The Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 4 deadline is coming soon, so it’s time for another contributor to share their thoughts.
This time, we hear from FPL Milanista (aka Obay), who you can find here on X. He has six top 10k finishes to his name, as well as a further five in the top 25k.
Obay is playing his Wildcard in Gameweek 4, and discusses the reasons for doing so here.
The button has been pressed. I have activated my Wildcard for Gameweek 4, and while it might look like an early reaction to a disappointing start, this was always part of the plan.
I had already earmarked somewhere between Gameweeks 4 and 6 as the ideal window to make the move, and several factors have now convinced me that there is no reason to wait any longer.
REASONS FOR WILDCARDING
The first issue is Arsenal coverage. I have gone into the opening weeks without enough exposure to what could become one of the most important teams to own this season.
At the same time, there is no particularly easy route into Cole Palmer (£9.7m) and Morgan Rogers (£7.6m), both of whom have an excellent fixture this week, without making compromises elsewhere and perhaps hits.
Then there is the issue of team value. I have several players who were heading towards price drops, and had I decided to play the patience game for another couple of Gameweeks, I could have found myself losing a significant amount of value simply by waiting.
If I was always going to use the Wildcard in this window, there was little point in allowing my squad to deteriorate further before making the inevitable changes.
And, perhaps most importantly, I haven’t exactly had the best start to the season. A lot of my 50/50 decisions have gone the wrong way. Last week was another perfect example. I decided to sell Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) and Enzo Le Fee (£5.8m), only for both of them to find the net immediately after leaving my squad. Classic FPL!
We’re still very early in the season, and the important thing to remember is that the points gap remains relatively small. There is absolutely no reason to panic about rank or points at this stage. However, there is also a difference between being patient and simply refusing to address problems that are staring you in the face. For me, fixing the squad now is preferable to waiting for things to potentially get worse. So, enough said. The Wildcard is active, and the real work begins now.
WHICH ARSENAL PLAYERS?
The biggest question in the Wildcard is Arsenal. I definitely want three Arsenal assets. The problem is deciding exactly which three.
Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) looks like one of the easier decisions to make, while Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m), one of my favourite players in the league, is another player I am very tempted by. There is always the possibility that his minutes could be managed at some point, but his attacking potential is simply too difficult to ignore. That leaves one Arsenal slot to fill – and that is where things become interesting.
David Raya (£6.0m), Bukayo Saka (£9.5m), Martin Odegaard (£6.7m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£8.0m) – each one of them has a genuine argument for selection.
Gabriel hasn’t delivered a big score yet, but we all know what happens when he eventually produces one of those obvious 15-point hauls. Suddenly, everyone will be scrambling to find a way to bring him in.
Raya is probably the safest option. Arsenal’s defensive potential makes him an extremely reliable route into the team, and there is something to be said for simply taking the goalkeeper spot and moving on.
Then there is Saka. If we believe he is the Arsenal penalty taker (particularly with Viktor Gyokeres (£7.2m) barely entering the picture so far), then his explosive potential makes him incredibly difficult to ignore. He is the kind of player who can punish you very quickly if you decide that you can live without him.
And finally, there is Odegaard. He is arguably the most in-form Arsenal player at the moment, which makes leaving him out another uncomfortable decision.
The frustrating part is that this isn’t simply about deciding which player I like most. The price differences between these options have a huge impact on the entire structure of the Wildcard squad. Choosing Saka over Raya, or Odegaard over Gabriel, doesn’t just change one position. It changes what becomes possible elsewhere in the squad. And that is probably going to be the biggest challenge of this Wildcard: finding the right balance between the players I desperately want and the structure that allows me to fit them all in.
TRIPLE CHELSEA + DEFCON MAGNETS
Away from Arsenal, the starting point is fairly straightforward.
Triple Chelsea attack is something I want to go with from the beginning, and the challenge now is finding the right combination around them.
One of my priorities is also to build a defence around the new generation of DefCon defenders – players who can continue to be played and relied upon even when the fixtures aren’t particularly attractive. I don’t want a defence that only looks good on paper when the fixture ticker is green.
If necessary, I’m perfectly happy to sacrifice a £4.5m midfield or forward slot to make the structure work. The objective is to have defenders who can continue returning points through their defensive actions rather than constantly needing to be transferred in and out depending on the fixture. That should give the squad a little more stability while allowing the premium attackers to provide the explosive potential.
Of course, getting all of this to fit together is the tricky bit. The Arsenal decision alone could completely change the structure of the squad, and there will inevitably be compromises somewhere.
CURRENT DRAFT
HOLD TILL THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK IF YOU CAN!
If you are still holding your Wildcard, then that’s very good news. I’d be tempted to keep it through the upcoming period and use the long international break as the next major reassessment point. If your squad is in good shape, keep the chip as more information, injuries, form and fixture developments can all emerge before then.
For me, the decision to go early was easier – and I just hope the 15 players I pick do me well this time. Good luck, everyone!
