Vincent Kompany looks set to return for City. Thomas Vermaelen want Theo Walcott to remain as Arsenal’s lone forward, Demba Ba criticises Newcastle’s style of play, Rafael attributes his progress this season to a run of regular starts, while the injuries continue to blight Wigan ahead of Arsenal’s Saturday lunchtime visit.
Vincent Kompany has handed Roberto Mancini a boost by returning to training for City ahead of the busy festive period. The champions square up to Reading at the Etihad this weekend and with the next four Gameweeks arriving in quick succession, Kompany’s expected comeback is perfect timing ahead of trips to Sunderland and Norwich, in addition to a home clash with Stoke on New Year’s day. Kolo Toure had stepped in alongside Matija Nastasic at Newcastle last weekend but with the Belgian back, Toure should return to bench-warming duties before heading off to the African Cup of Nations next month.
Thomas Vermaelen has called for Theo Walcott to remain up front for Arsenal after Monday’s 5-2 win at Reading. The Gunners centre-half reckons Walcott’s pace up top allows the midfield more leeway to dictate the match:
“Theo did well as the striker. We know his qualities; he is quick and goes in behind defenders all the time. We found him and we scored a few goals. He can go in behind the defenders and that means he can stretch the opposition and it gives the midfielders a lot of room to play and, with our midfielders, that is a big plus.”
Certainly, Santi Cazorla’s performance on Monday vindicates Vermaelen’s theory. With the Royals’ backline dropping deep to deal for fear of through balls in behind, Arsenal’s playmaker was afforded more space to bomb forward, on and off the ball. Cazorla ghosted into the box on several occasions, with plenty of chances leading to a hat-trick, in addition to his assist for Walcott’s strike – the in-form pair head to injury-hit Wigan next; with Roberto Martinez’s men conceding at least two goals in each of their last seven, Arsene Wenger will surely keep Walcott as an out of position prospect up top.
Demba Ba put the cat amongst the pigeons after giving an interview to French TV station Canal +. The Newcastle forward was somewhat critical of his side’s style of play this season and also commented on recent speculation linking him to a move to the Emirates in the January transfer window:
“I’m not happy when the team does not create anything. Fans come to see beautiful games with beautiful actions and not long balls from the goalkeeper to the striker….Journalists just do their job. They know Arsenal need strikers, they know a release clause is inserted in my contract, so they make speculations. I don’t really want to comment on that, because there hasn’t been any contact, clearly, but it is true Arsenal are a very attractive club. “
With 11 goals to his name already, Ba has continued to find the net with regularity in spite of his side’s toils. Alan Pardew’s men have been hammered with injuries to key players all season and although they sit just two points off the drop zone, with four wins in their opening 17 fixtures, Ba is just one goal behind Robin Van Persie and Michu at the top of the scoring charts. With a pair of assists also accrued, he has played a part in 13 of his side’s 19 goals – a clear indication of how vital he is to the Tyneside team. According to reports, the Senegal forward has a £7.5m release clause in his contract, suggesting there may well be a queue of suitors set to bid for his services once the transfer window opens. Any possible exit could see the Magpies struggling to fill the void unless Papiss Cisse can recapture the form that took the league by storm in the second half of last season – Cisse has just two strikes in 1151 minutes so far this term, a far cry from the 13 goals in 1106 minutes in 2011/12. Reports this morning suggest the club are far from happy with Ba’s comments and could be set to fine him two week’s wages as they close in on French forward Loic Remy.
Steve Clarke has revealed he remains optimistic in spite of West Brom’s recent scoring drought:
“I don’t look at statistics, I look at the way the team is playing and the team has been playing OK. I have got nothing to worry about in terms of goalscoring because we have proved this season that we can score goals. At the moment, the bounce of the ball or the rub of the green is not quite going for us and we knew on Sunday that we had to stop a run of three defeats. That was important. We couldn’t get the goal but we defended as though we really wanted to get the result and that’s pleasing. If we keep churning out performances and working as hard as we’re working then victories will come.”
The Baggies have now failed to notch in the last three Gameweeks and have scored just once since hammering Sunderland 4-2 at the Stadium of Light in Gameweek 13. It’s a real worry for Fantasy owners of Shane Long – the Irishman had scored or assisted in nine of his first 13 appearances but has now gone three games without any attacking returns. Long continues to earn starts, though, and although there are alternatives such as Romelu Lukaku or Markus Rosenberg to lead the line in the now-default 4-2-3-1 formation, Clarke’s words suggest he’s not quite ready to tinker up top just yet.
Rafael has revealed a regular run of games this season has been crucial to his upturn in form:
“Playing games week-in, week-out helps you feel more comfortable and confident on the pitch and I’m pleased I’ve been able to do that this season. And personally I want to play as many games as I can and be consistent in my performances. When you get into January you know the really important time in the season is not the far away and there will be big game after big game. Of course, every game is important but after Christmas they become massive matches.”
The Brazilian had started every match from Gameweeks 2-16 before missing out last weekend due to a hamstring problem. With two goals and four assists he has been an integral performer in United’s surge to the top of the table and despite the return from injury of both Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, Sir Alex Ferguson’s admission that his decision to omit Rafael against the Black Cats was purely down to the injury suggests he remains in the driving seat for starts – good news for his 25% FPL owners.
Norwich’s on-loan forward Harry Kane bagged a brace on his brace to action for the club’s Under 21 development squad earlier this week. Kane has been out of action since September due to an ankle injury and his comeback could be particularly significant to Chris Hughton’s squad, after Grant Holt was subbed off with a hamstring injury in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Wigan. The Canaries are awaiting news on Holt’s condition but any absence could well see Kane vie with the likes of Simeon Jackson and Steve Morison for a starting berth in Hughton’s favoured 4-4-1-1; the latter two have fallen out of favour under the new manager, with neither featuring in the first XI since Gameweek 6.
Gabby Agbonlahor is set to miss the Christmas programme with his thigh injury according to reports this morning. The striker’s thigh strain kept him out of the matchday squad at Liverpool last weekend and it’s estimated that he’ll be sideline for another ten days. With Darren Bent laid up with a hamstring injury, it leaves Paul Lambert with no choice but to keep faith with both Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann, who were both outstanding in the win at Anfield. Fantasy managers can find some short-term security here then, with Weimann perhaps an intriguing rock-bottom budget option at just 5.2 in the Fantasy Premier League.
Wigan’s defensive crisis shows little sign of abating with the news that Adrian Lopez could face up to ten weeks on the sidelines with the hamstring injury sustained in the defeat at Norwich last weekend. Roberto Martinez has the likes of Gary Caldwell, Antolin Alcaraz and Ivan Ramis nearing returns but the Latics’ boss suggested that he’s not about to rush them back…
“None of the three have rejoined the group yet but they are all stepping up their recovery programme…At the moment I don’t know if any of them will be available, but what is sure is that we won’t be rushing them back. It would be very wrong for us to rush a player back and then risk losing him for a much longer period.”
There are several considerations from a Fantasy perspective, notably that Arsenal will pay visit to the DW Stadium having put five past Reading and with Theo Walcott likely to be leading the line against a patched-up Wigan rearguard. It’s also worth noting that Emmerson Boyce is set to remain shackled to a centre-back role while the Wigan defensive casualty list clears – that means that Ronnie Stam will get to continue his encouraging form at right wing-back: Stam is available for just 3.8 in the FPL.
