Arsenal’s defence has started the season in sensational form, with two of their defenders among the top five scorers in Fantasy Premier League.
Add to the mix an injury for their big-money new striker Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m), and is it now time to switch around our Arsenal assets to optimise for their lads at the back?
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Arsenal have kept seven clean sheets in their opening 10 Premier League games. They’ve conceded just three times — five fewer than any other side — with just 5.68 as their expected goals (xG) conceded number.
Considering that they’ve conceded just six big chances on their goal in this time and four attempts from set pieces, their defence is a formidable force.
Many fantasy managers overlooked Arsenal defenders at the start of the season due to tough-looking opening fixtures but early clean sheets against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest reassured us they would be a solid outfit at the back once again. Further clean sheets in each of their past four games have brought this potential right into the open, with those shutouts coming against West Ham, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Burnley.
Managers are right to be mindful that the Premier League leaders’ schedule turns more challenging from Gameweek 12, where they face London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea back to back, but their underlying numbers suggest you can bank on their clean-sheet potential in any given game, with two or even three Arsenal defensive assets viable.
The three most-owned Arsenal players in the game right now are Gabriel (£6.6m), David Raya (£5.8m) and Jurrien Timber (£6.1m), who all sit in over one third of teams.
Gabriel is the second-highest scoring player in the game and has actually outscored first-placed Erling Haaland (£14.8m) over the past five gameweeks in FPL, averaging a remarkable 11 points. The Brazilian centre-back is now in must-have territory, given his vast routes to points. He had three goal involvements in that five-game window, and 12 bonus points. He’s had three big chances on goal.
Add to the mix the introduction of defensive contribution points this season, and we’ve seen Gabriel’s scoring potential go nuclear. He is averaging 9.5 contributions per game, hitting that crucial tally of 10 for two bonus points on four occasions.
At this point, we should be considering him in the captaincy conversation from one gameweek to the next. It’s difficult for fantasy managers to reprogram their mindset when it comes to trusting defenders with the armband, or doubling or tripling up on back-line assets. But with defensive contributions in play now, too, both of these strategies are becoming highly viable.
Timber is another formidable force in the defence, leading the way among defenders for goal involvements with four. He also sits top for xG (1.86) among defenders and second for chances created (13), showcasing his routes to attacking returns.
Manager Mikel Arteta has also been reluctant to rotate Timber, the Dutchman having been substituted just twice in his nine league starts this season. The only downside is the slim probability of defensive contribution points.
For those managers yet to play their wildcard or in need of making a goalkeeper transfer, Raya should be the go-to option between the sticks. We should expect six points as a base from him in any given game, despite a lack of bonus or save points this season.
There are other options to buy from Arsenal but their top scorer Gyokeres, who has four goals so far, is reportedly out injured until after the international break which follows this weekend’s fixtures. That means Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) is likely to be on penalties — although only two goal involvements from him so far in eight appearances is a major concern.
Declan Rice (£6.8m) has been their most prolific attacking option this season, chalking up two goals and four assists. We’ve seen a general increase in the number of set-piece goals in the Premier League this season, with Rice on free kicks and sharing corner duties with Saka.
Arsenal’s height as a group means that corners have been crucial to their goalscoring in recent seasons, finding the net more from those situations than any other team in Europe since 2023-24. However, this also lends itself to defenders such as Gabriel having the potential to continue to be prolific scorers in the game over attackers, especially with clean-sheet potential added in.
The spread of goal involvements through this side has been very mixed, with Eberechi Eze (£7.6m) level on four goal involvements with Timber and Gyokeres. Four players have three goal involvements, two of them defenders: Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m). The trend is once again prevalent here.
Tripling up on a team, particularly their defence, does come with its pitfalls, which is why it has been an underused strategy in the game. Just one goal conceded has the potential to ruin your gameweek, with two-point returns rather than a sea of sixes in your defence.
But we already know Arsenal’s defenders have many more routes to points than just clean sheets, and so a double-up for the template has to be acknowledged.
The triple-up potential depends on your appetite for risk but, given the lack of consistency from goalkeepers so far, Raya will continue to justify his price tag as he hunts a third straight Golden Glove — the award for the Premier League ’keeper with the most clean sheets each season. He’s a player I’m likely to pick up on wildcard if I play it during this upcoming international window ahead of Gameweek 12.
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