FPL notes: Gabriel injury update, Saka blanks

There was a second double-digit haul in four Gameweeks for Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m) on Saturday – but Bukayo Saka (£9.1m) blanked for the fifth time in six matches.

The key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Crystal Palace are covered in this Scout Notes article.

GABRIEL + RICE INJURY UPDATES

Gabriel’s afternoon ended a little prematurely, with Jakub Kiwior (£4.3m) replacing the hobbling Brazilian in the 81st minute.

The centre-half still looked in some pain after full-time, limping across the turf on the obligatory lap of appreciation.

Declan Rice (£5.4m) had been forced off with hamstring discomfort minutes earlier but Mikel Arteta didn’t seem too concerned about either player after full-time.

“[Rice] was feeling some tiredness. I don’t know exactly what muscle it was but when he says that at 3-0, obviously, we don’t want to take any risks. And the same with big Gabi as well. He had some discomfort, he had a tackle in the first half and was a bit struggling so it was the right moment to take them off.” – Mikel Arteta

Thanks to their elimination from the domestic cups, Arsenal now have 10 days before they are next in action – the Gameweek 22 match at Nottingham Forest.

That’s hopefully enough time to recover from any minor issues but a crunch Gameweek 23 clash against Liverpool then follows, so there may not be any risks taken at the City Ground if any Gunner is an ongoing concern.

CORNERS BEAR FRUIT

Above: Arsenal have scored more goals from set pieces (SP) than any other team this season

Two Gabriel headers had found the back of the net to put Arsenal 2-0 up against the Eagles, although the second of those was later accredited as a Dean Henderson (£4.4m) own-goal.

Over 45% of Arsenal’s league goals this season have come from penalties and set plays.

No side has scored on as many occasions from dead-ball situations as Arsenal in 2023/24.

“[Set pieces are] very important. The reality is we worked set pieces less in the last week than all other aspects of the game! This is the beauty of it, we worked on a lot of things that happened and we trained them a lot.

“I’m really pleased with the clean sheet, which is something we have been missing to win more games, the amount of goals scored, and sharing those goals as well which I think is going to make a really good impact on the team.” – Mikel Arteta

“[Gabriel’s] got the ability and timing. Deliveries have been consistent and good as well, there are others like [Saliba] that have the capacity to score more goals. We don’t have a 30, 40 goals on someone, we have to share them and that’s a good quality in the team.” – Mikel Arteta

And there is a favourable fixture for Gabriel et al up next in Gameweek 22 against a Nottingham Forest side holding an unwanted record at set plays:

SAKA BLANKS AGAIN

Blanks are harder to swallow when your captain is the one failing to deliver.

Saka was the most popular active captain of Gameweek 21 and so the backlash that greeted his latest blank was predictable.

“He’s too wide”, “never looked like scoring”, “doesn’t look the same player”; common refrains on social media and beyond after full-time.

We’ll be delving into Saka in greater detail in a Members article next week but in a nutshell, his underlying numbers haven’t actually deteriorated since last season. But he’s also never been a regular ‘hauler’, delivering just four double-digit scores in 38 appearances in 2022/23. One thing that has changed is his price: the Steady Eddie returns of 5-9 points, plus the blanks, were maybe more palatable when he was £6.5m-£8.0m. At £9.1m, there’s more weight of expectation on his shoulders.

Saka was undeniably peripheral against Palace. There were no shots in the box from the winger, the first time that had happened since Gameweek 13.

The England international admitted after full-time that the extra attention this season has been difficult to adjust to.

“I think most games we’re coming up against a low block. For myself out wide, I find there’s a lot of players, there’s less and less space. Two v ones, I found that a lot this season.

“When you have three big physical guys around you, it’s not easy. It’s just about me studying it, trying to find a solution, find a space, whether it’s dribbling or passing. It has not been easy, I’ll be honest, but I’m still trying and I think we are still doing well as a team.

“It’s not just about me: if there’s three players in my position, I know that someone on the other side or behind me is free. If it’s not helping me, it’s helping someone else.” – Bukayo Saka

Had Gabriel’s second headed ‘goal’ been a few inches to the left and on target, of course, then we’d be sitting here talking about a Saka six-pointer instead of a blank. It was the winger who had delivered the corner that Gabriel had headed against Henderson to double Arsenal’s lead.

ARTETA ON MARTINELLI’S BENCHING AND BRACE

Saka was also well placed for tap-ins when substitute Gabriel Martinelli (£7.7m) notched his stoppage-time brace.

The Brazilian came off the bench to double his goal tally for 2023/24, scoring a quickfire double on the break.

Arteta hinted after the match that, despite Martinelli being out of sorts for a while now, an injury had contributed to his first benching since Gameweek 8.

“I think that is going to make him really good. Sometimes when you are in that period, and he had a little issue in the last few days in training so he wasn’t fully, fully fit, that changes momentum, it changes perception, it re-energises you. It’s everything.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Martinelli’s brace

FIXTURES TURN FOR PALACE

“We’ve been in games, even against the Liverpools and the Chelseas and the Brightons and the Arsenals. Today, we were outplayed, in particular towards the end of the game, but up to that period, I thought the players stuck at their task.” – Roy Hodgson

The Eagles have won only twice in the last 14 matches but this was just the second time they’d been beaten by more than one goal since Gameweek 9.

All five of their shots on target at the Emirates came from 25 yards out or further, so there was little threat to Arsenal’s clean sheet.

If Roy Hodgson can stave off the mounting pressure, there is at least a much more favourable – and ticker-topping – run ahead from Gameweek 22 onwards. All three newly promoted clubs visit Selhurst Park in the next seven Gameweeks.

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