Sanchez’s gut, the threat to Theo and Lukaku’s love-in – there’s plenty being discussed this week.
Throw in Sterling’s devaluation under Pellegrini, the rise of the Potteries Pirlo and a magic number at Chelsea and you’ve got a bumper selection of quotes to get your Fantasy teeth into.
Slim Pickings For Theo?
In recent years, the North London derby has been a prolonged exercise in the honing of Tottenham’s inferiority complex.
This Sunday’s match promises much of the same. Spurs are in the midst of a mini-crisis, with performances and results on the wane and the injuries piling up.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are just dandy. But all the options suddenly at Arsene Wenger’s disposal could mean a giant headache for us Fantasy managers.
Take Alexis Sanchez (11.4), for example. The Chilean has six goals and four assists from that most pleasing of situations – a midfielder playing as a striker – and his 70 points put him top of the Fantasy tree.
Wenger’s take on Sanchez-as-striker begins anatomically.
“I see him there because of the kind of gut he has – provocative.”
That’s presumably not a misunderstanding of the phrase ‘my stomach doesn’t agree with me’, but more a nod to his will to win.
“He has a short technique and can always create something. He has a good mixture between scoring and giving the final ball. In my taste, he still comes too much to the ball because Alexis Sánchez likes to have the ball. And we have enough playmakers in our team. We do not want to forbid him to come to the ball but to get in a bit more off-the-ball runs. That’s why when we have Walcott it balances well because when Sánchez comes, Walcott goes. This is a good mixture, a good working unit.”
More on Theo (7.9) in a moment, but for now…Olivier Giroud (8.8).
The Frenchman scored twice in 22 thrilling minutes off the bench in last week’s mauling of Sunderland. This earned him a Champions League start and he promptly scored again, leaving Alexis and his gut to make do with a role back on the left flank.
Having bigged up Sanchez as a forward, Wenger seems to be giving out mixed messages now that Giroud is back.
“They are completely different but they can as well play together. It is a good option to have. Sometimes I can play them together, sometimes separately, but we play so many games that everybody should get the number of games he [Giroud] wants.”
But surely, Arsene, you can’t be considering shifting an in-form Sanchez?
“He [Sanchez] is doing extremely well and I believe that he enjoys it. But we can as well play 4-4-2 with two through the middle as well, because Mesut can play in behind or on the flank. I will see. Let’s not create problems that we don’t have at the moment.”
Sanchez up top against a struggling Spurs will have 25.3% of Fantasy managers licking their lips but how long can the Chilean hold off Giroud’s claims for a start? We guess as long as the “good working unit” is running smoothly.
Which brings us back to Theo.
The boy wonder seemed to be finally manning up this season, with five goals and three assists prompting a surge in ownership and price.
A hamstring injury, as per, has brought us all back to reality. As has the return of Aaron Ramsey (7.6).
The Welshman was injured in Gameweek 1 and only came back last week. He’s been busy, though, with an assist from 14 minutes of action at Sunderland and another when starting in the midweek Champions League win in Bulgaria.
Wenger praised Ramsey’s versatility while acknowledging his player’s desire for a central role, whilst also hinting that he’ll end up out on the flank.
“He is a player who is box-to-box so overall he pushes the team forward. That is what we want in our side…he can bring us his strengths in every single position – wide or central. He prefers to play central, to be central, and I can understand that. But when he plays wide he has enough freedom to be central as well. I speak with all of the players about their performances, about their positions. Most of the time I think you want the players to be happy and to play in their best position.”
So if you’re one of the 16.9% hoping Walcott will be back against Spurs, be thankful that, for now at least, it’s only his fitness we have to worry about.
But, like Giroud, we have to wonder just how long Ramsey will accept bench duty and a role in “plan B”.
If Giroud begins to get the nod and Ramsey is forced to settle for a wide role, then Sanchez will end up on the opposite flank. So where will that leave Theo?
Let’s not panic just yet – both Sanchez and Walcott still have plenty of legs but, with Wenger’s options multiplying and Giroud and Ramsey hovering outside his office door, suddenly we’re all feeling far less comfortable about the Gunners teamsheet.
Allen Key To Stoke Surge
Much like Ander Herrera cautions, you wait for one Welsh midfielder to talk about and another turns up not long afterwards.
To be fair to Joe Allen (5.2), he’s deserved discussion for a few weeks now, having scored four times in three matches starting in Gameweek 6.
And he’s more than happy to go public with the secret to his success.
“I think the biggest change has been the position. Obviously, things seem to have fallen my way as well but I’ve been given a much more advanced role here, which means I’m getting myself into more goal-scoring positions. We’ve also got players in this team with creativity, and they’ve been able to put a few things on a plate for me. I’m obviously not the type of player who will tower over and score headers or be a handful for centre-halves, but there are different ways of picking up goals and they’re the type (I’ve been scoring) recently. The way the team has been set up provides a platform for the likes of me, with Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri roaming on the left and right, and that ability to interchange has been one of the reasons it’s worked.”
Allen has actually failed to score in consecutive matches, but that’s not stopped more than 100,000 Fantasy managers investing in him this week – only Ilkay Gundogan and Philippe Coutinho are more popular.
Stoke’s form and fixtures, as well as Allen’s pleasing price tag, have a lot to do with that. Since his first goal, the Potters are unbeaten and have now taken maximum points for three weeks running.
With West Ham and Watford away and home matches against Bournemouth and Burnley to come, Allen has great expectations to fulfil.
Lukaku Loving Koeman Management
Expectations are always high when it comes to Romelu Lukaku (9.8).
Unfortunately, these include a wearily familiar feeling that he’ll flatter to deceive by banging in the goals short-term before eventually drying up like a prune in a tanning salon.
Seven goals and three assists from nine Everton starts this season could be as good as it gets then.
But Lukaku thinks things are different these days – and it’s all down to new boss Ronald Koeman.
“I told him I am not a guy that is going to cause any problems. I am a guy who has to be at 100% and that is what I am going to do. He knew it straight away. When I came back in I was working more than ever before, to get fit and to do my best for the team. The first few games didn’t go so well but I was getting physically better. When I went with Belgium, I told them when I got back I would be at 100%. Since then I haven’t looked back. He is really helping me a lot with a lot of clinical advice. He was really clear in what he wanted to improve. Also the consistency. He has told me off only one time this season. It was in training and about the type of movements he wanted me to make. He was clear in his idea – there is a real clarity about what he wants on the pitch. That helps me. I have never started a season so well.”
Lukaku’s great start is there for all to see. He’s the top-ranked striker and only Alexis Sanchez has more than his 67 points.
And once a Bonfire Night display at Chelsea is done, the Toffees have a mixed set of fixtures – Swansea and Man United at home, Southampton and Watford away – to see if Lukaku can kick on, not dry up.
Class Is Permanent, And So Is Formation
Bad things come in threes, apparently. But then three is also the magic number. Which to believe?
Chelsea coach Antonio Conte knows.
Since switching to a 3-4-3, the Blues have been anything but bad in the league, with four straight wins, 11 goals scored and none conceded.
Small wonder then that Conte ain’t for changing.
“I think it is the right way for the players because it is a good fit for the team, this system. We have found a good balance and also we have a good offensive situation because in every game we scored a goal. For sure we must continue to work with the offensive situation, to memorise some movements, and also in defensive situations because it is not easy. It is different when you defend with the four and when you defend with the three, but I see a lot of positive things and we want to continue on this aspect and we are working hard to improve. We understood this way is the right way.”
Chelsea have come through a tricky stretch (Leicester and United at home, Southampton away) with flying colours. They’ll host Everton and then travel to Middlesbrough either side of the international break – two more good chances to prove that three is the one for Conte.
More significantly, Eden Hazard is filling his boots, spelling out just why he’s come alive in the new system, firing three goals in his last three Gameweeeks.
“I play more inside the pitch and I don’t stay wide. I play this system with the Belgium side. We have more freedom and we can win the ball back. It is good for us.”
Sterling Secure In His Re-Born Identity
Change has been kind to Man City winger Raheem Sterling (8.3) as well.
A blistering start to the season involved four goals and three assists in his first six matches, prompting a huge surge in ownership from a Gameweek 1 figure of 36,311 to a Gameweek 7 peak of over a million.
His form, and ownership figures, have dropped off since then, but there are still 19.0% of Fantasy managers keeping the faith.
Sterling claims he lost his identity under former boss Manuel Pellegrini. Cynics might consider that identity to have been a wildly over-priced show pony who invariably dribbled his way into oblivion. Perhaps surprisingly, Sterling partly agrees.
“Under the previous coach, in training sometimes it was always two touches and you kind of get into that way of playing and you forget your identity and how to play. That’s not my style of play. My style of play is to get the ball and try to go at players. Now I’m learning to mix it up as well and not just every single time go down a blind alley; know when to take two touches and when to take my man on.”
Under new man Pep Guardiola, the Sterling of his old Liverpool days seems to be back.
“He’s really fluent with his style of play. He wants everyone getting involved. When the wingers get the ball, he wants them to be direct and get crosses and try to score goals too. For me that’s a massive bonus because I wasn’t getting as involved last season as I should have.”
Now that City have slain the Barca beast, Middlesbrough at home and then trips to Crystal Palace and Burnley could be good matches to be, and be on, Raheem Sterling.
