Say What? – Gameweek 12

Once again we tune in to our regular midweek article, Say What? to hear tasty audio treats from the weekend’s Fantasy action. This week Louis van Gaal toasts a tactical victory over Arsenal, while Arsene Wenger discusses his striker options in the wake of the 2-1 defeat. Christian Eriksen looks for more pitch time, Manuel Pellegrini praises Yaya Touré, Sam Allardyce reflects on Andy Carroll’s fitness, and Nigel Pearson talks clean sheets after Leicester’s goalless draw against Sunderland.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was brutally open about his tactical exploitation of Arsenal’s playing style after the 2-1 win at the Emirates. The Dutchman shuffled the deck and played Angel Di Maria up front against the Gunners as he sought to expose the lack of pace in their back line – as Swansea had identified in Arsenal’s previous encounter.

“That is why I play this formation because now I have to play with two young defenders, yes, it was a risk, but I was sure that Arsenal wants to attack and to press us, then, you know that Arsenal is giving a lot of space away. And then [Per] Mertesacker and our friend [Nacho] Monreal has to defend. That is why I put [Angel] Di Maria against Mertesacker and [Robin] van Persie against Monreal, that is why I changed for [James] Wilson, more pace. That is what you are thinking in advance of a match and when it is ending like this, you can be happy.”

Fresh off the back of the defeat, Arsene Wenger discussed the plausibility of moving popular Fantasy asset Danny Welbeck onto the flanks for future Gameweeks as he looks to re-integrate France international Olivier Giroud. Welbeck has revelled in a central role on international duty recently but has failed to translate those performances into Fantasy points in the league.

“He played there at a young age and when you play football you get habits in the position you play. You feel at home a little bit… comfortable. He looks comfortable there because he knows what to do. Recently we played 4-4-2 with Alexis and Welbeck up front and in some games you adapt. He is adaptable – the modern player is adaptable. Alexis can play wide left and wide right as well as through the middle. Welbeck as well. It is so important on the flanks to have pace and work rate, so sometimes in some games you have to put them there because they can absorb the quantity and the quality of the work.”

The Gunners boss welcomed Giroud back to first-team action after a lengthy spell on the sidelines and, while his goal was no more than a consolation, the Frenchman’s stunning strike will have sounded a warning shot to Welbeck’s 14% owners. With Wenger explaining Giroud’s exclusion from the Champions League squad, questions will be asked over Welbeck’s role when the Gunners return to domestic action:

“Exactly [we presumed his injury would mean he wouldn’t be available]. At the time, we bought Danny Welbeck and we had to put him on the list. Giroud was supposed to be unavailable for the qualifying group stage and we put him out. He is coming back early and that is good news, but of course he’s not on the list of the 25 selected players.”

Across North London, Christian Eriksen’s minutes were on the agenda. The Spurs midfielder is making a habit of ruthlessly punishing Fantasy owners who dare to sell him after ebbs in his Fantasy form. Prior to Sunday’s trip to Hull, over 50,000 FPL managers parted ways with Eriksen off the back of a single point returned in his previous two appearances – both of which saw him withdrawn at half time. This time, however, the playmaker produced 13 points courtesy of a last gasp match winner, an assist, and maximum bonus as he hauled his side back from the brink of defeat against 10-man Hull.

“It’s something I wanted to show. In the previous two games I was pulled out after 45 minutes and luckily against Hull I got a little bit more. I enjoy the responsibility. I am a player who loves to have the ball. I don’t think you have anything of me if I don’t have the ball. Luckily against Hull I had plenty of it and I tried to create some good chances. Every player wants to play more than 45 minutes but it’s the decision of the coach. You have to work hard. I had the chance in this game and I showed that 90 minutes is good for me.”

Meanwhile Manuel Pellegrini had a few words of encouragement for his own midfield match winner. Yaya Touré’s lack of goals this season has seen his Fantasy star dwindle after setting such lofty expectations in the previous campaign.

“I think it’s important for Yaya – he played for his national team on Wednesday and he played two games in a week but he had the personality and character to continue playing until the end. I think he played very well but we can’t analyse Yaya on how many goals he scores – it’s impossible for him to score the amount of goals he scored last season. Yaya is a midfielder, he’s not a striker. It’s important for him to play well and I think he’s improving every game.”

Nigel Pearson took the positives from his side’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland. Leicester have now blanked in five consecutive Premier League outings, but the clean sheet was only their second of the season and the Foxes’ boss spoke of the need for balance in his side’s play, after being involved in so many high-scoring matches as they acclimatise to Premier League football.

“Statistically over the season you’ve got to keep enough of them (clean sheets), it’s as simple as that…In other games we’ve made opportunities and not taken them. What we’ve not been able to do is keep our opponents out at the other end. It’s about combining the two and we’re always working towards that. But I think again we looked dangerous, we created some good chances and their ‘keeper made some good saves. The result is not what we wanted, but as I said before I’m relatively satisfied with how the players went about trying to win the game. If we do that more regularly, we’ll win more games than we have done.”

While Sunderland manager Gus Poyet focused his enthusiasm on his front three of Connor Wickham, Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson – despite the trio failing to find the net. Poyet may have been encouraged by his side’s performance, but with Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool up next, followed by high flying West Ham and Newcastle, the Black Cats’ assets will need to start producing something special to make an impact on the Fantasy watch list.Poyet’s praise at least suggests that Wickham and Johnson have edged ahead of the likes of Will Buckley for the roles on the flanks once again.

“Sometimes people are a bit unfair on Connor. He’s doing a terrific job for us. He’s given us something we couldn’t find in the summer. We couldn’t find that Fabio Borini style. He’s linking it well, changing flanks with Jonno. He created chances. I think it was one of the best games that the front three have played, although we didn’t score. It’s a balance. Overall, I was pleased. I was just seeing what we could change to win it. But you need to be realistic sometimes, if you can’t win it, don’t throw it away.”

Andy Carroll’s gradual return to first-team action took an unexpected step up last weekend. The striker made a one-minute cameo from the bench in the Hammers’ previous match against Aston Villa but, with Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia both missing through injury for the trip to Everton, Carroll played 90 minutes in the 2-1 loss. Post-match, Sam Allardyce conceded that, in spite of playing from start to finish against the Toffees, the target man is still some way short of sharpness.

“We didn’t want to play him for 90 minutes but it had to be that way. He coped well. We know he is going to get better. With other strikers putting pressure on Andy, he has to get on top of his game. He looks after himself and thinks he should play every week. But at this moment, he has a little way to go. He needs to get full match fitness but he did very well here.”