Captaincy favourite Santi Cazorla fails to deliver as Arsenal are held to a goalless home draw by Everton. Marouane Fellaini also stumbles, though the Toffees defence registers back-to-back clean sheets over the double. Elsewhere, Gareth Bale is struggling to return for Tottenham this weekend, Liam Ridgewell is a doubt for West Brom, Damien Duff is out of Fulham’s next two matches, while Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill remain on the sidelines for Chelsea:
Gunners Defensive Frustration
A goalless draw against Everton harvested a first clean sheet in four attempts for Arsenal but for many, last night’s selection proved bittersweet. Heading into the double Gameweek, Nacho Monreal had started seven successive league games due to injuries to Kieran Gibbs and was resultantly picked up by almost 30,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers; while Gibbs had started Saturday’s win over Norwich, it was fair to assume Arsene Wenger would alternate his left-backs, given the Spaniard’s impressive showings. Gibbs kept his place, however, with Monreal climbing off the bench for a one minute cameo which also resulted in a booking and delivered zero points for his owners.
Elsewhere, Lukas Fabianski’s owners were left reeling after his withdrawal due to a rib injury. He had started the last four but missed out altogether, allowing Wojciech Szczesny to pick up a clean sheet and save point for a seven point return. The 16,000+ who drafted in Fabianski will be hoping he can recover in time for the weekend trip to Fulham but the concern now is that Szczesny is back in the driving seat. Thomas Vermaelen’s owners were also left ruing Wenger’s selection policy. The Gunners skipper returned to the side on Saturday due to Per Mertesacker’s one-match ban but with the German back in the XI last night, it was Laurent Koscielny who kept his place, with Vermaelen back on the bench for the fourth time in the last five.
Cazorla Captaincy Fail
A huge armband favourite for the double Gameweek, Santi Cazorla proved a real let down after failing to produce any returns over both the Gunners’ fixtures. The Spaniard arrived in strong home form – back to back double figure hauls at the Emirates caused his FPL price to soar 0.8 over the previous three Gameweeks as over 380,000 scrambled aboard the bandwagon but their expectations were dashed as Cazorla stumbled, allowing Olivier Giroud and Mikel Arteta to end the Gameweek as Arsenal’s joint-top scorers with 13 apiece. Although Cazorla sits in second spot in the FPL midfielder standings, his overall lack of consistency is proving a problem – he has now scored or assisted in just one of his last six appearances; last night’s blank hands the advantage back to those who opted to hand Robin Van Persie the captaincy as United look to take a step closer to the title at West Ham this evening.
Toffees Resilience
Saturday’s clean sheet at home to QPR was Everton’s third in a row at Goodison but there’s no doubt last night’s was an added bonus for David Moyes’ men. From Gameweek 6 onwards, the Merseyside outfit had managed a single clean sheet away from home – a run that saw them concede in 11 of 12 road trips – but a resilient display at the Emirates saw Leighton Baines and co all register double figure defensive hauls across the Gameweek. While Marouane Fellaini – like Cazorla – proved a bitter disappointment, Baines established a 13 point lead over Patrice Evra at the top of the FPL defender standings and with a trip to Sunderland in addition to home games with Fulham and West Ham in the next four, those who invested in Everton’s assets will likely be happy to hold.
In Other News
Reports in the Telegraph suggest that Gareth Bale is struggling to return in time for Tottenham’s home game with City on Sunday. It’s understood that the Welshman has yet to return to full training after sustaining an ankle injury against FC Basel a fortnight ago and faces a race against time to prove his fitness in time for the weekend. Given Bale’s fixture proof appeal, many had pencilled in a transfer in ahead of Saturday’s deadline as Spurs look to take advantage of last night’s draw at the Emirates and boost their bid for a top four finish but our plans will be put on hold and reassessed until Villas-Boas’ press conference later in the week.
Jermain Defoe, William Gallas and Aaron Lennon are all struggling to be fit in time, too, while the club have confirmed Younes Kaboul has suffered a setback in his return from injury. The centre-half picked up a thigh problem playing against United reserves on Monday and scans have since revealed he has suffered a grade one thigh injury – given he has failed to play since Gameweek 1, it’s unlikely the club will rush him back, despite Gallas’ calf injury. With options dwindling at the back, Michael Dawson’s cut-price appeal grows stronger ahead of double Gameweek 36.
Steve Clarke rolled out an early injury update ahead of West Brom’s home clash against Newcastle this weekend. The Baggies boss conceded Peter Odemwingie is a doubt with a knee problem and while Steven Reid is fit again to contest for the right-back berth, he has slight concerns on the other side of his back-four:
“Liam Ridgewell picked up a little bit of a knock in training. He felt a tightness in his groin the other day so we took him out but we’re still hopeful for the weekend.”
With a double Gameweek 36 on the horizon, in addition to games against Southampton and Norwich in the next four, West Brom’s assets are likely to receive increased attention. Certainly, Ridgewell has been one of their form players over the last five Gameweeks and has more than atoned for a single clean sheet in that run, with an assist and eight bonus points accrued – coming in at 4.8, he could be one to consider over the pricier Gareth McAuley at 5.2.
Martin Jol has ruled Damien Duff out of tonight’s home game with Chelsea and the weekend encounter with Arsenal. The winger lasted just 10 minutes of Saturday’s match at Villa before limping off with a groin injury and with Ashkan Dejagah out for the season due to an ankle injury, the Cottagers are without both their first-choice wide men for the next two at least. Jol handed Urby Emanuelson his first start on the left since arriving at the Cottage last weekend as Duff shifted to the opposite flank to cover for Dejagah’s absence but Stanislav Manolev now looks set to deputise on the right this evening.
The Blues are still without injured pair Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill for this evening’s derby. Ryan Bertrand is again expected to benefit from the former’s continued absence, while John Terry should return to the heart of defence after being omitted for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final with City. Rafa Benitez spoke on a subject close to his heart at yesterday’s press conference, with the Chelsea boss once again discussing his rotation policy. The Spaniard was grilled over his decision to also rest Frank Lampard in the weekend loss and his answer once again indicates he intends to utilise the depth of his squad as he attempts to cope with a gruelling schedule that sees his side play eight times in the next 24 days:
“If you analyse our reaction in the second half we showed quality, character and energy. To manage the squad is part of our job and still we have some legs and some determination to win games. We have had a lot of games and we still have nine or 10 games to play. All the squad, all the players will be important. They (Terry and Lampard) have been important and it has to be the same until the end. A lot of players have done a great job and they have to do a great job until the end, all of them.”
