What a difference a couple of months make. While a quartet of trophies may have always been a pipe dream, Arsenal were neck-deep in four competitions as recently as mid-February. The vision of four trophies has quickly evaporated, however, with the Premier League title now their only remaining target. Even that now looks something of a long shot. The Gunners have bungled opportunities in recent weeks – stumbling to three draws in the league prior to this past weekend’s victory over Blackpool. Indeed, the points lost in those three recent draws virtually account for the 7-point gap that currently exists between Arsenal and leaders Man United.
Putting a most positive spin on their chances of claiming the title, Jens Lehmann remained upbeat, and perhaps even a little self-deprecating about it all…
”Manchester United are only four points ahead of us when we win our game in hand. Look at me – you never know what is going to happen in life.”
Arsenal’s “game in hand” arrives in gameweek 33, and while Lehmann may be somewhat presumptuous to be counting on those points, the Gunners cannot afford any further slips if they are to have any hope of catching United. Before that, Liverpool arrive at the Emirates this weekend, with Kenny Dalglish’s side fresh from a 3-0 demolition job of Man City on Monday night – another stern test for Arsenal’s title credentials is expected.
The Prospects
The 3-1 victory at Blackpool this past weekend looked solid enough on paper and saw the Gunners create numerous attacking opportunities. Despite their dominance, Wenger’s side did, however, squander plenty of chances to kill the game and were forced to cling nervously to a 2-1 lead until Robin Van Persie’s late strike. For those looking for the bright side, a first league win since their departure from the Champions League and FA Cup may be just the tonic required to turn the corner as they hit a tough part of their schedule in the home stretch.
Arsenal’s double starts with Liverpool at home. While Kenny Dalglish’s side provided a wake-up call for City this past week, they have been inconsistent at best and remain particularly suspect at the back at the moment, with Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, and Martin Kelly all sidelined. Perhaps John Flanagan and Jay Spearing are the real deal as replacements in key positions, but one would expect that Arsene Wenger’s side will go all out to test their particular ability to handle the occasion at the Emirates.
Up next is the short trip to White Hart Lane for what is a critical game for both sides. Tottenham claimed the three points in their first meeting at the Emirates and also find themselves in a must-win situation after struggling in the league in recent weeks. Overall, Spurs have just one win and three draws in their last five matches, but the performances at home has been much more reliable, with four wins and two draws in their last six home matches.
The Likely Lads
Robin Van Persie has had a season of two halves. Up until late December, the Dutchman had managed seven brief league appearances but as of gameweek 19, his form has been a revelation. Van Persie has taken part in eleven of the subsequent fourteen games, scoring twelve goals, making three assists and picking up 21 Bonus Points, and there is every reason to expect the Arsenal attack to continue to flow through him. Given his return rate, Van Persie looks to be one of the very few must-have players at the moment, and a quick glance at our Captain’s Poll for the week shows strong support, despite the more favorable fixtures that Frank Lampard and Chelsea face in their double fixture.
With 111 FPL points to his name, Cesc Fabregas has been disappointing, given his price tag. But, like Van Persie, Fabregas’ overall numbers have been stalled by numerous absences (9 in total). Despite struggling to hit the heights of his own lofty standards this term, Fabregas has still claimed 10 assists in 22 games and leads the team with 26 Bonus Points. When selecting between the two most expensive midfielders in the game, it’s still difficult to choose Fabregas over Lampard, given Chelsea’s fixtures, but Fabregas is returning points when he plays – thanks in the main to his strong Bonus Points lure. Owned by just 7% of the FPL teams, the Arsenal skipper could be a Fantasy game changer during the double and down the stretch.
Defying expectations, Samir Nasri has gone ice cold in 2011. Indeed, his 9th goal of the season — the last one he has scored in the league, came on New Year’s day against Birmingham. However it would be foolish to write Nasri off at this point. Statistics show his average position against Blackpool was more advanced than every Arsenal player bar Van Persie; those watching will recall two golden opportunities for Nasri late in the first half and the OPTA stats available to our Members continue to show regular involvement and strong potential for attacking results.
Cheeky Punts
Arsenal have 8 clean sheets in 12 league games in 2011 so, even with tougher fixtures for the double, they surely offer some potential in defence – particularly in goal where cheap options have been available for much of the season. Unfortunately, uncertainty looms here. Recent reports suggest that Wojciech Szczesny and Johan Djourou may be set to return to contention against Liverpool, but Arsene Wenger was unqualifiedly noncommittal:
“Djourou and Wojciech are question marks. Will they be fit? That all has still to be decided. We have two more days to find out. It could be a possibility that they could be available.”
Without something definitive, it’s probably too risky – even for a cheeky punt – to consider an Arsenal keeper with Birmingham and Ben Foster also having a double gameweek. Nonetheless, the prospects of Szczesny’s presence behind the back-four has to be viewed as a positive for the defensive returns, and provides further reason to monitor Djourou’s recovery from his dislocated shoulder. With the Swiss defender dropping again in price this week to a season low 4.0, his return would present a welcome cheap entry point.
While perhaps too strong to merit consideration in this category, Theo Walcott and Andrei Arshavin sneak onto the board as cheeky punts, carrying a risk of rotation destined to create disappointment, but there’s a very real prospect that either (or both) could post big numbers. While Samir Nasri has mustered a single goal since January 1, Walcott has notched 2 goals and added 6 assists while Arshavin has scored 2 goals and added 2 assists. The Russian looks to hold a potential edge in that he has started the last 7 matches and may be the safer bet of the two in terms of minutes. Walcott got the nod in the latest Watchlist summary and is the safer punt in the sense that it will be much less frustrating to see 6.8 of fantasy value sitting on the bench for portions of the double. Having been benched against Blackpool only to emerge to assist the Van Persie goal, the flying winger looks well positioned to start against Liverpool’s stand-in full-backs and, if he can produce, could hold his role for the visit to Spurs.
