There are injury concerns over two well-owned Fantasy defenders after Arsenal edged out Crystal Palace in Tuesday’s one remaining EFL Cup quarter-final.
The players in question are Piero Hincapie (£5.5m) and Chris Richards (£4.6m), who both boast double-digit ownerships in Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) top 10k.
We’ve got updates on both players in these midweek Scout Notes.
Other key Fantasy talking points are also covered.
RESULT
| Home | Away | Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Crystal Palace | 1-1 (8-7 pens) | Lacroix og | Guehi | Timber | Lerma |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | Changes from GW17 starting XI | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Mins for other players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 8 | Timber (90), Saliba (90), Calafiori (90) | Arrizabalaga (90), Lewis-Skelly (90), Norgaard (90), Merino (90), Jesus (86), Eze (67), Madueke (67), Martinelli (59), Trossard (31), Odegaard (23), Saka (23), Rice (4) |
| Crystal Palace | 3 | Lacroix (90), Guehi (90), Mitchell (90), Wharton (90), Mateta (90), Pino (86), Richards (75), Nketiah (45) | Benitez (90), Lerma (90), Canvot (45), Clyne (45), Devenny (45), Hughes (15), Uche (5), Sosa (1) |
HINCAPIE + RICHARDS UPDATES
Starting with Hincapie, he was missing entirely from the Arsenal squad on Tuesday.
The filmed part of Mikel Arteta’s post-match press conference didn’t contain any updates on the centre-half.
However, in their transcription of said presser, good old Football London managed to sneak in one final (unfilmed) question on Hincapie and Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m), who came off with a knock.
“No, Martinelli is more a knock, and he wasn’t comfortable to carry on after the second half, with Piero, yeah, something different because he picked up a injury against Everton.” – Mikel Arteta
There had been pre-match suggestions that Hincapie had a shoulder injury but the below social media post from Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz found no evidence of a sling.
Piero Hincapie alongside Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel watching the warm-ups.
Amid rumours of a shoulder issue, Hincapie’s arm is not in a sling. #AFC pic.twitter.com/AnW0Y3g8Wb
— Sam Blitz (@SamBIitz) December 23, 2025
As for Richards, he was stretchered off in the second half at the Emirates.
It doesn’t sound anywhere near as serious as it initially looked – but there’s still some doubt for Gameweek 18.
“Yes, he got a knock on his foot, like stamped on his foot, and had to be stitched. I don’t know how many stitches but a few but the doctor told me it doesn’t look so bad. So, I’m always hopeful and, of course, we have to be hopeful. I don’t know if he will be okay for the Tottenham game but I am still hoping that he will be back against Fulham because, of course, as mentioned we have 16 outfield players and we can’t allow to miss someone else.” – Oliver Glasner on Chris Richards
The injury concerns don’t end there, with Eddie Nketiah (£5.4m) forced off at half-time.
“Eddie got a slight knock. Doesn’t look so serious and I hope that he… I’m sure that he will be back for the Tottenham game.” – Oliver Glasner on Eddie Nketiah
EMBARGOED GAMEWEEK 18 PRESSERS – SO NO MORE INJURY UPDATES COMING
That’s probably your lot in terms of Richards and Hincapie updates before the Boxing Day deadline, at least from the managers.
As feared, both Glasner and Arteta filmed their Gameweek 18 press conferences straight after the post-match EFL Cup pressers had finished. Both were embargoed, to be released later in the week (annoyingly, the footage cut off before it was revealed when).
Any hope of more information likely comes from journalists covering the clubs, then.
ARTETA ROTATES…
In a welcome boost for owners of Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) and Declan Rice (£7.2m), Arsenal’s two most owned midfielders were only substitutes on Tuesday.
They did get on the pitch, appearing in the 67th and 86th minutes respectively, but second-half cameos are much more preferable to energy-sapping starts – especially with the fixture congestion about to come:
Saka now hasn’t started a midweek game since November, while Rice has had the last three midweeks either off completely or appearing only as a late substitute.
Not too many recent minutes in the legs, then, boosting the hopes that the two midfielders can start all four matches from Gameweeks 18-21.
Arteta didn’t have the luxury of resting Riccardo Calafiori (£5.7m), Jurrien Timber (£6.5m) and William Saliba (£5.9m), with the absences of Hincapie, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.2m), Cristhian Mosquera (£5.4m) and Ben White (£5.2m) leaving the Gunners short at the rear.
…BUT GLASNER DOESN’T
No such minute management from Oliver Glasner, who doesn’t have the squad depth that his opposite number enjoys.
Will Hughes (£4.7m) and Nathaniel Clyne (£3.8m) were the only Gameweek 17 outfield starters to drop to the bench.
Managed minutes for Clyne (he came on at half-time) and a horror show from stand-in right wing-back Jaydee Canvot (£4.5m) almost certainly ensures FPL’s joint-cheapest starter gets the nod again in Gameweek 18.
Walter Benitez (£4.0m) impressed between the posts but Glasner stated in no uncertain terms who remains his first choice.
“Dean [Henderson] is our number one but Walter deserves to play in the cup games.” – Oliver Glasner
(POSSIBLE) BLANK GAMEWEEK 31 IMPLICATIONS
The EFL Cup final clashes with Gameweek 31, potentially (but not definitely) creating a Blank Gameweek for four clubs.
We first discussed the implications of this in an article last week, which we’ve now updated following Arsenal’s progress.
MOSTLY ONE-WAY TRAFFIC
The wider ramifications from Tuesday’s game means we’ve not done much reportage of the on-field action.
It was, if you didn’t see the match, mostly one-way traffic, especially in the first half. Arsenal had 25 shots to the Eagles’ eight in total, with the visitors’ only effort on target being Marc Guehi‘s (£5.3m) injury-time equaliser. Another attacking return for the centre-half, to go with the six he has in FPL.
The inspired Benitez kept out seven shots: three from Noni Madueke (£6.8m), two from Gabriel Jesus (£6.4m) and close-range smothers from Timber and Rice. His double-save from Jesus’ downward header and Madueke’s follow-up was the stand-out moment.
No Arsenal player could beat him, with an unfortunate own-goal from Maxence Lacroix (£5.2m) the deadlock-breaker. Lacroix would go on to miss the decisive penalty in the shootout.
An eye-catchingly advanced Timber claimed the assist for Arsenal’s opener with his blocked shot, one of four efforts he had. Impressive numbers for a defender.
While the Eagles rallied after the break, this could well have been a heavy defeat a la Gameweeks 17 and 18. A once-tight backline now looks very vulnerable.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) also ambled about like a man who isn’t fully fit, which of course is true.
In a nutshell, most of Arsenal’s key players are nicely rested going into the Christmas schedule, with the back-ups offering Arteta food for thought in some positions (eg the impressive Martinelli on the left).
A knackered Palace, meanwhile, continue to push the same group (not that Glasner has much choice) – and are about to play four league matches in 11 days. How much will Palace have left in the tank by the time we reach Newcastle and Aston Villa in Gameweeks 20 and 21?
