Fantasy Premier League managers got a look at Liverpool and Arsenal assets in pre-season friendlies on Tuesday – learning a lot ahead of the new campaign.
While there is only so much to glean from matches such as these, we were able to see the latest issues in Liverpool’s defence as well as get a fix on the goalkeeper situation and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s positioning at Arsenal.
We have detailed these in full in this latest Scout Notes article…
SALZBURG 2-2 LIVERPOOL
- Goals: Rhian Brewster x2 (£4.5m)
- Assists: James Milner (£5.5m), Curtis Jones (£4.5m)
Fantasy managers may start to think twice about doubling-up on Liverpool defenders for 2020/21 after another poor performance at the back for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
During Project Restart, the Reds conceded 20 big chances, the sixth-worst in the Premier League. And they were equally porous in the 2-2 draw with Salzburg on Tuesday with the youngsters salvaging the draw after the first-team disappointed in the opening hour or so.
The Austrian side went into half time with a 2-0 lead against Liverpool side that featured three of their first-choice defenders Andrew Robertson (£7.0m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Joe Gomez (£5.5m).
They were not helped by Fabinho‘s (£5.5m) mistake for the first goal, where he was dispossessed in a dangerous area.
Filling in for Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) again, Neco Williams (£4.0m) was absent from his station for the second goal in an inconsistent display, while Gomez’s poor passing was also a factor in Liverpool going 2-0 down.
“I could see the problems we had but I wanted these problems to fight against it. And then when the kids came on and (James Milner) came on, we didn’t think about the problems we had, we tried to find solutions.” – Jurgen Klopp
It was not the best afternoon for van Dijk either, who struggled to cope with the defensive lapses occurring around him, before coming off in the 55th minute with a cut to the eye. While Klopp revealed the injury was nothing serious, the question marks over Liverpool defence continue to grow.
“Virg only looks like he has a piercing now and has a plaster on it. It should not be, and is, no problem.” – Jurgen Klopp
At the other end of the pitch, Mohamed Salah (£12.0m), Roberto Firmino (£9.5m) and Sadio Mané (£12.0m) were all far from their exciting best as well.
Firmino was not involved as much as usual, a laid-back outing seeing him replaced by Takumi Minamino (£6.5m) at the break. Meanwhile, Salah’s judgement in the final third was a little rusty and Mané could not convert a close-range chance before both players were taken off just after the hour.
By contrast, Rhian Brewster (£4.5m) turned a few more Fantasy heads with another exciting second-half display.
The former Swansea City loanee bagged both goals as Liverpool came back to draw 2-2, taking his pre-season total to three in two appearances.
Both were well-placed powerful finishes, the first from a James Milner (£5.5m) squared pass, the second coming after a Salzburg clearance was deflected into his path by Curtis Jones (£4.5m).
Whether Brewster’s performances have been enough to seriously challenge Firmino’s starting berth for the Community Shield final remains unlikely, but Klopp has been, understandably, impressed with what he has seen of the player.
“Rhian (Brewster) is a young boy and he knows he can learn a lot of things but he is a natural goalscorer. That is what he is. Yes, he was involved a bit but in the decisive moments, he is 100 per cent there. I like the kid and it is all good. He scored three in two games, that is not bad.” – Jurgen Klopp
Either way, this was Liverpool’s last pre-season match before facing Arsenal in the Community Shield final on Saturday afternoon. As things stand, their key players at both ends of the pitch may have to improve if the Reds are to put on a decent performance in the competitive audition for Gameweek 1 inclusion.
Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson (Adrián 63′); Robertson (Tsimikas 63′), van Dijk (N Phillips 55′), Gomez (Koumetio 63′), N Williams (Hoever 63′); Fabinho (C Jones 46′), Wijnaldum (Grujić 63′), Keïta (Milner 46′); Mané (Brewster 63′), Firmino (Minamino 46′), Salah (Elliott 63′).
MK DONS 1-4 ARSENAL
- Goals: Mohamed Elneny, Eddie Nketiah (£6.0m), Mark McGuinness, Reis Nelson (£5.5m)
- Assists: Bukayo Saka (£5.5m), Nelson
Fantasy managers were given a first clue to the Arsenal goalkeeper situation for the new season in a 4-1 win at MK Dons on Tuesday.
Despite impressing during Project Restart, Emiliano Martínez (£4.5m) was not involved at all at Stadium MK while Bernd Leno (£5.0m) returned from injury to play the first half.
Matt Macey was used in the second period. As a result, there will certainly be plenty of attention paid to Arsenal’s line-up when they face Liverpool in Saturday’s Community Shield final.
However, if Martínez’s Fantasy appeal took a hit from the MK Dons game, at least managers can still consider William Saliba (£4.5m) in the same price bracket.
The former Saint-Etienne loanee was selected in Arsenal’s back-three in Buckinghamshire and, even though it is hard to take too much away from a defending against League One opposition, there was also promise of what he could offer going forward.
On more than one occasion, Saliba carried the ball confidently out of the defence, starting the process that led to Arsenal’s second goal.
As yet, there are no guarantees that he will be a regular starter at first, and we will have to keep an eye on the Community Shield final team-sheet, but Saliba will surely feature heavily in the long-term.
There is, of course, plenty of interest in how the front-three will line up for Arsenal, with this win in Milton Keynes offering some clues.
Aubameyang was stationed on the left flank, as he was for much of last season, with Eddie Nketiah (£6.0m) occupying the centre forward role likely to be vacated by Alexandre Lacazette (£8.5m) and Bukayo Saka (£5.5m) on the right-hand side.
Of the three, it was Aubameyang who had the quietest afternoon, while Nketiah was on the end of things enough to score and have a goal ruled out for offside. Saka was arguably the key man displaying the energy and commitment one would expect in a competitive fixture, providing the excellent cutback for Nketiah’s goal.
It was mostly youth players involved in the second half but Reiss Nelson (£5.5m) certainly made his case for greater involvement in the Arsenal first team. Coming on for Aubameyang at half-time he was full of direct and purposeful running, winning the second-half penalty which he converted.
Meanwhile, there was a 61-minute outing for Mohamed Elneny, returning from a loan at Besiktas last season. He was one of Arsenal’s best performers on Tuesday, showing accuracy in the pass and scoring too, so it will be interesting to see if he sticks around long enough to earn a £4.5m price-tag in FPL…
Arsenal XI (3-4-3): Leno (Macey 46′); Tierney (Olayinka 61′), Saliba (Ballard 46′), Holding (McGuinness 61′); Maitland-Niles (Willock 46′), Elneny (Cottrell 61′), Xhaka (Azeez 61′), Cédric (Bola 46′); Aubameyang (Nelson 46′), Nketiah (John-Jules 61′), Saka (Smith Rowe 46′).
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