Eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar hosts his weekly Q&A, giving an opinion on all things Arsenal, the best Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) replacements and chip strategy.
You can read his Gameweek 25 team reveal here.
Q: How would you rank the top five midfielders in the price range of £6.5m-£8.5m?
Q. Best Bukayo Saka replacement?
(via Winston and @FPL_Gazza2000)
A: There are several good options in midfield for FPL managers at present, so let’s evaluate some of them. I’m not including Declan Rice (£7.5m) in this, as with the double in Gameweek 26, he is significantly ahead of everyone. It’s not really a fair apples-to-apples comparison.
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.5m)
No midfielder has been afforded more big chances than Mbeumo (14) this season. He’s started up top in all three league games under Michael Carrick, but will that continue with Benjamin Sesko’s (£7.2m) impressive performances off the bench? It could, but it could also see the Cameroon international shuffle to either wing. I still don’t think there is a significant chance of him getting benched either way, and Manchester United have no distractions in any other competitions for the remainder of the season to necessitate rotation.
The immediate fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are good on paper and I think the theoretically more difficult games, such as Newcastle United away, could play to his strengths where he has space to run behind. I think he would be my top midfield target at the moment.
Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m)
If Manchester City didn’t have the blank in Gameweek 31, I think I would even think of putting Semenyo above Mbeumo. Despite Man City’s options, I think Semenyo offers something unique to Pep Guardiola’s side in terms of his eye for goal. Their fixtures are also incredible once the trip to Anfield is out of the way.
If you have more transfers at your disposal or just fancy Semenyo to get plenty of points prior to Blank Gameweek 31, I think he’s a great pick.
Florian Wirtz (£8.3m)
Wirtz has racked up four double-digit hauls in his last seven matches and looks to be finally delivering on his early-season promise. He has benefited from an extended run in the team and has struck up a partnership with fellow new signing Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m).
It’s only the immediate fixtures that see him ranked slightly lower than the aforementioned two in my book. The Man City fixture could see plenty of goals but I think the away games against Sunderland and Nottingham Forest could be low scoring.
I think if you’re investing in someone like Rice for Arsenal’s double, the ideal move is to bring in Wirtz in Gameweek 28 for a fixture run that reads West Ham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Spurs and Brighton and Hove Albion. He’s still a good pick if you fancy bringing him in now, though.
Harry Wilson (£6.1m)
I love the immediate fixture for Fulham at home to Everton but their next two games after that are away to Man City and Sunderland. Fulham themselves have shown a tendency to be far better at Craven Cottage than on their travels and both the aforementioned teams have been decent defensively on their own patch. However, from Gameweek 28, he is one of the top priority buys for and is a perfect switch from Enzo Fernandez.
Morgan Rogers (£7.6m)
Rogers can be a frustrating pick at times, it’s often feast or famine with the England international due to his limited routes to points in terms of set-pieces, spot-kicks and DEFCON potential. There might also be some changes in the dynamic of the Villa team with injuries to key personnel such as McGinn, Kamara and Tielemans. Douglas Luiz dominance of the ball could have an impact on Rogers but the sample size is too small to judge at the moment. What we do know is that minutes are extremely secure and the fixtures are great for Vila.
Enzo Fernandez (£6.8m)
The later you wait to invest in Enzo, the less appealing he becomes. With Chelsea qualifying for the last eight of the Champions League, minutes are more secure for most of their first-choice XI, but the fixtures nosedive after Gameweek 27. So, you are really buying Enzo just for the next three Gameweeks. If you can afford the transfers to move him on in three weeks, he’s a great buy – but also potentially skippable.
Mattheus Cunha (£8.0m)
A decent alternative to Mbeumo, and cheaper as well. With Patrick Dorgu (£4.4m) out, the starting berth for the Brazilian should be secure. I don’t think his early-ish sub off against Fulham was necessarily an indication of what’s to come.
Q: Are there any Wolverhampton Wanderers players at all that are worth a punt for Double Gameweek 26? Jose Sa in for Martin Dubravka? Joao Gomes for his DefCons? Ladislav Krejci? Matheus Mane?
(via Hibbopotamus)
A: Unless you’re on a Wildcard or really need a funding move, I can’t recommend using a transfer on a Wolves asset. Yes, there have been improvements, but this is still a team sitting at the bottom of the league and the fixtures after the double are quite poor. It’s also a dead spot in your Gameweek 31 team, although that can be managed in the case of a goalkeeper like Jose Sa (£4.2m).
I still prefer Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.7m) over Matheus Mane (£4.6m), too. Bournemouth are a strong attacking team and will score plenty of goals, which I can’t say for Wolves.
Q: Without sitting on the fence, what is the best Arsenal triple-up for the upcoming Double Gameweek?
Q. I’m considering Kai Havertz for the double if Bukayo Saka is confirmed out. Is that a good move, and who would you swap from a front three of Igor Thiago, Erling Haaland and Hugo Ekitike? Or should I just go with Declan Rice?
Q. Is it worth switching Declan Rice to Jurrien Timber as the third Arsenal pick?
(via FPL Virgin, Dazzler and @alxndrng)
A: So I think we can classify Arsenal assets into three tiers, based on the expected minutes:
- Tier 1: David Raya (£5.9m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.0m), William Saliba (£6.0m) and Declan Rice (£7.5m). These four players will likely start every league game for Arsenal from now till Gameweek 31, which is the horizon for many of us looking to offload the Gunners’ assets.
- Tier 2: Jurrien Timber (£6.3m), maybe Riccardo Calafiori (£5.6m) at a push, but I’m still not so certain there. I think Timber’s minutes are a bit more secure than the Italian international.
- Tier 3: Viktor Gyokeres (£8.7m), Leandro Trossard (£6.8m), Noni Madueke (£6.8m), Eberechi Eze (£7.2m), Kai Havertz (£7.3m) etc. These are the high-upside guys that could spike the 20+ pointer in the double but also could easily have limited minutes.
If you own three players from Tier 1, then you stick. There is absolutely no need to move those around.
The question primarily applies to Saka owners. Do you make the move to Rice or do you buy another midfielder, say a Semenyo, and use the cash saving to upgrade one of your defenders to Timber? After all, there are a plethora of midfield options (as discussed earlier!) but very few defenders offer the potential of the Arsenal backline.
I think I still want one Arsenal attacker for the next three Gameweeks, which include games against Sunderland, Brentford, Wolves and Spurs. I do expect Arsenal to score 6-7 goals at a minimum over these fixtures, and Rice just has so many routes to points. He is second only to Bruno Fernandes (£9.6m) amongst midfielders for chances created this season.
I can understand the appeal of investing in one of the Tier 3 assets. Whichever Arsenal players you bring in are likely going to be transfers out the closer we get to Gameweek 31; I personally plan to hold Rice till about Gameweek 27 only and then ship him out for Wilson or Wirtz. I think I like the Madueke option from their midfielders and Havertz from their forwards, if you do fancy a punt.
I wouldn’t lose any of Igor Thiago (£7.1m), Erling Haaland (£15.0m) or Ekitike for Havertz, though.
Q: For those with three Arsenal players, 4/5 free transfers and all chips left, what could be the best strategy to navigate the Blank/Double Gameweek strategy for the remainder of the season?
(via Vasshin)
A: We now know that four teams will be missing Gameweek 31: Arsenal, Wolves, Manchester City and Crystal Palace. The last two teams have yet to have their fixture rescheduled and there is a good chance it lands in Gameweek 33.
Assuming this scenario, I like the idea of a Wildcard in Gameweek 32, after the blank in Gameweek 31, so you could potentially get some of your Man City/Arsenal/Palace players back.
Gameweek 34 is likely to be a blank for certain teams due to participation in the FA Cup semi-finals. You can use the Free Hit then; this is particularly useful as the teams that blank in Gameweek 34 might be doubling in Gameweeks 33 and 36.
With the Triple Captain, you could go with an Arsenal player in Double Gameweek 26 or keep it for the likely Double Gameweek 36.
Q: It feels like I have a good Bench Boost in Gameweek 26. What are the pros of playing it now, or do you just recommend playing it later for a (possible) stronger Bench Boost?
(via Sindre_ped16545)
A: Assuming you still have your Wildcard in hand, like mentioned above, I like the strategy of using your Wildcard in Gameweek 32, after Blank Gameweek 31. Gameweek 33 is likely to be a double, so you can use your Bench Boost immediately after your Wildcard, which gives you the highest chance of having a fully fit squad of 15.
With the addition of DefCon points this year, the potential of a high-scoring Bench Boost has increased. All you need is 10-12 DefCon points from your bench players and you have a good chance of hitting 20+ points there.
However, if you have already used your Wildcard and you like the look of your bench this week, I think you can play it. It’s highly unlikely you will get to Gameweek 33 with a fully fit squad and you don’t want to waste transfers fixing fringe players at that point.
