On a busy transfer deadline day, we bring the curtain down on Gameweek 3, pondering the prospects of City’s renaissance man, whilst surveying the options in the light of yesterday’s FA bombshell.
The Player
Alexis Sanchez deserves a mention but, for his continued ascent under Pep Guardiola, we have to doff our caps to Raheem Sterling.
Having simmered with a pair of assists in his opening two Gameweeks, Sterling’s contribution in Sunday’s win over West Ham United was emphatic.
An extra yard of pace, a renewed willingness to take on his defender – Sterling was already rekindling past performances from his bygone Liverpool days.
Now with two goals to his name, the City wide man will surely be flowing with confidence ahead of the biggest stage of all – a Manchester derby.
We should have reservations when discussing what is still a developing talent.
Sterling can go missing, he could quickly swing back to mediocrity but the underlying numbers and the role he’s playing in Guardiola’s system certainly provide room for optimism.
Now priced at 8.2 and rising, Sterling’s form is out of the bag and the masses have caught on.
Experienced heads may resist being turned by a unpredictable talent, but Sterling appears to be key component of Guardiola’s plans and in a fluid attacking system, is producing statistics to rival even the top bracket strikers.
The Team
After picking up one point in the first two Gameweeks, Arsenal finally found their mojo with a 3-1 destruction of Watford on Saturday.
Alexis Sanchez’ 16-point return, courtesy of a goal and two assists, served a timely reminder of his talents as the Gunners prepare for an inviting run of fixtures that will surely invite investment.
Mesut Ozil also notched at Vicarage Road and looks the likeliest to rival Sanchez for our affections. His consistency on his way to a 19 assist return last season is still fresh in our memory – he’s the plodding Fantasy talent to Sanchez’ explosive but unpredictable returns.
In a season where new grappling laws have already boosted the number of spot-kicks, Santi Cazorla – as evidenced on Saturday – may also emerge as a viable option if, as expected, he cements his start.
Then we’ve got the impact of new signing Lucas Perez to consider – a potentially intriguing option as an 8.5 forward.
Suddenly the Arsenal attack is alive.
At the back, there’s also room for optimism, with fellow new boy Shkodran Mustafi expected to shore up an uncertain and unsettled rearguard.
We remain sceptical on their title credentials given the strength of the opposition gathering, but Wenger’s side are certainly back on the radar as a source of Fantasy talent.
That begins in Gameweek 4, where Sanchez and Ozil present viable captain options.
The Talking Point
Whilst deadline day is a major distraction, news of Sergio Aguero’s FA charge for an “alleged” act of violent conduct is still sinking in.
It seems likely that the charge will be upheld and that Aguero will accepted a three-match ban which will see him sit out the Manchester derby and the Gameweek 5 Etithad clash with Bournemouth.
His 51% ownership must now consider their options.
Benching Aguero over the next two Gameweeks is one route available, but having his funds in reserve is surely debilitating when there will be those re-investing his millions back into their squads.
In addition, Aguero’s price will likely drop, possibly by 0.3 or more by the time he returns for Gameweek 6. By benching him, we would be turning down an easy route to making perhaps 0.2 in funds; even that little could prove precious over the season.
The Wildcard looks the way to go. Without it we can swap out the Argentine but we can’t maximise the funds he liberates without a second free transfer or by taking a points hit.
With a Wildcard active, Aguero’s cash can be used to perhaps land Diego Costa or Romelu Lukaku, with change available to upgrade a mid-price midfielder to either Sanchez or Ozil.
That’s an intoxicating possibility that’s hard to resist which perhaps also offers up a new Gameweek 4 captaincy option.
The only danger is that we will get used to having Aguero’s funds distributed throughout our squads, paving the way for us to start questioning re-acquiring the Argentine for Gameweek 6.
