The UEFA Champions League kicked off on Tuesday night, with the two north London teams in action.
We’ve covered UCL Fantasy in depth this week – but now we look at what the European action means for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
The graphics and data in this Scout Notes piece come from Statsbomb.
Subscribers of Fantasy Football Scout can get Statsbomb data for the Premier League, Champions League and more with their Memberships – the full details of which are here.
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
| Team | Opponent | Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Athletic Club (a) | 2-0 win | Martinelli, Trossard | Trossard, Martinelli |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Villarreal (h) | 1-0 win | Luiz Junior own-goal | Bergvall |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | No. of starting XI changes made from GW4 | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Other mins for selected players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 1 | Raya (90), Timber (90), Mosquera (90), Gabriel (90), Calafiori (90), Zubimendi (90), Merino (90), Madueke (90), Eze (71), Gyokeres (65) | Rice (90), Trossard (25), Martinelli (19) |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | Vicario (90), Porro (90), Romero (90), Van de Ven (90), Bergvall (90), Kudus (90), Simons (77), Spence (69), Sarr (69) | Bentancur (90), Richarlison (77), Udogie (21), Palhinha (21), Johnson (13), Kolo Muani (13) |
Just the one alteration for the Gunners as Declan Rice (£6.5m), rested in Gameweek 4, came in for the injured Martin Odegaard (£7.9m)
William Saliba (£6.0m) was fit enough for substitute duty.
A similar story at Spurs, with two players handed breathers on Saturday after the international exertions, Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.4m) and Richarlison (£6.7m), replacing Joao Palhinha (£5.5m) and the ineligible Mathys Tel (£6.3m).
GYOKERES BLOODIED – BUT SEEMINGLY FINE
OUCH 😬🤕
New headgear for Viktor Gyokeres, courtesy of Gabriel. pic.twitter.com/rliftChwaz
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) September 16, 2025
There was a slight scare for Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) owners on Tuesday when the striker suffered a blow to the head after a mid-air clash with Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.1m).
The Swede suffered a nasty cut after half an hour of the Champions League opener in Bilbao, being bandaged up for the remainder of his appearance.
He re-emerged for the second half, eventually going off after 65 minutes. There doesn’t seem to be any concern about him or Mikel Merino (£5.9m), who also sustained a knock to the noggin.
“I think they are all good.” – Mikel Arteta on Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres
As mentioned above, there was no Odegaard after his Saturday shoulder injury. Ben White (£5.4m) was also still absent, along with the other longer-term ones.
“Gabi [Jesus], Kai [Havertz], Ben [White] and Martin [Odegaard] are still out.” – Mikel Arteta speaking in his pre-match presser
“I think there are still quite a lot of things to go through. It’s very early to understand when and which week he’s going to be available. But he will certainly be pushing to be available as quickly as possible.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka, speaking in his pre-match presser
EZE UNDER THREAT?
For the second game running, Gyokeres racked up four goal attempts. Three of them were headers, the most presentable of which came from a Rice cross. Gyokeres led the way for xG (0.55) and penalty box touches (eight) in this match, too.
Noni Madueke (£7.0m) was a menace on the right, if sometimes lacking the end ball, but it was a quiet evening for Eberechi Eze (£7.5m). He nearly got on the end of one Madueke cut-back but ultimately he ended up shot-less, coming off after 71 minutes.
The replacements for Gyokeres and Eze, Leandro Trossard (£6.9m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£6.9m), did the damage. A goal and an assist apiece, although the two strikes were perhaps fortunate: Martinelli’s breakaway goal should have been saved, while Trossard’s sealer was deflected.
Nevertheless, food for thought for Mikel Arteta this weekend, especially on the left flank. Might Martinelli’s pace on the counter be a better fit for a clash with Manchester City?
“I was sure that Gabi was going to react like that. He raised the level to Gabi and he was going to do that. He has such a mentality, he’s a player that is constantly willing to learn and improve himself, very demanding with himself. That’s the moment that hopefully is going to give him the confidence again to go, because he’s done a stunning play.” – Mikel Arteta
ARSENAL DEFENCE SOLID AGAIN
Arsenal faced the heat from the hosts and the terraces at a bouncing Estadio de San Mamés, coming under the cosh in the first half.
But Athletic Club’s pressure didn’t really amount to serious chances. David Raya (£5.5m) didn’t actually have much to do, with his two saves routine, and the Basque side’s 11 shots only amounted to a meagre 0.43 xG.
As if we needed it, this was another reminder that Arsenal’s defence is, arguably, the best in the business.
“When they took us to play a really direct and physical game, we handled it. When it was very transitional, we handled it. When it was against the low block, we handled it.” – Mikel Arteta
SPURS DEFENCE KEEPS ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET
The Spurs defence emerged with more credit than the starting attackers from their clash, too. This was their fourth clean sheet in their last five matches.
The Lilywhites squeaked a tight encounter against Villarreal, a spectacular error from visiting goalkeeper Luiz Junior allowing Lucas Bergvall‘s (£5.4m) cross to creep over the line.
Spurs struggled to create much, in truth. Xavi Simons (£7.0m) whistled over a shot early on, while Pape Matar Sarr (£5.0m) tested Junior from distance. That was, in fact, the only shot on target from either side in an edgy 90 minutes.
Thomas Frank’s troops had only two shots after half-time, with Richarlison peripheral.
It wasn’t quite as convincing from the Spurs backline as it was from Arsenal’s, despite the lack of shots on target conceded. Nicolas Pepe thrice fired narrowly wide, while Tajon Buchanan should have scored from a Pepe pass.
“I’m happy with the clean sheet. I’m happy with the defensive side of the game. I think we were extremely good and limited Villarreal to very little throughout the game.
“Obviously, offensively, we struggled on the day to create something against a good team.” – Thomas Frank
FRANK ON SIMONS
Simons was again on the left flank here, with Mohammed Kudus (£6.6m) on the opposite wing.
It was a mixed bag from the Dutchman, as it was with most Spurs players. He’s also perhaps more effective in the ’10’ role, which he’s yet to start in.
Frank discussed Simons’ relationship with Djed Spence (£4.5m) after the game.
“Obviously, we are building the offensive structure more and more. Xavi Simons has just come into the club. It’s fair to say he and Djed need a little relationship, of course, to get going.
“On the right side, Pedro and Kudus, they definitely have something going. I think Lucas came over to that side, it looks right. I think on the left side, Xavi and Djed, good against West Ham, but it’s not 100% in sync when maybe it’s not going, as an example. We gave so many times the ball away, where we could have played it more second half, which just happens sometimes.” – Thomas Frank
