The Technical Area makes a return for the new season and Iām delighted to have joined the Fantasy Football Scout writing team to bring this to you.
These articles will mainly be available for members following Gameweek 1 but, for my debut, I offer a preview of what is to come with some analysis of Sundayās Wembley showpiece.
The final domestic appetiser to the upcoming season, Sundayās Community Shield between champions Chelsea and FA Cup winners Arsenal proved a sedate affair that will perhaps be remembered more for the involvement of referee Bobby Madley than any single playerās contribution.
Nonetheless, as our last chance to observe two high-profile Premier League sides in action before the Gameweek 1 deadline ā and with many popular FPL assets presumed to participate ā interest from the Fantasy community was understandably high.
With only the one game to analyse this week, weāll be focusing our attention on the performances of two newly-signed Arsenal players who put forward interesting, if very different, showings on the field.
Sead KolaŔinac
Weāll start with Sead KolaÅ”inac, whose afternoon threatened to be something of a non-event after he was named among the substitutes to open the match. A nasty head injury to Per Mertesacker on the half-hour mark, however, gave the Bosnian his chance to shine; an opportunity he seized with both hands.
Though pre-season projections had earmarked KolaÅ”inac to compete for a spot as a left-wing back in Arsenalās 3-4-2-1 system, Wengerās substitution saw the Bosnian fielded as a left-sided central defender alongside Nacho Monreal and Rob Holding.
Typically, we would have expected this more defensive positioning to have impinged upon KolaÅ”inacās chances to get forward in support of the Arsenal attack. Yet analysing our game data, we can observe that KolaÅ”inac was frequently occupying space upon the left-flank, consistently drifting out to the touchline to receive possession:
Kolasinac – Passes Received
This profile translates much more readily to the heatmap of a traditional left wing-back than that of a centre half. In fact, it is eerily reminiscent of the performance and positioning of another left-sided wide player participating in Sundayās match:
Kolasinac vs Alonso ā Touches
Given Alonsoās barnstorming FPL campaign in 2016/17, KolaÅ”inacās tendencies to occupy the same attacking space ā even in spite of his ostensibly more defensive position ā bodes well for his likelihood of producing attacking returns heading into the new season.
The defender also demonstrated an ability to pose a threat on the end of set-pieces, notching Arsenalās equaliser by rising to divert Granit Xhakaās cross into the net.
The underlying numbers for KolaŔinac were promising too. Despite playing only limited minutes, the defender produced 17 passes in opposition territory (with a 100% success rate), including five in the final third. These compared favourably to those of Alonso (10, 5) and Victor Moses (12, 7).
It should be noted that Hector Bellerin ā playing on the right-hand flank of Arsenalās formation ā outshone even KolaÅ”inac in this regard, with 29 passes in the opposing half and 21 in the danger zone, while he created two excellent goalscoring opportunities in the process.
Such a performance demonstrates the attacking potential of the wing-back position within Arsenalās current set-up and underlines the tantalising prospects of either player as an FPL asset moving forward.
KolaÅ”inac also put in an impressive defensive performance, winning all three of his tackles and racking up five recoveries – traits which would translate well into FPLās Bonus Point System (BPS).
Alexandre Lacazette
In contrast to KolaÅ”inacās impressive debut, Lacazette cut a significantly less imposing figure during Sundayās match-up.
Often isolated in space against Chelseaās trio of centre backs, Lacazette amassed just 24 touches during his disappointing 66-minute spell ā fewer than any other starter. Of these, far too many were found by dropping deep into space ahead of Chelseaās backline, from which he was quickly smothered by defensive pressure.
Lacazette ā Touches
The Frenchmen displayed occasional glimpses of his attacking prowess. On two or three occasions, Lacazette found himself in dangerous positions; only for Chelseaās defensive line to close on him before he had a chance to capitalise.
His brightest moment came in the first-half, when he was able to free himself on the edge of the penalty area and curl an early shot against the post. Yet this effort would prove to be Lacazetteās only goal attempt of the match and he would be replaced shortly after the hour mark by Olivier Giroud (who himself failed to make much of an impression, albeit in limited time).
The usual caveats apply here, of course ā this was only a single match, and consequently it is certainly much too early for us to jump to any definitive conclusions about Lacazetteās Fantasy prospects for the coming year. For the record, I am optimistic of his season-long goalscoring potential, as are our Rate My Team projections.
It is similarly important to note that Arsenal were missing the combined creative impetus of Mesut Ćzil, Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey for this fixture – players who would have both demanded defensive attention and worked to produce more threatening through-balls to the striker.
Nonetheless, even after claiming his first trophy as a member of Arsene Wengerās squad, this was likely not a match that Lacazette will want to remember.
