Alexis’ hamstring, City slickers, Eden’s paradise regained and a happy Harry form the meat in this week’s Say What sandwich.
Throw in assorted stars from Allen to Zlatan and you’ve got yourselves a feast of quotes from the week gone by.
Wenger Sends the Docs Out
Alexis Sanchez’ Fantasy owners have been keeping their collective ears to the ground after he picked up a muscle problem in training for Chile earlier in the week.
Luckily, Arsene Wenger’s been getting SMS updates on the exact nature of the attacker’s troubles.
“I got a text last night (to say) that he has a hamstring injury. The team from Chile has travelled without him and they kept him to try and get him fit to play Uruguay for the second game on Tuesday night.”
Sold by almost 73,000 FPL managers this week due, in part, to the Eden Hazard bandwagon, Sanchez still remains in 23.9% of squads and those remaining owners will be desperate for further news.
As is Wenger, who is set to send the club’s doctors out to assess the extent of the Chilean’s problem, as he seeks to prevent an extended period on the sidelines.
“I believe that with a hamstring injury. We have to get access for our medical staff to the MRI scan to see what grade it is, how bad it is and make absolutely sure they don’t make any suicidal decision that could harm his future for two or three months. That is absolutely important. It’s a grey area between the national team and the club team and of course they look at their own results which I can understand but we have to preserve the health of Alexis Sanchez.”
And the Gunners manager is fretting further after conceding that Sanchez’ will power can, at times, make him his own worst enemy, particularly when it comes to avoiding spells on the treatment table.
“He always wants to play and that’s where it is a more sensitive case because he’s always ready to play even when injured.”
A Tale Of Two City Players
In a week of seismic shocks, the biggest one of them all leaves the whole world asking the same anxious question – will Ilkay Gundogan (5.8) ever score again?
It’s been 90 long minutes since the German international midfielder made Man City great again, a devastating blow for the 470,000+ Fantasy Premier League managers who had voted with their virtual wallets and brought him in on the strength of back-to-back braces against West Brom and Barcelona.
The man himself seems perfectly content.
“If you look at just my goals record, you’d have to say this is the best spell of my career. But I think I can improve my performances over the next few weeks – I’m still not playing at 100% because it does take time after being out of action for so long.”
And he knows who to thank for his form so far.
“I know that I have Fernandinho, a defensive midfielder, behind me and that he is always covering my back. That is why I am playing more attacking and getting close to the penalty area more frequently. At Dortmund, I was more the defensive cover. I’ll try and continue as I have done over the past few weeks and score more goals, but scoring is just a bonus for me – helping the team win and creating opportunities means just as much to me and is more important,”
No, Ilkay, it isn’t more important. You being a dirt cheap goal scoring midfielder in a title-chasing side is what it’s all about – just ask 14.3% of all FPL managers.
At least Sergio Aguero (13.1) is back in the net-bulging habit, with three goals from his last two league appearances.
A week and a half away on Argentinian duty never gives his ownership base – currently sitting at the 46% mark – anything but injury worries. But he’s in a far better place now than he was when last in international action.
“After the game with Paraguay, I was emotionally very bad. Guardiola helped me a lot, he told me to try not to pay so much attention to what is said. He makes me focus on winning. This month I’ve been thinking very positively. In the last few weeks my head has changed a lot.”
And anyone still clinging to the idea that Guardiola and Aguero don’t get along should look away now.
“I never had problems with Guardiola, nor him with me. He always helped me and gave me advice. I’m very happy at City and more so now with Pep.”
Now that’s finally out of the way, we can settle down to the simpler things in life again. Like stressing about Aguero getting crocked over the next two internationals.
All Rosy In The Garden Of Eden
After spending a gap year googling ‘Santiago Bernabeu Stadium’ while simultaneously sticking pins in a Mourinho dolly, Eden Hazard (10.1) has re-found his mojo under Antonio Conte.
In the last four matches he’s hit five goals, laid on two assists, racked up two maximum bonus point hauls and scored a whopping 49 points. To put that into context, Aguero has 22 points over the same time frame and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11.1) just 17.
Hazard’s explanation for his dramatic reversion to type starts well.
“Conte has not changed a lot, it is just that I have a little bit more freedom when we have the ball and without the ball. Because I don’t need to defend against the right-back, because Marcos Alonso is there. I just focus on staying in my position. And when I have the ball I have more freedom and I can go where I want to go, and be decisive.”
It then turns childish.
“But now I am trying to play like when I was a kid. I am enjoying playing now, my position is a bit different from before, I go inside more. It gives me more freedom, and I’m good for the moment.”
And finishes with the facile.
“People tell me I don’t shoot enough, so now I try to do it more because if you don’t shoot you don’t score. I don’t know if the ball will go in, but I have more chance if I shoot.”
Next week on Say What – Hazard explains that when it rains, he gets wet.
Rest Assured Kane Gain
The sight of Harry Kane (10.7) scoring from a penalty in the North London derby was a joy to behold for anyone who wasn’t an Arsenal fan. Or didn’t have Gunners defenders in their team. Or wasn’t Vincent Janssen.
If the England man can keep banging them in – and let’s face it, he has all kinds of previous for doing just that – he could prove to be a major differential for early re-adopters of the 5.3%-owned striker.
Hopes are high, helped by a lengthy lay-off that finally gave him time to re-charge after two years of near-constant football.
“I never want to be injured or missing games. But when you get injured you have to look at the positives to help you. It gave me six-seven weeks off to rest the other muscles that haven’t been rested in a while.”
It would be churlish to wonder whether one of those muscles was the one that took free-kicks and corners for England, so we’ll just get back to the quotes.
“It’s a good thing. I got fit and I made sure I stayed healthy. I had a break early on when I first got injured, I went away with the missus. But after that there were double sessions in the gym and outside to maintain my health and fitness so that when I was called upon, like at Arsenal, I was ready for it.”
He might be ready all right, but he could be in for a bit more rest yet, with reports that he won’t start England’s match with Scotland on Friday.
In Fantasy terms that could go either way. A fully fit Kane is at his best when playing consistently. But easing him back in has its virtues too – particularly with two more London derbies, at home to West Ham and away at Chelsea, next up.
Feeling The Ozil Chill
With Alexis Sanchez (11.4) currently lying on a Chilean treatment table, the consistent goal threat of Mesut Ozil (9.6) continues to cheer those who want an Arsenal midfielder in their Fantasy ranks.
The man himself is confident enough in his scoring ability to go public these days.
“The manager wants me to score lots of goals. He sees in training that when I have a chance, the ball mostly goes in. When we train on finishing, he sees that I score lots of goals. He knows that I’m ice-cold in front of goal and he wants to see that in matches. I’m doing that now – I go forward and, while I haven’t changed my game, I’m focusing on scoring goals myself too.”
For a man who notched an amazing 19 assists last term, his six goals were an added bonus.
Although he now has back-to-back assists from the last two Gameweeks, it’s the three goals he’s scored that have caught the eye this season.
And he’s got a clear target to aim at.
“Every year he (Wenger) comes to me and says ‘You need to score more than 10 goals this season – that needs to be your aim because you have the quality’. I’m trying to take that on.”
Man United away will be a tough fixture to continue his scoring form after an international break he will be playing no part in, but there are potentially easier pickings, including Bournemouth and Stoke at home, on the immediate horizon.
One player who could benefit from a possible Sanchez injury lay-off is Olivier Giroud (8.8).
A foot injury has limited the Frenchman to just 97 minutes of league action this season, although it did leave him with ample time to give Nicolas Otamendi a run for his money in this year’s Premier League Hipster Beard Of The Year contest.
But two goals against Sunderland, and another in the Champions League a few days later, have now trimmed the odds on him starting in the league sooner rather than later.
“I have not knocked on Arsene’s office. We’ll see, I’m not worried, my time will come. He’s always supported me in the difficult times and I have every confidence he’ll keep doing so. I won’t lie, there have been times I’ve been disappointed and not happy with my situation. But the coach knows that. He’s the one who makes the choices. I’ll fight for my place. What’s happening today is the story of my career. It’s endless in football. I’m not the kind of player to give up and to demand things. Even if I don’t play all the matches, I’m sure the coach will use me. We’ll take stock at the end of the season.”
Whatever happens, at least Giroud now has plenty of padding to take things on the chin.
Snodgrass On The Pitch A Welcome Sight
Loyalty does have its rewards.
The 3.5% of FPL managers who stuck by Hull midfielder Robert Snodgrass (5.5) through a five-match goal drought would have been delighted to see him back from injury, and back to his best, in the 2-1 win over Southampton.
It was, however, touch and go as to whether he would even play, as manager Mike Phelan explained.
“At the start of the game, he wasn’t ready. It was a big risk whether he could get through the match. We looked at 30 minutes for him but he managed to find everything that’s required of a good player and showed his quality. Most clubs have a player or two or three who can produce something that’s a little bit different and he’s one of them.”
At Hull, Snodgrass is more like the only player who is ‘a little bit different’, as his goal and assist 30-minute cameo against the Saints proved.
But that bodes well for both player and club as the Tigers embark on a good run of fixtures – Sunderland and Middlesbrough away and West Brom and Crystal Palace at home – through to mid-December.
Changing The Palace Guard
Talking of Palace, ten goals in their last three matches has got Alan Pardew reaching for the team sheet rubber.
“I’m not so sure, particularly with the centre-halves this season, whether I need to choose centre-halves which suit the opposition. I think that might be the way I go forward, because we have different type of options there and I have done before and it’s worked well for me.”
With precisely zero clean sheets to their name this season, the Palace defence has not exactly been fertile ground for Fantasy managers.
But the 3.8% on Scott Dann (5.4) might wish to take their money elsewhere, particularly with Man City up next for the Eagles.
No Ordinary Joe, Or Bo
Joe Allen (5.4) is now owned by more FPL managers (18.3%) than virtually the rest of the Stoke team combined.
But there’s competition ahead for the Welsh international, as manager Mark Hughes was happy to point out.
“I felt his (Allen’s) industry at the top end of the pitch and his anticipation of where things would drop would help us, and clearly it has. But we’ve got a really talented player (Bojan) within our ranks that in any other circumstances, other than the fact that the guy in possession of his position is playing out of his skin, would be playing. He’s a quality player. They’ve played together already earlier in the season when maybe our confidence wasn’t as high as it is now and he will probably get the opportunity to play in the same team. Why not?”
Bournemouth and Burnley at home and a trip to Watford are the Potters’ next three fixtures.
Bojan’s (5.6) goal in the 1-1 draw at West Ham was a timely reminder of his ability – and a warning for all those Allen backers that he might not be used so far up the pitch over the next few Gameweeks.
Zlatan’s In The Family Way
Six matches without a goal lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11.1) more than 1.2 million FPL managers but, to no-one’s surprise, it didn’t trouble his confidence.
“Every day that goes by, the more you get to know each other and it becomes like a family. You know what you need – I know what I need to do to get the maximum out of my team-mates and the same thing on the other side, they know what they need to bring that out of me.”
Zlatan’s Gameweek 11 double against Swansea was a clear vindication of those family values – and a sign, he is sure, of things to come.
“With my performance, I am happy. I know I can do more, I know the team can do more and I want to do more and I will do more.”
It’s a shame he most definitely won’t be doing more against Arsenal next week – he’s suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season.
