Our write-ups of the Gameweek 17 action begin with the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Arsenal v West Ham United, Aston Villa v Liverpool and Southampton v Brighton and Hove Albion.
The numbers and graphics you see in this article are from our Premium Members area, where you can access Opta player and team data for every single Premier League fixture.
WASTEFUL DARWIN
Darwin Nunez (£9.0m) missed a host of chances at Villa Park, yet goals from Mohamed Salah (£12.8m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Stefan Bajcetic (£4.4m) spared the former Benfica man’s blushes.
The Uruguayan continually got into the right positions, racking up six goal attempts, five shots inside the box and a whopping four big chances. However, through a combination of wrong calls and poor finishing, departed the pitch on 87 minutes with just two points.
Adding to his owner’s frustration, he did, in fact, tee up Bajcetic for Liverpool’s third, but was denied an assist after his cross was intercepted, with the youngster picking up the loose ball.
“Different things, of course it is like this, you are a human being and it doesn’t go easy that he can now close his eyes, hit the ball, and have it go in. Strikers have that from time to time, he didn’t have that yet, but I’m now not only since yesterday in the business and I had some strikers around and I know the start [of] the scoring at the beginning is really not important. There are so many other things that are much more important, because in the end you look back [and] you cannot imagine how [many] big chances they missed in the beginning when I work with them, you just have to stay calm.
We are completely calm… what I really love and it’s so special that in the third goal, I think pretty much everybody here, if you’re ever in a situation like that, after the game he had where he just missed the last little touch to score a goal, we all would have just hammered the ball and try to force it. And he passed the ball to Stefan, so we can score the third goal, that makes him really special, the work-rate he put in, the spaces, the depth he creates for us. Pretty much he’s unstoppable in the moment when we keep the ball and pass it in the right moment, there’s no defender who can really catch up speed-wise. I know all the stories around and it’s all fine, but we are completely calm, everything will be fine. He played an exceptional game tonight and we won 3-1 and that’s all that counts.” – Jurgen Klopp on Darwin Nunez
Elsewhere, Salah produced his fourth double-figure haul of the season, courtesy of a goal, assist and maximum bonus.
As a result, the Egyptian is now averaging 8.5 points per start across his last four appearances.
FULL-BACKS IMPRESS
Liverpool full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.8m) both turned in encouraging displays at Villa Park.
The latter supplied the assist for Liverpool’s opener, yet it was Alexander-Arnold’s stunning outside-of-the-boot pass that helped create it.
Given how many opportunities the Reds afforded Aston Villa, which included four big chances, it might be too soon to suggest the pair are ‘back’. However, in Robertson’s case, it’s worth noting he’s consistently delivering points despite the lack of clean sheets.
Indeed, the Scot has four assists in as many appearances from Gameweek 14 onwards, a period which has seen him create 14 chances, at least three more than any other FPL defender:
ARSENAL SHARING OUT THE POINTS
Arsenal underlined their title credentials with a 3-1 comeback win over West Ham United at the Emirates.
Bukayo Saka (£8.0m), Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m) and Eddie Nketiah (£6.5m) got the goals, which means the Gunners’ have now won their last 10 Premier League home matches.
The trio returned nine, eight and six points respectively, yet were outdone by Martin Odegaard (£6.4m), who supplied two assists and maximum bonus, resulting in 11 points.
The Norwegian has a remarkable three double-figure hauls in his last four outings and across the season, has more points (88) than any Arsenal player. He also has the best NPxGI tally among fellow Gunners’ midfielders, with a further six shots and five chances created in Gameweek 17.
Elsewhere, Nketiah looked lively in the absence of Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m), with Mikel Arteta talking up the forward post-match.
“I just gave him a big hug because he totally deserved that with the play he played. He showed his strength, quality and timing, the composure of the finish. It was an outstanding performance from him. He has been trying in the last few games and has the capacity to score. We see it every day in training and that will give him confidence.” – Mikel Arteta on Eddie Nketiah
Having suffered defeat at the Emirates, West Ham have now lost four matches in a row and 10 from their first 16 league games in 2022/23, with the result leaving them just one point above the drop zone.
SAINTS SLUMP
Southampton have slipped to the bottom of the Premier League on the back of their 3-1 loss at home to Brighton.
In a display full of errors, Gavin Bazunu (£4.5m) gifted the visitors the opener, before Romain Perraud’s (£4.4m) own goal doubled Albion’s lead.
Nathan Jones – taking charge of just his second Saints league game – experimented with different systems, shifting from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 and a diamond, yet the changes failed to have the desired effect, with their right side particularly vulnerable.
“We gifted them two goals today and then that gives them confidence to do what they do and they keep the ball very well. We never really gave ourselves a chance of winning. We didn’t do the basics well enough and didn’t deserve anything from the game. We have to make sure we have a foothold in the game and at the minute we’re not giving ourselves a chance. Goals change games, goals change momentum, goals change attitudes, and that’s what happened today. We need to do certain things better and we will work religiously on that.” – Nathan Jones
Now, Jones will be desperate to tighten his side up, given that only Bournemouth have conceded more goals than Southampton in 2022/23.
They’ve also managed just one clean sheet all season, a stat which will encourage owners of Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.8m) and Andreas Pereira (£4.6m), who they meet on Saturday.
“If you don’t defend the box well enough in the Premier League, you’re going to struggle. We’ve only kept one clean sheet all season and that’s something we have got to change.” – Nathan Jones
As for Brighton, they failed to win any of their first five league games under Roberto De Zerbi, but have since won four of the following six.
Here, they cruised to victory on the south coast, yet owners of Leandro Trossard (£7.1m) were left underwhelmed. The Belgian was effective at opening up space in the final third but failed to register a single shot on goal, despite lining up as a false nine in the absence of Danny Welbeck (£6.5m).
It’s worth noting Brighton will be without Moises Caicedo (£5.0m) for the visit of Arsenal on Saturday, having picked up his fifth caution of the season at St Mary’s. Alexis Mac Allister (£5.4m) also looks set to miss out, leaving De Zerbi without his first-choice midfield pairing in Gameweek 18.
