Arsenal suffer a home loss to Bayern as Arsene Wenger expresses concerns over Mesut Ozil’s form. Emmanuel Adebayor is one of five players left out of Tottenham’s trip to the Ukraine due to injury. Michu could be set to return for Swansea against Liverpool this weekend, whilst Robert Huth may be set for a further spell on the sidelines due to an ongoing knee problem:

Gunners Undone by Pep’s Men

Arsene Wenger made four changes to the side that overcame Liverpool in the FA Cup last Sunday for last night’s Champions League showdown with Bayern Munich, with Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla all recalled to the starting line-up,whilst Yaya Sanogo was again selected up top ahead of Olivier Giroud. Mesut Ozil’s form goes from bad to worse after the German entered his nomination for worst spot kick of the season early on, whilst Gibbs limped off injured to cast doubts over his availability for the weekend showdown with Sunderland.

Post-match, Wenger acknowledged Ozil’s early penalty as the decisive moment in the fixture, and suggested that the German’s current dip in performance is starting to affect his confidence:

“Ozil missed a penalty. I prefer when people run properly at the ball. It’s his style of play, what can I say? We needed to score that penalty tonight. He was affected by it. I think he wanted to do so well tonight, it affected him. You could see he will still shaking his head five to 10 minutes later. It had a huge impact on his performance. You’re always concerned about the confidence of your players because that’s your petrol for the team. It gives them the desire to go and play.”

The Scout Says: It truly was a horror show for the North London side, who were outclassed in all areas of the pitch by their German opponents. Ozil, a subject of our recent Drop the Flop article, had the perfect opportunity to put his side ahead and end his goalless streak, but his nonchalant penalty was illustrative of his dire form and the wolves will be out in numbers once again to criticise the German’s attitude and performance. One thing’s for sure – he’s unlikely to be on penalty duties again anytime soon. Meanwhile, Wenger’s shock decision to play Sanogo instead of Giroud again will have the elder Frenchman’s owners fidgeting. The striker – owned by 22.5% of managers in the Fantasy Premier League game – has started all but two Premier League fixtures for his side this season, but that regular starting berth would now appear to be in the balance with his young compatriot Sanogo clearly catching Wenger’s eye.

Adebayor Worry for Spurs

Tim Sherwood has left a number of players at home ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash with Dnipro. The Spurs boss has revealed Emmanuel Adebayor, Hugo Lloris, Aaron Lennon, Younes Kaboul and Kyle Walker have all picked up niggles, though is optimistic all five will be fit for domestic duties this weekend:

“We respect the tournament, we have come this far and we want to continue and progress in the competition. The players we have left at home are the players who are injured and would not be fit to play in the team. We hope they will be fit for Sunday (against Norwich).”

The Scout Says: Fantasy managers will be hoping the quintet’s omission is merely a way for Sherwood to rest some of his key players ahead of the Carrow Road encounter. Given the importance of the side’s league results to their chances of a top four finish, it’s perhaps arguable whether Sherwood would have played the likes of Adebayor, instead affording Roberto Soldado game time as the lone forward for a taxing trip to the Ukraine. Nonetheless, Adebayor’s owners will be a little worried by the news – almost 100,000 have drafted in the Togo international this week due to his superb form in addition to the fact that Spurs are one of only eight teams with fixtures in both Gameweek 28 and 29. We’ll be keenly awaiting an update on Friday from his manager ahead of the weekend deadline, then.

SWANS TALISMAN TARGETS ANFIELD RETURN

Garry Monk confirmed yesterday that although Michu will miss Swansea’s Europe League tie with Napoli tonight, he is contention to make his Premier League comeback this Sunday against Liverpool. Having not featured since December after undergoing surgery on an ankle problem, Swansea have undeniably missed the former Rayo Vallecano man’s goals and Monk will be desperate to get his talismanic midfielder back on the pitch as soon as possible:

“The last two days, he (Michu) has reacted well. He had a slight bit of swelling and that’s the only thing which has kept him back…but these last couple of days, he has been building it up again and he should be back in full training by Friday.”

The Scout Says: Whilst Michu’s early season form failed to live up to the standards that saw him total 22 goals in all competitions last year, the Spaniard’s return will still be welcome news for Monk. Two goals and an assist between Gameweeks 3-5 hinted at his Fantasy potential and convinced almost 90,000 managers to transfer the midfielder in, but seven consecutive blanks following those fixtures saw Michu ultimately disappoint his owners, before he fell foul to injury. Monk certainly has a decision to make regarding where he fields the Spaniard upon his return – so often favoured for his out of position potential, he is unlikely to oust Wilfred Bony from the centre forward spot and may well be played in “the hole” behind the Ivorian. The Spaniard’s allure is further reduced by the fact that Pablo Hernandez and Nathan Dyer have both fetched returns in their recent fixtures and are available for far less than the 8.4-priced Michu.

COLE GAMETIME UNLIKELY

Jose Mourinho has spoken out on the situation surround England left-back Ashley Cole, responding to questions regarding whether the World Cup hopeful will be given games in the near future:

“I don’t know. I’m happy with the way Azpilicueta is performing.”

The news is obviously detrimental to Cole’s hopes of travelling to Brazil this summer, and will further fuel rumours that the 33-year-old will move on from Stamford Bridge at the end of the current season.

The Scout Says: Cole’s rapid fall out of favour is something of a mystery. 37 points accrued from just four games between Gameweeks 18-21 – with clean sheets in all those fixtures – demonstrates the quality the left-back possesses but, having been dropped and not started since then, it would seem that he will now find it tough to force his way back into Mourinho’s reckoning. This news will, however, be very welcome for owners of Cesar Azpilicueta. Whilst Branislav Ivanovic remains our Chelsea defender of choice due to uncertainty over John Terry’s muscle injury, Azpilicueta is available for a full 1.0 less than the Serb, and with security starts now confirmed and no blanks coming up for his side, the former Marseille man may be in for some considerable investment in the coming weeks.

HUTH SUFFERS ANOTHER SETBACK

Reports coming out of Stoke City suggest that Robert Huth’s knee injury, which he had surgery on in November, has flared up yet again in training and is set to further delay the centre-back’s return to first team action. It would appear that Huth requires yet more surgery on his knee, meaning Stoke will be without the German’s services for another prolonged spell.

The Scout Says: So often a source of both defensive and attacking points in seasons past, Huth made a modest start to this campaign, accruing four clean sheets and two assists before suffering the damage to his knee in Gameweek 12 which has kept him out until now – and looks set to continue to for the rest of the season. The fact that Stoke have kept just two clean sheets in the fourteen games since Huth’s injury is testimony to the impact he has on the Potters’ defensive potential, with Marc Wilson evidently unable to fill the big German’s shoes in his absence. However, a decent schedule from Gameweek 29 onwards (nor, WHM, avl, HUL) might tempt some to take a punt on Stoke’s backline – the big German’s continued absence may see some turn to Wilson, at 4.3, as a budget option.