While Ipswich Town v Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United v Southampton is still to come tonight, it’s time to finish off Wednesday’s Scout Notes. Here, we concentrate on Arsenal 2-1 Spurs and Everton 0-1 Aston Villa.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 21 round-up: Wednesday’s goals, assists, bonus points + stats
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Isak + Cunha minutes, Palace assets deliver
NO GABRIEL ASSIST GIVEN
Arsenal bounced back from recent cup disappointment to win 2-1 at home to Tottenham in the north London derby.
A deflected Son Heung-min (£9.8m) strike gave Spurs the lead against the run of play, but Arsenal weren’t behind for long, with an own goal from Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) and winner from Leandro Trossard (£6.8m) taking the Gunners into second place.
The equaliser was mired in controversy.
Firstly, the referee gave Arsenal a corner despite it clearly coming off Trossard. Remember, in situations like this, VAR is unable to intervene.
Then, from a Fantasy perspective, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.4m) was denied an assist.
The Brazilian caused havoc in the box from the resulting corner, but his header (he appeared to get a touch) presumably wasn’t deemed enough to force the own goal after it was deflected by Radu Dragusin (£4.3m) before being turned in by Solanke.
ARSENAL ATTACK CONCERN?
Away from that, Martin Odegaard (£8.3m) looked sharper in central midfield and supplied the assist for Trossard. His four key passes, the most of any Arsenal player, helped him secure the maximum bonus for the first time this season.
Declan Rice (£6.2m) and Gabriel also led by example, with the supremely talented Myles Lewis-Skelly (£4.5m) not far behind.
Arsenal are still not exactly firing in attack, however.
After Gabriel Jesus (£6.8m) joined Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) and Ethan Nwaneri (£4.5m) on the injury list, Raheem Sterling (£6.7m) came into the Arsenal frontline alongside Trossard and Kai Havertz (£7.8m), with Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m) dropping to the bench.
It was a surprise to see Sterling and Trossard start ahead of Martinelli, but in the Belgian’s case, he certainly took the opportunity, thundering a low strike into the corner.
Sterling less so, but this was his first league start since Gameweek 8, so his inconsistent display is perhaps more understandable.
Introduced on the hour mark, Martinelli’s direct approach did at least inject some pace and dynamism into the right side of Arsenal’s attack.
However, with just four goals scored in four games in all competitions, it’s no surprise Mikel Arteta has suggested Arsenal will try to strengthen their forward line in the January transfer window.
SPURS “NOT GOOD ENOUGH”
Tottenham were mediocre at best on Wednesday night, in a flat display that showed very little attacking intent.
They have now won just one of their last nine Premier League games, taking only five points.
The only real positives for Spurs to take from this match were the performances of youngsters Archie Gray (£4.6m) and Lucas Bergvall (£4.4m).
The rest of the Spurs XI were bang average, so it’s a bit of a mystery why James Maddison (£7.6m) has now started the last four league games, including this one, on the bench.
Richarlison (£6.8m) did at least return from two months out with a hamstring injury, appearing as a late substitute.
“Not good enough, especially the first half. Way too passive, allowed Arsenal to take control of the game. Really disappointed with the way we, both with and without the ball, allowed them to dictate the tempo and paid a price for it. The second half was a little bit better but nowhere near good enough.” – Ange Postecoglou
MOYES’ FIRST GAME BACK
David Moyes kicked off his second stint as Everton manager with a 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.
It means the Toffees have just three wins in 20 games this season and have not found the net in nine of their last 11 matches, particularly underwhelming numbers, especially with Double Gameweek 24 around the corner.
That lack of goal threat was still evident at Goodison Park on Wednesday, but there were at least some signs of improvement.
Moyes’ starting XI had a familiar feel about it, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m) leading the line and Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.1m) as a No 10 – essentially performing the ‘Fellaini/Soucek’ role.
Everton created a few notable chances, too, with Calvert-Lewin wasteful.
As for Iliman Ndiaye (£5.4m), he often found himself isolated on the left but did show flashes of potential when on the ball, it just didn’t happen often enough.
In a further blow, Armando Broja (£5.4m) is set to be out for 10-12 weeks after sustaining ankle ligament damage.
“I can see Sean [Dyche] got in a great group of players with their attitude and commitment, but we desperately need to add some quality in certain areas, mainly to create and craft goals and finish as well. We need to get those levels up.” – David Moyes
Aston Villa, meanwhile, prevailed thanks to Ollie Watkins’ (£8.9m) second-half strike.
Assisted by Morgan Rogers (£5.5m), who lined up as a narrow right-winger at Goodison Park, it was Villa’s first away win since Gameweek 8.
The Villans also secured their first away clean sheet of the season.
Boubacar Kamara (£5.0m), who slotted into the back three when Villa were on the ball, was key to the shutout, with his hybrid role allowing both full-backs to push on.
Elsewhere, Donyell Malen was not registered in time to feature on Merseyside but should be involved in some capacity at the Emirates on Saturday.
