Bukayo Saka (£10.5m) was undoubtedly the main Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking point from a busy day of football.
Ipswich Town v Arsenal and Fulham v Chelsea are the focus of this Gameweek 33 Scout Notes article.
ARTETA ON SAKA…
Having somehow swerved the attacking returns in the first half of Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Ipswich, Saka was substituted on 57 minutes.
He’d previously been subjected to a reckless challenge on the back of his ankle by Leif Davis (£4.2m), who was sent off.
Quickly strapped with an ice pack, Mikel Arteta provided a positive update after full-time.
“He was a bit sore but it’s nothing serious, so that’s good.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka
The Spaniard was later asked if he was worried Saka had picked up a serious injury.
“I do, especially with the numbers we have right now and especially when [tackles] are with your back to goal because normally it’s the moment when the foot is planted, your weight is there and you cannot really react to it, but he’s fine.
“I haven’t seen it in slow motion, I’ve just seen the normal pace image and yeah, he cuts him from the back. I don’t think it’s intentional at all but obviously it’s dangerous because he cannot really react to anything because you cannot see him coming.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka
Arteta also told the BBC:
“He was hurt because of the tackle but it didn’t look anything serious.
“He was demanding it, he wanted those minutes, he needs to feel now the capacity and consistency of the minutes, I think he was really good.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka
… AND ROTATION
Arteta also discussed rotation ahead of Wednesday’s home meeting with Crystal Palace.
Arsenal’s Blank Gameweek 34 does at least allow Arteta a touch more breathing space, however.
“We have to somehow put 11 players out there and have four or five changes, so let’s see how they recover in the next few days. The good thing is they are willing to play because they like the rhythm as well.
“We are so used to that rhythm every three days that the boys are demanding and then we don’t have a game at the weekend, so we have a gap there, so let’s see how we get on on Wednesday.” – Mikel Arteta on rotation against Crystal Palace
At Portman Road, Arteta made three changes from the team that beat Real Madrid in midweek.
Two of them were at full-back, as Ben White (£6.1m) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (£4.8m) came in for Jurrien Timber (£5.7m) and Myles Lewis-Skelly (£4.5m).
Two goals from Leandro Trossard (£6.7m), the other alteration, plus strikes from Gabriel Martinelli (£6.5m) and substitute Ethan Nwaneri (£4.5m), helped Arsenal cruise to a 4-0 win.
Trossard was one of the best players on the pitch and deservedly scooped up the maximum bonus.
“He looked very sharp. We know his quality, put him right, left or centre and he will deliver.” – Mikel Arteta on Leandro Trossard
Overall, this was one of the most comfortable afternoons in the Premier League so far this season for Arsenal, with Ipswich barely given a sniff.
Indeed, the hosts had just five touches in the Gunners’ box.
Arsenal, meanwhile, had 71 in the Tractor Boys’ penalty area.
Saka accounted for 12 of those penalty box touches in just 57 minutes of action, with three shots, five chances created and 1.39 expected goal involvement (xGI).
As for Ipswich, with Davis suspended, they could be short of left-back options in Gameweek 34, with no guarantee Conor Townsend (£3.9m) will be fit for the trip to St James’ Park.
Jacob Greaves (£3.8m) played at left-back following Davis’ red card on Sunday. A potential boost for Newcastle United’s right-sided attackers, then.
Liam Delap (£5.6m), meanwhile, continued on the bench as he battles with an ongoing rib injury.
MUNIZ INJURY
Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) missed out for Fulham on Sunday, having picked up an injury against Bournemouth in Gameweek 32.
“Unfortunately for us he was injured. He got a tackle in the last game against Bournemouth.
“He wasn’t in perfect condition to train this week. We tried and we tested him yesterday, but he wasn’t in condition to be in contention.” – Marco Silva on Rodrigo Muniz
If Muniz is ruled out for a longer period, attention will quickly turn to Raul Jimenez (£5.3m), who led the line here.
Emile Smith Rowe (£5.1m) was also absent through injury.
SESSEGNON IMPACT
Despite suffering late heartbreak, Fulham were in control for large periods at Craven Cottage.
Out-of-position defender Ryan Sessegnon (£4.1m) lined up on the right of Marco Silva’s attack for the third successive match and provided the assist for Alex Iwobi’s (£5.5m) opener, bullying Reece James (£4.8m) off the ball before fizzing it into his team-mate.
And make no mistake, Sessegnon was one of Fulham’s chief attacking threats, despite underwhelming on the stats front.
With a trip to Southampton in Blank Gameweek 34, he could be a handy differential pick, having served up three goals and two assists in his last seven appearances.
It’s worth keeping an ear out for any injury updates, however, as the BBC live feed mentioned an issue, although he did play on for a few minutes after receiving treatment.
As for Chelsea, a well-taken goal by substitute Tyrique George (£4.5m) drew the visitors level.
Pedro Neto (£6.1m) then arrowed in the winner with a rocket of a shot.
There was another blank for Cole Palmer (£10.6m), however: he’s now gone 16 games without a goal in all competitions.
On the injury front, Malo Gusto (£4.9m) suffered a muscle issue, while Christopher Nkunku‘s (£5.7m) exclusion from the matchday squad was a “technical decision”.
“Unfortunately, it’s not a good one, a muscle problem and you can see against Ipswich, second half he was inside, changed the game, today he was inside, changed the game, how important is Malo for us and unfortunately it looks like a muscle injury.” – Enzo Maresca on Malo Gusto
28 days, 12 hours agoOf all the players I planned to bring in from WC30, it's the last minute one I was undecided, Konate, that is one of the only ones to actually do anything. What a crap bench boost this has been so far.