Theo Walcott steals the show with three goals and a pair of assist as Arsenal sweep aside Newcastle. Demba Ba bags a brace, Sir Alex Ferguson rests and rotates his United front line, City find their scoring form again, Southampton put three past Stoke at the Britannia, while Gareth Bale and Kevin Nolan both face one-match bans for Gameweek 21…

Walcott Keeps Central Role
Handed a third consecutive start up front last night, Theo Walcott more than vindicated Arsene Wenger’s decision with a scintillating display against Newcastle. Walcott bagged an incredible three goals and two assists as Arsenal tore the visitors apart in the second-half and certainly made a convincing case for a continued role up front. His out of position prospects are further boosted by Tuesday’s trip to Southampton and with double Gameweek 23 edging ever-nearer, plenty have already snapped up the midfielder after last night’s exploits. Ironically, Walcott’s display after moving to the right wing upon Olivier Giroud’s introduction also highlights his potential from the flank, with a goal and two assists coming after the Frenchman’s introduction – with Giroud netting twice, Wenger has food for thought ahead of the midweek trip to Southampton, though bearing in mind the Gunners had no Boxing Day fixture, rest and rotation is likely to be less of an issue. Not surprisingly, the focus was all on Walcott when it came to Wenger’s post-match analysis…

“He [Walcott] has done very well and it just typifies what I think he can do. He can play through the middle, I am convinced of that, and he can only get stronger in there. Overall I am pleased with his performance…I believe he is a good finisher, that he has learned a lot because he is an intelligent player. And because he is intelligent, he will continue to improve.”

Walcott’s ongoing contract negotiations were also on the agenda, with Wenger reiterating his desire to ensure that last night’s man of the match remains at the Emirates…

“The intensity of my desire [to extend his contract] is exactly the same as it was before the game. My desire is to extend his contract, he belongs here and hopefully we can do it.”

Arsenal’s Defensive Frailty Continues
The Gunners had hinted at being more solid at the back having recorded two clean sheets in the last four, but last night’s showing will have raised the alarm once again. Wenger was forced into making a change to his defence, with Per Mertesacker falling ill, allowing Laurent Koscielny to come in and partner Thomas Vermaelen in the centre. The Gunners now have City, Chelsea and Liverpool coming up in the next five, although the double fixture in Gameweek 23 is sure to promote the likes of Mertesacker, Kieran Gibbs and keeper Wojciech Szczesny in our short-term thinking.

Fixture Proof Ba
A brace at the Emirates continued Demba Ba’s outstanding season for Newcastle. Although the Magpies sit just three points off the drop zone after last night’s hammering, their in-form forward moved up to third in the FPL standings on 115 points – only Robin Van Persie and Michu have managed more. Yesterday’s returns continued the form that has seen him also produce attacking returns against City and United in the last four Gameweeks – indeed, Ba has scored or assisted against eight of the current top 10, an indication of his ability to produce the goods regardless of the opponent.

Bale Topples off the Tightrope
The Welshman was the highest profile name to tumble off the suspension tightrope after he picked up a fifth yellow card of the campaign at Sunderland. Bale’s booking – yet another for apparent simulation – means he is absent for the New Year’s Day home showdown with Reading; a match which could have been hugely profitable for the in-form winger. With the FA Cup Third Round taking place in the first weekend in January, Bale now has a fortnight to wait before he can appear in the league again, away to QPR in Gameweek 22. The same applies to West Ham’s Kevin Nolan after he received his fifth booking in the Hammers’ loss at Reading. Nolan now misses the home clash against Norwich but with a double Gameweek 23 just around the corner, he’s likely to pick up plenty investment, despite a poor last couple of months. With Michu still uncertain to return for Swansea, many five man midfields may be stretched heading into the midweek round of matches, though Marouane Fellaini’s return from a three-match ban hands us an obvious alternative to freshen up our squads.

Ferguson Rests and Rotates
Jaws dropped as the United lineup was announced, with both Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez rested to the bench. Sir Alex Ferguson rolled out a 4-2-3-1, with Danny Welbeck handed the lone forward role and Shinji Kagawa returning from a knee injury for the first time since Gameweek 7 – all the more surprising given his manager had stated on Friday he would have a bench role at most. While Van Persie once again continued his relentless quest for goals by climbing off the bench to notch his thirteenth of the season, Hernandez remained in reserve for the entire game; the pair’s respective lack of action yesterday will surely boost their chances of starts as United head to Wigan on New Year’s Day.

Post-match, the United boss revealed that he hoped to have recruits back for Tuesday trip to the DW Stadium with both Phil Jones and Rafael in the frame…

“Phil could be ready and Rafa will be ready”

Rafael’s return will be a welcome one for Fantasy managers, having seen him miss the last four league outings with a hamstring problem. Rafael’s price has since dropped down from 6.5 to 6.0 in the Fantasy Premier League game and he now looks decent value for United’s forthcoming schedule of fixtures. Yesterday’s shut-out was the first for United in the last five, only their second in the last thirteen league outings but, with Vidic now back installed in the centre of defence, an improvement in defensive output could be around the corner.

City’s Eye for Goal Returns
A single goal in their previous two had threatened to derail City’s bid to retain the title but the champions produced a stirring display to leave Carrow Road with a 4-3 win, despite playing for over 45 minutes with 10 men. Roberto Mancini’s decision to hand Edin Dzeko a start was made a little easier after Carlos Tevez missed training due to illness – the Bosnian certainly justified his first-team inclusion with two goals and an assist, and with a home clash against Stoke up next, Dzeko’s height could be crucial both up front and when defending set-pieces. Mancini had this to say on Dzeko’s showing post-match, again stressing the need to rotate…

“Edin did very well today, he scored two or three goals. Clearly if the strikers score, it’s easy. We decided to play Edin in the last three days because now we play three or four games in 10 days, we need all of our players to be fresh.”

Dzeko himself sounded rather downbeat post-match, stressing his surprise that he was given an opportunity to prove himself…

“To be fair, I didn’t expect to play because it looked in training that I wouldn’t. I was surprised before the game when the manager gave the team…Everyone wants to play and I was back today and I gave the maximum”

Carlos Tevez, with a single goal since Gameweek 12, may struggle to return to the starting XI immediately – Sergio Aguero’s goal and assist suggests a return to form, though this was only the second time this season he has had a hand on more than one goal in any of City’s league games. Elsewhere, Mancini confirmed in post-match interviews that the club plan to appeal Samir Nasri’s red card – once that is officially lodged, Nasri will become available for the clash with Stoke while the appeal is heard.

Pilkington’s Home Form Continues
While Canaries skipper Russell Martin hogged the headlines for the hosts after bagging a brace, there remains real concerns over his starting role, with Steven Whittaker likely to regain the right-back role when he recovers from a hip problem. Anthony Pilkington, however, maintained his superb home form with yet another goal at Carrow Road. The midfielder has now found the net in four of the last five in front of his own fans and, with a FPL price of 5.8 and ownership of less than 3%, continues to offer a strong mid-price midfield differential. Robert Snodgrass grabbed an assist to maintain his lead over Pilkington in the FPL standings, though it’s intriguing to note that, in terms of attacking returns, he has produced just two assists at home all season, by comparison.

Lambert Makes Light of Patched up Potters
Stoke headed into yesterday’s home clash with Southampton having conceded just four goals at the Britannia all season, while the Saints had scored just three goals in their previous five Gameweeks – what followed was far from expected. With Ryan Shawcross and Geoff Cameron both serving one-match suspensions at the back, Rickie Lambert ran riot against Tony Pulis’ side, grabbing a goal and pair of assists as the visitors earned a crucial point. Up to 90 points, pre-bonus in FPL, Lambert is the seventh top scoring forward and continues to look superb value at just 6.1; with games against four of the top five (ARS, EVE, mun, MCY) in the next six, though, his appeal is somewhat dampened, though it’s worth noting he has already notched against both Manchester clubs this term.

Jones in the Points Again
Once again, the Potters had Kenwyne Jones to thank for a crucial display as their unbeaten home record remained intact. The Trinidadian bagged a goal and assist to help salvage a draw, replicating his returns in the Boxing Day win over Liverpool at the Britannia. Since replacing Peter Crouch in the Gameweek 14 win over Newcastle, Jones has started every match and has produced attacking returns in all of his four home appearances, with three goals and a trio of assists over those games. While upcoming games against City and Chelsea will deter many, Jones then has a strong looking run of home games to boost his potential for points – at 5.0, he looks a definite cut-price differential to consider if he maintains his current output.

Royals Rise in Resilience
Brian McDermott stuck with a 4-4-1-1 formation for the visit of West Ham and watched on as his side notched their second consecutive clean sheet. Bearing in mind Reading had managed a single clean sheet in the first 18 Gameweeks, the turnaround in fortunes is stark – indeed, the Royals have conceded just one goal – away to City – in the three games since changing from a 4-4-2. The new found solidity was emphasised by Brian McDermott post-match, who stressed the need to shift back to 4-4-2 after the hour-mark, in order to retain possession…

“We had to be very resilient today, as we have done in the last three games. We want to attack and go for games but we’ve realised what we need to do to get results in this league…There were a lot of balls into the box, the back four had to deal with a lot of that but we managed the game well, especially late on. We had to go to 4-4-2 as it kept coming back at us, with Noel on the pitch we won some headers and kept the ball better. “

Ian Harte again started at Nicky Shorey’s expense, while Danny Guthrie started in “the hole” behind Pavel Pogrebnyak. The latter’s winner was his first strike since Gameweek 7 – an indication of his minimal contribution so far but, having started each of the last four, he’s starting to look a first-team regular again. At 4.3, Pogrebnyak could appeal to those Fantasy managers looking at a 3-5-2 with their winter wildcards, affording us a bargain bench option with a current security of starts.

Kone Crucial for Latics
A goal and assist from Arouna Kone helped Wigan pile the misery on Villa as the Latics registered a vital win. The Ivorian has now produced attacking points in three of the last four and continues to climb the FPL standings – he is now up to 80 points, pre-bonus; tucked in between Lukas Podolski (85) and Dimitar Berbatov (78). With six goals and five assists to his name, Kone has played a part in 11 of Wigan’s 22 strikes this season; his importance to their chances of survival is obvious and with games against fellow strugglers Fulham, Southampton and Sunderland in the next five, the 6.5 priced forward looks a real differential, with an ownership of just over 1%.

Boyce Back on the Flank
With injuries clearing for Roberto Martinez, the Latics boss was able to switch Emmerson Boyce to his familiar right wing-back role, dropping Ronnie Stam to the bench. Boyce immediately returned his second goal of the season to underline his potential as a 4.8 option at the back for Wigan. Yesterday’s shut-out at Villa was Wigan’s first clean sheet in ten league matches but, following the clash with Man United on Tuesday, the Latics have a run that could tempt eyes in Boyce’s direction for the January Wildcard (ful SUN stk SOT).