Although Alexis Sanchez is likely to be rested for the first match of the season, any absence will surely be short lived after he returned to training earlier in the week. The Chilean’s tally of 207 points in the Fantasy Premier League game was bettered only by Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero last term and he’ll be confident of exceeding his 2014/15 haul of 16 goals and eight assists. Nonetheless, are the kinder price tags of his team-mates Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla too hard to ignore? With that in mind we ask the Burning Question: Is Sanchez enough coverage of the Arsenal midfield?

Simon March (FPL 2014/15 Winner) says…
Choosing an Arsenal midfielder is a bit like trying to select a dessert off a menu; they all look really good but, as soon as you pick one, you start wondering about the others. Trying to truly cover Arsenal’s midfield points is likely to prove frustrating and may even be impossible, given the sheer range of options available.

Short of doubling or tripling up, the best we can probably hope for is to choose the Arsenal midfielder who will score the most points individually. Going by last season’s total of 207, which included twelve double-figure hauls, it would be hard to argue against Alexis Sanchez being the intuitive choice for that.

Sanchez is, of course, also the most expensive option and better value alternatives may emerge. But he does, when fit, offer a certainty of starts and a potent captaincy option, a combination which his team-mates have yet to prove able to match, despite our high hopes for Theo Walcott, in particular.

However, due largely to doubts about his fitness, Sanchez currently sits in less than 8% of teams and there is not yet a runaway Arsenal midfielder of choice. Therefore the other type of ‘coverage’; coverage of ownership, is not yet really an issue here. Without the ‘fear-effect’ that very high ownership brings, we are currently free to experiment with Arsenal midfielders while we wait for the standout options to emerge.

Anyway, I’ll be starting with Ozil. No, wait, Walcott. Or Ramsey…. Maybe Cazorla.

D1sable says…
Certainly, if you are planning on playing 3-4-3 and are going with Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero, then Sanchez may have to be, though that’s more through budget restraints than choice.

In saying that, I’m not even sure the budget can stretch to acquire those two and the Chilean without serious detriment to the rest of your squad. At least in the early part of the season before team value has hopefully increased.

The thing with Arsenal is they have so many good options in midfield that the hope is one (or more) of them will be able to offer close to his points but for less money.

To me, it doesn’t look as likely that David Silva or Diego Costa will get quite as close to Hazard and Aguero in the way that the rest of the Arsenal midfield could rival Sanchez.

I’ve drifted away from the original question somewhat but I suppose my answer overall would have to be no – when Arsenal have a kind run of home fixtures, I would want as many options from their midfield as possible, be it Sanchez or otherwise. They’re just too sensational at home against lesser teams for me to ignore.

Evs says…
The Arsenal midfield is littered with attacking options so us Fantasy managers have plenty of options from that team.

With a fully-fit Ramsey, Walcott and Ozil – which was, admittedly, a rarity last year – the Chilean’s points and even playing time (rests for Champions League etc) could well be shared amongst the group.

It’s a difficult one to predict, given not only Sanchez’ potential for points but the others around him. The aforementioned attacking players may even provide more service for Alexis, thus increasing his point scoring potential. I think for me it’s a wait and see. Pick the Arsenal midfield man of your choice, roll the dice and see who hits the top of the form table.

Jonty says…
At £11m, I wonder whether Alexis Sanchez is an Arsenal player to consider at all, when Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla all come in £2.5m cheaper. Plus last season showed that Ramsey and Cazorla, in particular, are more than capable of matching and beating Sanchez’s scores from week to week. This is also a year where Sergio Aguero costs £13m, the £10.5m-Wayne Rooney is playing as a striker again and Eden Hazard sets you back £11.5m. Money is a big consideration this year and we can’t afford all the heavy hitters.

And then there’s Theo Walcott, who, for £2m less, gets you one of FPL’s best ever players. According to this recent community article, he’s the most midfielder most likely to score or assist amongst the current crop of Premier League stars.

Is Sanchez enough coverage? Perhaps. Is he the right coverage? Arguably not, when, for £17m, you can draft in two high-scoring Arsenal midfielders or Sanchez and a cheap risk from another side.

Ryan says…
With such a stacked midfield, Wenger has a selection dilemma on his hands. He cannot start all of Walcott, Sanchez, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Olivier Giroud, Francis Coquelin, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. So from that list, who is the most guaranteed to earn a spot in Wenger’s XI? Sanchez and Ozil start every match when fit, they are the only nailed on attackers in the Arsenal squad. If you want to play it safe and not risk your players being benched, then these two are the only options.

So who is better? Ozil has an underwhelming history as an FPL asset but has been tipped to have a standout campaign for the Gunners. Sanchez was easily the best Arsenal option last season. However, on closer inspection that was on the back of numerous injuries to team-mates, which afforded Sanchez the opportunity to be the main man in the Arsenal attack. I don’t think there is a lot in it, considering the price difference, and the idea Ozil is set to improve, whereas Sanchez might regress with more fit team-mates. It’s personal choice what you believe here but if you want to put your faith in numbers alone, Sanchez had a goal involvement of 42.9% compared to Ozil’s 24.3% in 2014/15.

Based on that information of ‘what we know’, Sanchez is the best way into the Arsenal attack and he’s all you will need.

Mark says…
Twenty-four hours after announcing that I’m back in front of you to state that I’m also struggling to find a spot for Sanchez.

It seems unthinkable given that the Chilean is the complete package – a supplier and scorer of goals who appears to have the engine to run all day and the resilience to stand up to 50+ games a season. Sanchez is the epitome of a perfect Fantasy asset.

And yet, with Arsenal’s midfield littered with such an array of attacking talent, I’m wondering if I can possibly get by without him. Weighing things up, Sergio Aguero has to come top of my heavy-hitter shopping list and, with Theo Walcott available, Sanchez is currently sitting third behind Hazard.

For me, Walcott has the goal power to match Sanchez – perhaps even surpass him. Much will be decided by Walcott’s ability to stay healthy and keep Olivier Giroud sat on the bench, looking chiselled and moody. For now, with Walcott a likely starter up front against West Ham and Sanchez set to be in the stands, I’m clear in my thinking.

A week later, there could be changes. Aguero will be the priority but doubling on Sanchez and Walcott and sacrificing Hazard might well be the way I go.

I’ve no fear that Arsenal will be the biggest supplier of midfield points in the league and I’ve a strong suspicion that one Gunner won’t be enough, even if that man is Sanchez.