A star turn from an in-form striker makes history for Bournemouth as Arsenal’s defensive fragility is exposed once again.
Callum Wilson helped Bournemouth to their first ever Premier League win over the Gunners and boosted his increasingly strong claims to be our third forward for good measure.
The striker hit the equaliser and then set up Jordon Ibe’s winner, grabbing maximum bonus for a 12-point return.
Injury kept Wilson out of the team until Gameweek 10 and he then scored in just one match, although that did involve a hat-trick against Huddersfield, up to Gameweek 19.
But his current form has been well worth the wait for his 2.4% ownership, with strikes in three of the last four fixtures.
Priced at 5.7 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Wilson has the form and some favourable fixtures (whu che STK hud NEW lei) to be a strong third striker candidate.
He’s certainly got the attacking numbers to back up his claims. Only Harry Kane can better him for goals (five to three), shots (22 v 15), efforts in the box (14 v 12) and attempts on target (12 to eight) over the last four Gameweeks.
Ibe has also been producing the figures – as we detailed in yesterday’s Spot The Differential article – to warrant interest and he duly obliged with a first ever league goal for the Cherries.
He’s had more shots (19) and efforts on target (nine) than any other midfielder in the last four Gameweeks, while only four have bettered his 11 key passes.
Ibe thrived alongside Ryan Fraser, who provided the other assist, in a central support role in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
His 4.8 price and 0.4% ownership mark him out as a budget differential in a side showing some serious attacking intent – Bournemouth continue to rank top for shots inside the box over the last four Gameweeks.
Bellerin boost for owners
Just one Arsenal player, Hector Bellerin (12.6%), is currently enjoying double-figure ownership in FPL and he delivered in an otherwise dismal display from the Gunners.
Having failed to score in the first 21 Gameweeks of the season, the Spaniard has now netted back-to-back goals, with the assist today coming from Alex Iwobi.
Bellerin is finally starting to translate attacking statistics into points – among defenders, only Marcos Alonso has bettered his 24 shots so far this season.
Defensively, however, it’s another matter for him and his team-mates.
Arsenal’s nine clean sheets this season is bettered by just five teams, but they’ve now gone five matches without a shut-out and have kept only three in the last ten.
Injuries to key personnel such as Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal haven’t helped, although Sead Kolasinac was fit enough to return to the squad today.
However, the summer signing was consigned to bench-warming duties as Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ continued at left wing-back at the Vitality Stadium.
Mesut Ozil’s knee injury seemingly kept him out, while Alexis Sanchez was omitted from the starting XI and edges ever closer to the Emirates exit. However, Arsenal’s attacking depth was at least boosted by the return of Aaron Ramsey, who was handed 16 minutes from the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury.
The Welsh international averaged 5.4 points per match prior to that problem and he will now be pushing for a return to the starting XI, particularly with the Sanchez saga finally nearing its end.
Arsene Wenger had this to say on the Chilean’s situation post-match…
“He’s [Sanchez] in a mode where he doesn’t know what’s happening to him. That’s why I decided to leave him out, because he could have moved today, or not. I didn’t want to come down with him here travelling away from the team.”
The 2-1 defeat today made it just one win in five for Arsenal, yet their attack has ticked over, scoring 10 times.
And their medium-term schedule remains one of the kindest – the Gunners play just three of the top eight over the next 12 fixtures, facing Spurs in Gameweek 27, Man City the week after and Leicester City in Gameweek 31.
