A night of contrasting fortunes, as the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Michu and Marouane Fellaini cemented their status on our Watchlists, only for Leighton Baines, Carlos Tevez and the Chelsea attack to suffer hefty declines. Here’s the post match reaction to last night’s events via the Scout Notes…
Walcott Wings In
Arsenal’s display at Everton was largely significant due to the early strike from Theo Walcott. The winger immediately returned to the Gunners lineup and made the difference, with Walcott’s pace adding an extra dimension to a previously predictable attack. Arsene Wenger was quick to praise the returning Walcott, whilst pointing out that he sustained a knock which tempered his second-half showing…
“Theo was fit again and scored a great goal,” said the Frenchman. “He was not completely himself in the second half as he had a problem with his ankle at half-time, but he was very efficient and dangerous….He was injured. He was not 100 per cent in the second half. He got a little bit injured on his ankle.”
Walcott is a clear rival for Santi Cazorla for our affections in the Arsenal midfield. With strong fixtures to come, including four home matches in the next six, investment in Arsenal is on the agenda and, while Cazorla is undeniably a class act who is hugely influential on Arsenal’s play, Walcott provides the potential for more explosive Fantasy returns.
It remains to be seen if Walcott will be a doubt for the visit of Swansea with the ankle problem sustained last night. One player who looks destined to miss out at the weekend as a result of an injury is Laurent Koscielny: he was forced off in the first-half with Wenger predicting a likely absence post-match….
“He has a groin strain. That’s usually three weeks.”
Kosielny’s absence should cement a start for Kieran Gibbs at left-back after he was rotated to the bench at Goodison. Wenger’s decision to recall club skipper Thomas Vermaelen was not a surprise but, with Gibbs benched, it appears that there is a general lack of security across the entire Arsenal back four – only keeper Wojciech Szczesny seems assured of starts.
Fellaini’s Relentless March
While Walcott lit up Arsenal’s performance, Marouane Fellaini again provided the key ingredient for the Toffees. His first-half equaliser means that the Belgian has now scored or assisted in his last five league starts: an extraordinary run of form that confirms his status as “near essential” in our midfields. It’s hard to see Fellaini’s form wavering, such is his importance to David Moyes’ side in his role tucked in behind Nikica Jelavic.
While Fellaini flourishes as a Fantasy asset, Leighton Baines continues to falter. Widely regarded as man of the match in last night’s game, Baines nonetheless left empty-handed again as Everton extended their run to nine matches without a clean sheet.
Significantly, Baines also suffered a hamstring injury which, according to Moyes, makes him an early doubt for the weekend trip to City…
“I think Leighton Baines has got a bit of a hamstring injury. He felt it in the game and he played on for the last 10 or 15 minutes.”
Bale Force Is Strong
Gareth Bale’s form is undeniable right now. Three goals in consecutive matches have lifted the Welshman to the top echelons of our Watchlist and, with fixtures improving over the Christmas period, there is little doubt that faith in Bale to provide strong returns and justify his heavy-hitter price tag has now strengthened considerably. Last night’s performance was again, superb, with Bale not only providing energy but also a constant goal threat, typified by several efforts from free-kicks which he now appears to be monopolising.
Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is in no doubt that Bale is in the form of his life…
“He is scoring more than last season by this stage…It is unbelievable his physical freshness, his motivation towards playing, what he does offensively and defensively, he takes over the whole of the left wing and it is never ending.”
Michu Still Firing
With Fellaini finding the target, it was a good night for the template midfields, who also gained an eighth goal of the season from Michu in Swansea’s 3-1 win. The Spaniard has been shifted from the lone forward berth to his preferred position of support striker in recent weeks: last night he led the line and responded with a close range finish to Pablo Hernandez’s cross.
Like Fellaini, it’s difficult to see Michu’s returns drying up. He’s a mainstay of Michael Laudrup’s outfit and playing in a role that will inevitably bring him chances. With his quality, another half dozen goals look likely which would be a huge return for a first season in the Premier League and would more than justify his mid-price valuation.
While both Pablo Hernandez and Wayne Routledge offer alternatives, it’s difficult to see many doubling up on Swansea’s attacking potential and, looking beyond Michu is surely only something that would be forced by lack of funds. Routledge, at 5.4, is earning renewed interest after last night’s brace but, arguably the likes of Raheem Sterling and Jason Puncheon are currently offering stronger value in the same bracket.
City Keep It Clean Again
The City backline has been superb of late and last night’s 2-0 victory at the DW Stadium brought them their fifth clean sheet in six league outings. The run has coincided with the introduction of Matija Nastasić alongside skipper Vincent Kompany and, while Roberto Mancini continues to rotate his full-backs, he has remained faithful to his new centre-back pairing, leaving Joleon Lescott frozen out.
With Nastasić offering a route into the reinvigorated City defence for just 5.5, the interest in the Serb has started to snowball. With three home matches in the next four, albeit against strong opponents, there is little reason to doubt that City cannot maintain their momentum and go on grinding out results with shut-outs at the back. It remains to be seen if Nastasić can carry on offering security over the busy Christmas programme but, with Champions League football shelved this season, there’s every chance that his form will be rewarded with regular league starts at Lescott’s expense. Nastasic himself is clearly enjoying his spell in the side and is determined to maintain his starting role…
“Everything is going well for us. In the last six games we have only conceded one goal – now we need to keep it going, but this time make it no goals…We talk every day on the pitch and on the training ground, and it makes me happy to play alongside such an excellent captain and in such a good team. Whatever I am learning, I am learning along with Vinny.”
Tevez Kept in Reserve
While the City defence is offering us options, Mancini’s attack is causing major issues. Carlos Tevez was left on the bench last night for the second time in consecutive matches, with Mario Balotelli this time starting up with Sergio Aguero in attack. Balotelli responded with the opening goal, with his manager, Roberto Mancini, expressing his delight post-match with the strike….
“I am very happy for him because he scored his first goal this year. He scored an important goal. I hope he can improve in the next week and the next game….Mario is one of the four strikers, we have four top strikers. In this moment we have had some difficulty scoring goals like last year, but I think if we work we can change this.”
Significantly perhaps, Mancini made chances for the final quarter and it was Aguero who was sacrificed with Balotelli kept in the action…
“We thought Mario or Sergio, but Mario in this moment is maybe more fresh than Sergio. Sergio has played all the games and for this reason we changed. Also Mario moved well. He didn’t play like he knows, but in this position Mario was better in this moment.”
It’s unclear where this leaves Tevez ahead of the weekend clash with Everton but it’s obvious that Balotelli did himself no harm with last night’s goal and is now firmly back in Mancini’s plans, extending the risk that both Tevez and even Aguero will be subject to rotation. With the likes of Robin Van Persie, Luis Suarez, Dimitar Berbatov and even Olivier Giroud looking strong for the fixtures ahead, the case to hold the City strikers is fragile, particularly with David Silva presenting an option to cover City’s attacking potential from midfield.
Rafa Shuts Up Shop
Last night’s 0-0 stalemate with Fulham will have done little to boost Rafa Benitez’s reputation with the Chelsea faithful. Despite a second consecutive clean sheet, the Blues remain impotent in attack and the decision to rest Juan Mata to the bench will have provided concern, both for Chelsea fans and his legion of Fantasy owners. Benitez brought us this on his decision to rest his compatriot…
“We have too many games now so the idea is to manage the squad and use the players we have. You can’t play the same team every time because if you do we have West Ham in two days, and then Japan. We have to try and manage the squad…When you play five competitions it’s really important to give the message that everyone will be important at the end, we have five competitions and they will have chances.”
With Mata absent, Eden Hazard limped to another blank, his fourth in five matches. With Bale’s performance strong and Walcott and Silva back on the radar, there is a growing shift away from Hazard and Mata, with both suffering heavy sales overnight. Chelsea’s immediate fixtures are tough and with a blank in Gameweek 17 looming, it’s looking difficult to hold firm on their attacking assets in the light of Rafa’s arrival and the shift to defensive solidity over attacking verve.
From a defensive perspective, Cesar Azpilicueta again started at right-back and with John Terry expected to miss the West Ham trip and David Luiz suspended, the Spaniard looks set to retain the right-back role. Again though, investment in Chelsea is difficult to justify, given their schedule.
