Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Özil have started to draw attention to themselves in Fantasy Premier League as their form continued in Gameweek 7.
Both players registered attacking returns while options such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aaron Ramsey disappointed once again. Alex Iwobi is also keeping himself in the mix for a first-team start.
Meanwhile, Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson was at the heart of a 3-0 win over Fulham while Richarlison let down his large ownership with another blank.
Arsenal 2-0 Watford
Goals: Mesut Özil (£8.3m)
Own Goals: Craig Cathcart (£4.5m)
Assists: Alex Iwobi (£5.5m), Alexandre Lacazette (£9.5m)
Alexandre Lacazette (£9.5m) continued his impressive run of FPL points as Arsenal beat Watford 2-0. The Frenchman now has six goal involvements in his last five league appearances and can consider him unlucky not have a seventh. Craig Cathcart‘s (£4.5m) second-half own goal came from an Alex Iwobi (£5.5m) cross intended for Lacazette. He had more shots in this Gameweek 7 match than any other player. Crucially, it was another start for the former Lyon forward, who has featured from the beginning in every single one of the last four league matches. He has averaged 7.5 points per game in that time.
Also in-form and starting regularly is midfielder Mesut Özil (£8.3m). The German has been in the first XI for the last four Gameweeks and has scored in three of his last four appearances in all competitions. Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£7.0m) remains the most popular Arsenal midfielder (7.6% ownership), but Özil could prove the one to turn to. Aaron Ramsey (£7.4m) has historically been a fashionable option when looking for an Arsenal midfielder, but he has registered returns in just one match in 2018/19 and is likely affected by off-the-field contract issues. He certainly did not look happy to be substituted at the weekend, although manager Unai Emery was apparently happy with that reaction.
“I want a competitive spirit. When the players want to play every moment to help the team, I want this to help with his character for the team.” – Unai Emery
Replacing Ramsey was Iwobi, who delivered FPL points once again. The Nigerian international has appeared in only four Gameweeks but has registered attacking returns in three of them. Currently, Iwobi has a goal involvement every 55 minutes. That’s better than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 186 minutes and even Lacazette’s one every 76 minutes. If Ramsey does lose his place to Iwobi in the coming weeks, he could be one worth considering.
“(Iwobi) is working well every day. Three weeks ago he was outside the team because he had an injury. I am very happy with him because of his mentality. He can play right or left, maybe he can do more one on one. Also, I want him to stay nearer the box to score and finding assists for his teammates. This is the way for him.” – Unai Emery
There was a second clean sheet in a row for Arsenal, who have taken some steps to improve at the back. The Gunners allowed on average 14.6 attempts on goal in the first five Gameweeks, but this has dropped to 12.5 per game since then. Interestingly, they are conceding on average more big chances though. Accordingly, the jury is still out on whether Arsenal’s defence can be trusted with investment.
Centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulous (£5.2m) missed the match despite being cleared fit after an injury in Gameweek 6. Interestingly, Rob Holding (£4.4m) played in his place and picked up all three bonus points. If the Greek does lose his place in the team, then a regularly starting £4.4m option at Arsenal is worth being aware of. However, we currently suspect Sokratis was absent as a result of missing training in the week, nothing more.
Meanwhile, Bernd Leno (£4.8m) has finally been given a chance in the Arsenal goal. However, it was not through the choice of his manager but because of an injury to Petr Cech (£5.0m). The former Chelsea custodian sustained a hamstring injury and went off just before half-time at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. He looks to be out for several weeks.
“I don’t know now, tomorrow I know more. Maybe it’s two or three weeks, it’s muscular (hamstring). (Leno) is working very well with the goalkeeping coaches. I spoke with him and said the most important thing is when the team needs him to help us, to be prepared. He did that on Wednesday and today also – and against Vorskla. We have three very good goalkeepers. Petr Cech, his performances for us have been very important and his experience. Leno can learn by staying near with Petr Cech every day. I am very happy with him. He has waited for his moment and it’s arriving.” – Unai Emery
After making a perfect start in the first four matches of the season, Watford are now winless in their last three. However, there were some reasons for encouragement as they actually outperformed their hosts on both the shot and accuracy counts. The Hornets had 14 efforts on goal to Arsenal’s nine, and five on target to the Gunners’ two. With Bournemouth up next, Javi Gracia’s men are likely to find the net in that one.
That said, pinpointing who the primary goal threat for Watford is proving a difficult task. Roberto Pereyra (£6.3m) is without an attacking return since Gameweek 3, Troy Deeney (£6.1m) since Gameweek 4 and Andre Gray‘s (£6.0m) run of goals ended at the Emirates Stadium. The former Burnley striker had been looked at by some as a potential differential after he scored in back-to-back games. However, he has now been replaced in the second-half twice since Gameweek 6 when Watford have been chasing goals. That is never a good sign when considering Fantasy potential.
It was Isaac Success (£4.5m) who came on for him at Arsenal, a player who has earned praise for his performances in the League Cup of late. Gracia even name-checked him for his impact in his post-match quotes.
“One of (our chances) was in the moment when Troy (Deeney) had a very good chance with an amazing save, but not only free-kicks. We have created with Isaac Success with Roberto (Pereyra), there were different chances in different moments.” – Javi Gracia
Watford remained relatively unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 at Fulham in Gameweek 6. The only switch was right-back Marc Navarro (£4.3m) coming in for the injured Daryl Janmaat (£5.0m).
Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Cech (Leno 45′); Monreal, Holding, Mustafi, Bellerín; Xhaka, Torreira; Aubameyang (Welbeck 77′), Ramsey (Iwobi 63′), Özil; Lacazette.
Watford XI (4-4-2): Foster; Holebas, Kabasele, Cathcart, Navarro (Kiko Femenía 84′); Pereyra, Capoue, Doucouré, Hughes; Deeney, A Gray (Success 72′).
Everton 3-0 Fulham
Goals: Gylfi Sigurdsson x2 (£7.3m), Cenk Tosun (£6.8m)
Assists: Theo Walcott (£6.6m), Bernard (£5.9m)
Gylfi Sigurdsson (£7.3m) scored his second and third goals of the campaign as Everton swept Fulham aside at Goodison Park. It was a match in which we learned a fair amount about the Icelandic international.
Firstly, it became apparent that he had assumed penalty-taking duties, which had long been held by FPL veteran Leighton Baines (£5.3m). Now that the left-back has lost his place in the team to Lucas Digne (£4.8m), Sigurdsson has appeared to be given the nod. However, he has now missed two of his last three competitive spot kicks, one for Everton and one for Iceland at the World Cup). It could, therefore, be worth waiting to see whether he remains the Toffees’ taker. Either way, he showed great mental character to come back from the miss and score twice.
“If he can score 10 goals this season it will be fantastic. I hope that when he scores the first direct free-kick more will come as well. Like all the others, he needs confidence. All of our players who play in our attack need confidence.” – Marco Silva
“It could have gone either way for me mentally. I could have crumbled, but I just said to myself let’s forget about it, let’s move on and try and score. If that had been five or six years ago when I was a bit younger I think I would have gone into my shell. I had to just get on with it and make sure it didn’t cost us.” – Gylfi Sigurdsson
Perhaps hoping to clinch penalty responsibilities from Sigurdsson is Richarlison (£6.7m). The Brazilian was heavily backed to score against a porous Fulham defence in Gameweek 7 but picked up just three points. There were encouraging signs for his 21.4% ownership though, as the only player to register more shots than him at Goodison Park on Saturday (five) was colleague Sigurdsson (six).
Digne has made the left-back spot at Everton his own, having started the last four matches in a row. The former Barcelona man currently sits second among defenders for chances created in that time. His role in set pieces has helped him to such lofty figures. The fact that Everton were not keeping clean sheets had counted against him when compared with the similarly priced Matt Doherty (£4.5m), but the Toffees have finally registered one. It was a shut-out that not many were expecting with Fulham’s attacking style of play so should be to their credit.
It was a second away match in a row that Aleksandar Mitrovic (£7.0m) did not find any attacking returns. However, Fantasy managers shouldn’t lose too much faith in the Fulham striker considering that he still had more shots than any of his colleagues. In fact, only Richarlison and Sigurdsson registered more in the match than him. Furthermore, Goodison Park has historically been a tough place to visit for the Cottagers anyway. They have never won a league match there and have lost on their last 22 visits in a row.
Mitrovic was probably not helped by manager Slavisa Jokanovic making a slight change to the Fulham formation. He switched from the usual 4-3-3 to a 4-4-1-1 with Andre Schürrle (£5.9m) moving from the flanks to a number 10 role behind the Serbian. Meanwhile, Luciano Vietto (£5.5m) was pushed back from the front-line into midfield and Ryan Sessegnon (£6.1m) was used on the opposite flank.
The defensive problems look set to continue for the newly-promoted side. Timothy Fosu-Mensah (£4.5m) was taken to hospital with a shoulder injury sustained in the eighth minute while Joe Bryan (£4.9m) has been ruled out for a few weeks with a hamstring problem. That particular absence should probably see Sessegnon return to left-back.
“Bryan has a hamstring problem and will be out for a few weeks. Timothy has a shoulder problem and I cannot give you a clear answer, we must assess him.” – Slavisa Jokanovic
However, the return of central midfielder Tom Cairney (£4.8m) may prove a slight tonic for Jokanovic. He made his return to the side as a 64th-minute substitute at Everton, after being absent since Gameweek 3 with an injury.
“We start to lose the control at the beginning of the game and I am thinking about (Cairney) before they scored the first goal. This is positive news for us to have the opportunity to use him and Tim Ream too. In the end, we must recover our best player in the squad and find a way to use them in the best way.” – Slavis Jokanovic
Everton XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Digne, Zouma, Keane, Kenny; Gueye, Davies; Richarlison (Bernard 88′), Sigurdsson (Schneiderlin 90′), Walcott; Calvert-Lewin (Tosun 55′).
Fulham XI (4-4-1-1): Bettinelli; Bryan, Ream, Odoi, Fosu-Mensah (Christie 8′); Sessegnon, Seri (Ayité 84′), Zambo Anguissa, Vietto (Cairney 64′); Schürrle; Mitrovic.
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