This article aims to consolidate on my previous article, which looked at Arsenal Attacking Options and how Mesut Ozil’s comeback from injury affected the side. For this article I will look at what effect Aaron Ramsey’s reintroduction to the Arsenal side has had on each of Arsenal’s attacking options and whether he is worth the investment ahead of their double Gameweek 37.
Player Overview
Sanchez remains the most popular and highly owned Arsenal player in the Fantasy Premier League game with an ownership of 30%, whilst also being the most expensive at 11.3. Olivier Giroud has risen in popularity due to his outstanding recent form and is the second most owned player with 20.4% ownership, followed by Santiago Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey at 14.8% and 11.1% respectively. Mesut Ozil continues to be a real differential at just 4.4% and could be a hidden gem for those trying to get one step ahead of their rivals.
Attacking Data
I have focused on data from the last four Gameweeks as it coincides with Aaron Ramsey’s return from injury.
Looking at the data above we can see that, since coming back from injury, Aaron Ramey has the highest Goal Involvement (55.6%) and has registered the second most chances created (eight) compared to team-mate Mesut Ozil (nine) whilst also becoming second highest for minutes per touch (1.0) and minutes per chance (43.3). Ramsey is also the third highest for goal attempts (eight), shots inside the box (seven) and shots on target (four) and his touches in the penalty area (17) and the final third (135) are also the third highest, with Alexis Sanchez (25, 160) and Olivier Giroud (37, 120) having more.
Interestingly, Sanchez’s stats seem to have significantly improved from his previous form from my previous article and he has registered the most goal attempts (14) and touches in the final third (160), whilst being second for shots inside the box (8) and shots on target (6) behind team-mate Olivier Giroud (nine and seven). He is also second for touches in the penalty area (25) but has created the fewest chances (four).
The data in the table above supports our initial analysis as Ramsey is almost on par with Santi Cazorla for second highest chances created per minute (0.024169 vs 0.026022) whilst remaining third highest for goal attempts per minute (0.024169), touches in the final third per minute (0.40786) and touches in the penalty area per minute (0.05136). Sanchez remains top for goal attempts per minute (0.044586) and minutes per chance (23.1) whilst being the second highest for touches in the penalty area per minute (0.07961) and touches in the final third (0.50955). Only Giroud has a higher rate of touches in the penalty area (0.10541) whilst Ozil has the highest rate of chances created (0.036885) and touches in the final third (0.58197).
The Rambo Effect
Much like the Ozil Effect, I aim to see whether Ramsey’s comeback has positively or negatively affected certain Arsenal attacking options. I have compiled two tables of attacking data for the periods in which Ramsey recently did not start any games (Gameweek 25-28) and compared that with the period of games where he has recently hit form and started games (Gameweeks 29-32). This can be found in Figure 4 below.
By analysing the data above, we can see that the players which have benefited the most from Ramsey’s return seem to be Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud. We can see that Sanchez has registered a higher rate of goal attempts per minute with Ramsey on the field (0.04459 vs 0.03625) as well as his minutes per touch (1.1 vs 1.4) and his minutes per chance (28.3 vs 23.1). His touches in both the penalty area (0.07962 vs 0.07553) and the final third (0.50955 vs 0.38369) have also increased, though his rate of creating chances has declined (0.01274 vs 0.02115). Giroud has also seen a significant improvement in his performance, specifically the rate of touches in the penalty area (0.10541 vs 0.08287) and touches in the final third (0.34188 vs 0.28453), though his minutes per touch (1.5 vs 1.3) and minutes per chance (30.4 vs 24.4) have decreased slightly.
On the other hand, it seems like Mesut Ozil’s stats have worsened as a result of Ramsey’s comeback, as can be seen from a decreased rate of chances created (0.03689 vs 0.04928) and goal attempts (0.01639 vs 0.02609) in addition to a decreased rate of minutes per chance (62.8 vs 40.3) and penalty area touches (0.03689 vs 0.04348). However, his minutes per touch (0.9 vs 1.2) and touches in the final third (0.58197 vs 0.42609) have improved indicating that he is seeing a lot of the possession.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the reintroduction of Aaron Ramsey bodes well for Arsenal midfield options, especially Alexis Sanchez, as well as Olivier Giroud, whilst the Welshman has had a detrimental effect on the fantasy potential of Mesut Ozil. Looking ahead at Arsenal’s remaining fixtures, more specifically their double Gameweek 37, I would highly recommend transferring in Aaron Ramsey alongside Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud and feel that this trio of Arsenal attacking options have the highest potential for points.
