool stumble at Reading, Charles N’Zogbia nets in Villa’s home draw with Fulham, while Andy Carroll earns West Ham a point at St Mary’s.
Gunners Leave it Late
With five minutes left on the clock, Arsenal had looked like getting off to the worst possible start to the double Gameweek. A goal down to Norwich thanks to a Michael Turner header just before the hour mark, Arsene Wenger’s decision to send on Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain eventually paid off as the hosts racked up an eighth win in the last 10 Gameweeks as they finally found a way past the resilient Canaries defence. All three substitutes were amongst the points –Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain provided an assist apiece, while Podolski grabbed the Gunners’ second, though it was Olivier Giroud who stole the show with a goal and assist; the third time in the last four he’s produced attacking points.
Post-match, Wenger praised the performance of Jack Wilshere after his return from injury and explained why he was somewhat reluctant to ring the changes for the Canaries visit:
“He worked very hard, he has been in full training since Wednesday. Walcott has only been in full training since Friday. We thought [Wilshere] had enough in the locker to play an hour and, on top of that, Rosicky, who played in this position last week, was not available. I would not have pushed him in, maybe, had Rosicky been available. I didn’t want to restructure the team that has been successful so he was most suited to play in this position.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s vital home game with Everton, though, Wenger clearly has decisions to make on the back of his substitutes’ displays. Walcott’s owners will be confident he’ll replace the Ivorian on the right, while Podolski’s impact may even persuade Wenger to draft the German into the XI for the first time since Gameweek 24. Certainly, Podolski’s return would allow Santi Cazorla a chance to move to “the hole” behind Giroud, handing the Spaniard – the Gameweek’s overwhelming armband favourite – the chance to atone for yesterday’s two point return.
Suarez Drought Continues
Despite net sales of over 45,000 last week, Suarez’s remaining 39% owners were confident of a substantial haul as Liverpool made their way to Reading. The prospect of points was probably enough to dissuade many from selling for a double Gameweek option but thanks to the heroics of Royals stopper Alex McCarthy, the Uruguayan delivered a fourth successive blank – although he avoided a tenth yellow card, the sales may continue ahead of a home clash with Chelsea and trip to Newcastle.
If – as expected – the likes of City, Chelsea and Spurs are soon scheduled a double Gameweek 36, Suarez owners may decide to move him on to free up budget – while Sergio Aguero is an obvious replacement up top, plenty of big-hitting midfielders are also set for a pair of fixtures. Elsewhere amongst the Liverpool forwards, Daniel Sturridge retained his place at the expense of Stewart Downing for the Madejski match; the downside was that Brendan Rodgers chose to retain a 4-3-3 formation, meaning Sturridge was fielded on the right flank – while his game time may be improving, a move away from a central role is hardly likely to persuade his owners to hold.
McCarthy Stakes His Claim
With Adam Federici missing out with an ankle problem, Reading turned to fit-again Alex McCarthy to take up the role between the posts and that chain of events led to Reading earning themselves a point. McCarthy put on a staggering performance, denying the waves of Liverpool attacks and making several saves that almost defied belief. Reading boss, Nigel Adkins, was understandably full of praise for his young keeper post-match…
“Alex pulled off some world class saves today. He is going to get the headlines…He was always a talent, but he’s got all the qualities to be a top, top goalkeeper. He’s 6ft 5in, with good feet, he’s calm and assured.”
While the re-emergence of McCarthy may have come to late to tempt Fantasy investment, it must be said that, at just 3.9 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, he represents incredible value for the run-in. No other active keeper can be acquired for that price and, with strong save points looking assured, he could still be a consideration for those looking to free up funds with their bench keeper.
Everton’s Home Resilience
A third clean sheet in four took the Toffees’ unbeaten run to five as they swept aside QPR at Goodison. Prior to United’s match at Stoke this afternoon, David Moyes’ men are the only double Gameweek side to nullify their opponents after Arsenal, Fulham and West Ham all conceded but, going on past form, Everton are likely to struggle for a clean sheet at the Emirates – they have conceded in all but one of their last 12 away matches. Moyes’ side will be optimistic of further returns in front of their own fans before the season is out, with West Ham and Fulham still to pay visit, but after next weekend’s trip to Sunderland, their last two road trips are at Liverpool and Chelsea; suggesting the likes of Leighton Baines may have to rely on attacking points to maintain his spot at the top of the FPL defender standings.
Anichebe’s Consistency
We’d highlighted the 4.3 priced Nigerian in last week’s Scouting the Doubles articles and he duly delivered with Everton’s second just before the hour mark. Snapped up by just over 10,000 FPL managers heading into the weekend, Anichebe crept under the radar as over 204,000 flocked to Marouane Fellaini instead – selected ahead of Nikica Jelavic up top yet again, though, he maintained a superb record which has seen him score or assist in eight of his 13 starts over the season and looks set to continue ahead of the Croatian for Tuesday’s trip to the Emirates. Scout Pick Kevin Mirallas was also amongst the points – the Belgian supplied an assist in yesterday’s win and has now scored or assisted in four of his last five appearances.
Carroll Key to Hammers
Our headliner in Friday evening’s Spot the Differentials fired home a 20-yard free kick to help West Ham to a share of the spoils at St Mary’s. Since returning from a knee injury at the end of January, Carroll’s contribution has been vital to his side’s cause – he has scored five goals in seven starts, though yesterday was the first time he had scored on the road over that run of games. Having found the net in each of his last three home games, though, he’ll be in confident mood ahead of Wednesday’s visit of a United side which may be without skipper Nemanja Vidic and with Wigan, Newcastle and Reading still to visit Upton Park, has the platform to wreak further havoc in front of his own fans before the season is out.
Ramirez Takes Centre Stage
The recent exploits of Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert have kept the Saints record signing firmly in the shade in recent matches. With Rodriguez fit enough only for the bench and Lambert suffering a rare off day, Ramirez served a reminder of his attacking potential by grabbing the hosts’ opener against the Hammers – the second time he has found the net in his last three home appearances. Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival has seen a downturn in the Uruguayan’s game time but with a strong schedule still remaining, he looks poised to pick up the points over Southampton’s last five fixtures if he can hold onto that first-team spot.
N’Zogbia Takes His Chance
With Gabby Agbonlahor failing to shake off the thigh injury that forced him off against Stoke last weekend, the Frenchman was handed a first start since Gameweek 28. Tucking in behind Christian Benteke, with Andreas Weimann shifted to the left, N’Zogbia notched the opener just before the hour mark as Paul Lambert’s side moved four points clear of the drop zone with a share of the spoils at home to Fulham. Frustratingly for Fantasy managers, N’Zogbia has actually been pretty consistent – yesterday’s goal with the fifth time in his last eight starts he has produced attacking points. Despite a potential return for Agbonlahor next week, the Frenchman could retain his role in “the hole”, with Weimann perhaps swapping flanks and ousting Jordan Bowery on the right. Weimann was also in the points yesterday – the young Austrian supplied the assist for N’Zogbia’s strike and has scored or assisted in four of his last six for the midlands outfit.
Jol Shakes Things Up
The draw at Villa Park helped Fulham onto the 40 point mark and saw Martin Jol make a couple of unexpected switches for the trip to the midlands. Frustratingly for the 5,000+ FPL managers who invested in John Arne Riise for the Cottagers’ double Gameweek, the Norwegian dropped out of the starting line-up for the first time since Gameweek 23 as Kieran Richardson was handed a rare chance to impress. Damien Duff switched to the right as a result of Ashkan Dejagah’s ankle injury, with Urby Emanuelson starting on the left for the first time since arriving in January. Duff lasted only 11 minutes before limping off with a groin problem, with Stanislav Manolev replacing the Republic of Ireland international. Jol’s decision to replace Giorgos Karagounis midway through the second-half had a knock on effect up front; Bryan Ruiz dropped into central midfield, though the Costa Rican still managed to deliver his ninth assist of the season.
Wigan Cruise to May Final
Roberto Martinez’s side earned passage to the FA Cup Final with a 2-0 win over Millwall, courtesy of goals from Shaun Maloney and Callum McManaman. Wigan will now contest the final on May 11 against the winner of today’s tie between Chelsea and City. The league fixture between Wigan and Arsenal at the Emirates in Gameweek 37 is now postponed but will surely remain in the Gameweek, shifting to a midweek date after the final and prior to Gameweek 38 – perhaps adding to the likelihood of rotation in the Arsenal lineup.
Rotation could also be a concern around the final for those teams involved, although, while City and Chelsea may have the luxury to rest players, the Latics seem likely to continue to be embroiled in a relegation battle which could limit their options. Both Maloney and McManaman boosted their stock with the goals in yesterday’s tie, while Arouna Kone will remain a key target as Wigan approach their double fixtures with West Brom (A) and Swansea (H) in Gameweek 36. Interestingly, Ali Al-Habsi earned a recall to the Latics lineup against Millwall, although Martinez is expected to recall Joel Robles in goal for the remaining league fixtures, cementing the double Gameweek appeal of the 4.0 FPL stopper. We’ll have assurance of that on Wednesday when the Latics visit the Etihad. Martinez brought us this on the keeper situation, post-match:
“We’ve got two of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League in my eyes and they both bring something different to the team. Ali is back to best now after some time out of the squad and when you have so many games to play in a short space of time you need to share those demands. What is important is that when you are on the pitch you’re ready to perform for the club, and Ali was certainly that today.”
