The Knee Jerk – Boxing Day

Boxing Day confirms the arrival of one heavy-hitting Gunners midfield asset, only for their star middle man to suffer an injury that threatens to trigger a wave of transfer activity. While thousands of Fantasy managers will be occupied by that particular pairing, a certain Saints striker remains largely ignored as he goes on providing ample points for a paltry sum.

The Game Changer

Theo Walcott’s impact on his return from injury has been almost instant. His brace at Upton Park turned the game Arsenal’s way and confirmed that Walcott is back amongst the top-level Fantasy assets available.

In truth, we’ve been crying out for Walcott’s arrival in our season. His record of 14 goals and 13 assists last season pointed towards great things this campaign but, derailed by injury, Walcott’s Fantasy potential has been tempered as the midfield has failed to keep pace with the output of our forwards. Until now.

Four goals in his three league starts suggest that Walcott can compete with the very top midfield assets, surpassing the scoring rate of his much-vaunted team-mates Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey through sheer goal power. With David Silva and Eden Hazard also showing some consistency, focus is back on the expensive midfield targets.

Owned by just 5% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, a state of alert was declared with Walcott’s previous brace, mentioned in this article. Today’s returns will heighten that initial interest into a frenzy which is likely to accelerate significantly as January wildcards are laid down.

The Underused

The Gameweek drew focus on our Fantasy forward lines, as we contemplated the gamble of overlooking the devastating form of Luis Suarez. The likes of Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku tempted the armband with so many Fantasy managers boasting one or both in their squads. Indeed, despite the recent injury to Sergio Aguero, few have considered dismantling their “template” strike force – it’s meant that Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez has struggled to get the Fantasy recognition he deserves.

Rodriguez notched a brace and an assist in Southampton’s fine 3-0 win at Cardiff to take him to eight league goals from his last 12 starts. That kind of strike rate, for an FPL fee of just 6.0, allows him to top the “value” rankings on 13.6, ahead of Luis Suarez.

Just as there is no doubt about the established pool of players that make up the typical forward line, there can be little argument on which player offers the best value for those who choose to risk plunging the price brackets.

Right now only 6% have dared cheapen their forward line and take up the Rodriguez option. With further heavy-hitting midfield options opening up, it will interesting to see how the January wildcard changes that particular statistic.

The Selection Poser

Aaron Ramsey’s rise to near essential status has been slowed of late thanks to a harsh fixture list and the potential return of Theo Walcott. Today’s events not only underlined Walcott’s appeal as an explosive alternative to Ramsey, it also saw the Welshman suffer an injury that could signal the first significant bout of sales.

Arsene Wenger has announced that Ramsey’s thigh injury suffered in the second-half at West Ham today, will rule him out for the rest of the Christmas programme. While some will wait for scans and further details, the news will mean Ramsey will sit out matches with Newcastle and Cardiff in the next four days. A Gameweek 21 return on January 13 could be on the cards, although the nature and severity of the injury is not yet clear.

Significantly, the injury comes off the back of a spell that has seen Ramsey return goals in just one of his last eight league matches. While a pair of assists has calmed any panic, that dip in form, coupled with today’s injury, will likely prove the catalyst for sales.

Having risen to 7.6 form an initial value of 5.5, Ramsey has a long way to fall, with thousands set to sacrifice funds when the decision to sell on is made. Again, the January wildcard will bring the Ramsey situation into focus. There’s little doubt that if Ramsey goes into the New Year sidelined, as expected, we will see a lot of movement away from the season’s stand-out midfielder, heading in the direction of Walcott. Current transfer statistics in the FPL already confirm such a trend, with Walcott and Ramsey topping the transfers in and out tables just a few hours after the final whistle.