Is it just me, or has Arsenal’s season flown under the radar?
Their poor start means it was all a little too late, but for fantasy owners the North London club has been a gold mine since the turn of the calendar. They’ve been held goal-less just three times in 2015. They have the top forward in all of fantasy football, Alexis Sanchez, and the second top scoring midfielder in Santi Cazorla. Olivier Giroud has been among the league’s top scorers despite missing a good chunk of the first half with injury. Mesut Ozil has had his fair share of critics, but not from fantasy owners—he’s averaging a nine-point haul per week.
Arsenal has two games this week, so fit as many Gunners as possible into your starting XI, and hope they can put the boots to Manchester United and Sunderland over the next seven days.
Here’s what I’m looking for in fantasy football on Matchday #35:
GOALKEEPERS
Paulo Gazzaniga (1.05M) – Southampton: He’s likely to get the start again, and although risky, he allows you to fit in more Arsenal players where it counts.
Honourable mention – Simon Mignolet (Liverpool)
DEFENDERS
Arsenal defenders: I’m tempted to go with Hector Bellerin, but it’s tough to say which Arsenal defenders will start in each of their two upcoming games. Laurent Koscielny is the only sure bet.
Sunderland defenders: Patrick van Aanholt is the pick of the bunch but is quite pricey at over 11M. Billy Jones and Sebastian Coates are cheaper options as Sunderland will host Leicester and visit Arsenal.
Luke Garbutt (1M) – Everton: I got burned pretty badly by the Toffees last week, but with Leighton Baines done for the year, it’s likely Garbutt will start at left back for the remaining two games. A cheap option.
MIDFIELDERS
Arsenal midfielders: Aaron Ramsey is a must with four goals and four assists in his last ten matches, and he’ll cost you a shade under 11M. Francis Coquelin is just under 8M and averages six points per contest. If you can fit Santi Cazorla under your salary cap, he’s the penalty taker and gets a bump above Mesut Ozil for that reason.
Steven Gerrard (11.86M) – Liverpool: His final game at Anfield. He’ll put in a big performance.
Izzy Brown (5.08M) – Chelsea: Jose Mourinho has hinted this week that he could use the 18-year-old midfielder in his return to the Hawthornes and may be the cheap option that allows you to fit Arsenal players elsewhere.
FORWARDS
Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud: Sanchez continues to be ahead of Eden Hazard atop the fantasy footy standings. Giroud hasn’t scored in his last four games, but he is likely to play in both games for Arsenal. He also needs to prove that he is the right front-man for Arsenal heading in to the summer.
Jermain Defoe (9.35M) – Sunderland: He should amount enough points to make him worthwhile over the two games.
Honorable mention – Charlie Austion (QPR), Harry Kane (Tottenham)