Manchester United give Arsene Wenger a fine send-off – applause, hugs and a stoppage time winner – but an injury for Romelu Lukaku spoils the party.
There were classy displays all around Old Trafford before and during yesterday’s 2-1 win over Arsenal, with the crowd hailing the Gunners manager, Sir Alex Ferguson embracing his former bitter rival and Paul Pogba reminding him of what a top quality French midfielder can do.
The 13.1%-owned Pogba scored the opener and brought in maximum bonus for his second double-digit haul in four Gameweeks.
He is now United’s form player heading into Double Gameweek 37 (bha whu), with three goals and an assist across those last four matches.
Priced at 7.9, his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) popularity is likely to pick up as the potential of his attacking team-mates drops off.
The script suggested that Arsenal old boy Alexis Sanchez would punish his former boss with a continuation of his own fine form – he had a goal and three assists from his last three starts.
But he had to make do with an assist when his header was brilliantly kept out by Hector Bellerin, leaving Pogba with a tap-in.
The Chilean’s premium 11.5 price is likely to deter most managers from Double Gameweek investment, with a raft of cheaper options available from Spurs, Man City and, indeed, his own team.
One of those, Jesse Lingard (6.0), did himself no favours with another blank. The England international now has only two assists from the last seven Gameweeks and was hauled off just after the hour-mark for the second match running.
Two other midfielders did at least combine to win yesterday’s match for United, with substitute Marouane Fellaini heading home Ashley Young’s cross.
Issues from front to back
Lukaku’s 26.7% ownership were hoping for great things from their man, particularly as he was up against a travel-sick Arsenal defence made weaker still by the demands of the Europa League.
What they got was 49 minutes, one point and an ankle issue that perhaps makes him a big doubt for Friday’s trip to Brighton that kicks off Double Gameweek 37.
Coach Jose Mourinho, rather tellingly, spoke post-match of Lukaku’s recovery in terms of the FA Cup final, still nearly three weeks away, rather than a league match a mere five days from now.
“I don’t think it’s something, or I hope it’s not, that in this moment keeps him immediately out of a game that is in three weeks’ time. But I don’t know. I never, when I finish a game and a player is injured, immediately go for good or bad news. I wait a bit more.”
The Fantasy ramifications of the problem are somewhat clearer.
Unless he is fit enough for Mourinho to risk him this weekend, his 11.5 value will easily fund a direct replacement for the doubles, most notably Man City’s Gabriel Jesus (10.3), while also freeing up money for purchases elsewhere in FPL managers’ teams.
Indeed, there’s no surprise to see that Lukaku is among the top three players for sales (16,000+) over the last 24 hours, with Jesus the most transferred in (26,000+).
The situation also promotes the cause of Marcus Rashford (7.3), who is likely to be used as the lone striker in Lukaku’s absence for those trips to Brighton and West Ham.
The England international is not in the best of form, however. He’s blanked for five straight Gameweeks, although he’s started only one of them.
Things aren’t much better in defence.
United have now kept just two clean sheets in nine league matches, with the 44.8% of managers who have made David De Gea the most owned keeper in FPL getting precious little for the major outlay his 5.9 price tag demands.
Chris Smalling (5.7) remains the key backline performer.
The centre-half has offset the lack of clean sheets with three goals in the last seven Gameweeks and has now started 13 league matches in a row.
Who partners him at the heart of the defence remains fluid, however, with Phil Jones replaced by Victor Lindelof for the Arsenal match.
Over the last 24 hours, Smalling has earned more new owners than any team-mate, just ahead of Pogba (12,000+ to 11,000+) in the top five most bought players.
Sweeping changes nearly come good
Arsenal’s vital Europa League semi-final second leg in Madrid on Thursday was always going to prompt Wenger into changes for the Old Trafford trip.
But the scope of those changes was still surprising, with seven players coming in, including youngsters Konstantinos Mavropanos (at centre-half) and midfielder Reiss Nelson.
Bellerin, Granit Xhaka and Alex Iwobi were the only three outfield players to keep their places from the Gameweek 35 side, and there was also a place for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, back from injury after a three-match absence.
The former United man equalised yesterday, from Xhaka’s assist, to briefly make his case for the Gunners’ Double Gameweek 37 (BUR lei).
But that idea took a knock when the Armenian limped off with a knee problem after 75 minutes. Iwobi and keeper David Ospina also picked up injuries, as Wenger detailed post-match.
“I took off Mkhitaryan because he had a little knock on his knee again, on the same knee. We could see that just looking at him in the dressing room. Ospina has a rib problem and Alex Iwobi has a hamstring problem, so we’ll see how well everyone recovers. Thursday will come very quickly.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started up front after being benched for Gameweek 35’s Europa League dress rehearsal.
That had led to him being the most sold player (207,000+) for Gameweek 36 and, despite returning to the central role occupied more recently by Alexandre Lacazette, he blanked for the first time in seven matches.
The Gunners’ schedule, which includes a Gameweek 38 trip to Huddersfield, remains attractive, but everything hinges on their European fate now.
Should they, as expected, fail to get past Atletico Madrid, then rotation for the run-in will be far less likely, particularly as the first fixture of next week’s double, against Burnley, will be Wenger’s last home match in charge.
The likes of Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey could be back on our radars as a result, but investment in the backline is fraught with risk. Arsenal have kept just one clean sheet in 11 matches and only three on the road all season, which is hardly ideal as two of their last three matches are away from the Emirates.
