Arsenal are perennial fantasy favorites - one of the best teams in the league with a well-earned reputation for stylish, attacking football. Certainly that hasn't changed this season. But what perhaps has changed is their value to fantasy managers. In attack there are any number of combinations for the six advanced roles, be they in the traditional 4-4-2, or Wenger's new 4-3-3. How will Robin van Persie, Arshavin, Fabregas, Bendtner, Eduardo, Walcott, Rosicky (if he ever can complete two matches in a row) and Nasri, when he recovers from his broken leg) fit into the team? And that isn't even considering the fringe attack/defensive players like Denilson and Diaby or the young(er) Gunners like Vela and Wilshire.
And while up front Arsenal have a glut of riches, in defence they have something of a shortage. Who would replace Song as the holding midfielder or Sagna at right back? With Toure gone they have questions in the middle of the defence with an untested in the Premier League Vermaelen, and the never-convinced duo of Senderos and Djourou to play alongside the aging and erratic Gallas.
So is this the season that despite looking like once again challenging for the title, or at the least a Champions League spot, that Arsenal aren't the darlings of fantasy managers everywhere? Certainly they are off the radar for the first week as they only have one match and it is at Everton. But that should give us time to assess their line-up and to see if our fantasy dollars will continue to be well spent with the Gunners.
Possible Starting XI: Almunia, Sanga, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Fabregas, Song, Denilson, Walcott, Arshavin, van Persie
Players to Watch:
Andrei Arshavin: Jeremy is predicting that Arshavin will be the next best thing to TH14 and CRon now that both are earning their money in Spain. The removal of K2 from the front line certainly signals a focus on the Russian hit man for the 2009-10 season. I can't say that I can argue with that assessment either. He can pass, he can create for himself, and he seems to have no problem unleashing shots from just about anywhere. The only thing holding him back from being a true fantasy stud will be the fact that he isn't likely to get any/many free kicks. The only other downside will be rotation (especially if Wenger inexplicably brings in Salmon Kalou - shouldn't the fact that one of your closest rivals in the standings and geographically is willing to sell him to you tip you off that he probably isn't worth having?). Arshavin isn't cheap to start the season like he was in January but after Week 1 where he only has one (tough) match vs. two for most others, you have to think he's going to be a consistently great presence in your line-up along the lines of Gerrard and Lampard.
Eduardo da Silva: EdS is in an interesting position. He's looked great in pre-season. He appears healthy again. He's cheap to start the season. The big question is what his role will be. Assuming that RvP is healthy (I know, a big if), Arshavin is the focal point of the attack, Bendtner is the "big" striker, then you have to think that EdS will have limited first team opportunities. That said, if Bendtner doesn't start the season hot and RvP returns to his injury/suspension-prone ways then EdS could be a great bargain assuming he hasn't score 3 or 4 goals coming off the bench and jacked up his price before he gets a regular starting spot. The only other thing to watch is what formation Wenger elects to use. With the talent on hand he may elect to do something less conventional by finding a way to include Cesc, Arsh, RvP, EdS, and Theo with Song in front of the defenders. I have no idea what that formation would look like but it wouldn't be any less conventional than the way ManYoo and Chelsea deployed their talent last season to maximize what was on hand vs. going with a straight 4-4-2/4-5-1/4-3-3.
Thomas Vermaelen: On the surface, Verm looks like the obvious straight replacement for Kolo Toure - about the same size and type of game but a lot younger. That said, you have to think that Wenger saw enough of Toure/Gallas to figure out that two 5'10" guys probably isn't the right answer in a league increasingly inhabited by 6'+ players (or in the case of Stoke, entirely inhabited by 6'+ players). Having watched Song play over the weekend, he seems more comfortable as a holding midfielder so despite the last two sentences there don't seem to be many taller AND better options on the current roster. If there aren't any more moves on this front then Verm is a no-doubt-about-it fantasy starter who will get you a strong return of 6 points/match+ on a budget (think of him as filling the place that Paintsil had all of last season). One other note on the Arsenal defence before we go, you have to love the fact that they have a FB named Thomas Cruise on their roster. There's definitely an "I knew Wenger liked short defenders but this is a bit too much" joke in there somewhere but I'll let you embellish on it.
Eduardo da Silva: EdS is in an interesting position. He's looked great in pre-season. He appears healthy again. He's cheap to start the season. The big question is what his role will be. Assuming that RvP is healthy (I know, a big if), Arshavin is the focal point of the attack, Bendtner is the "big" striker, then you have to think that EdS will have limited first team opportunities. That said, if Bendtner doesn't start the season hot and RvP returns to his injury/suspension-prone ways then EdS could be a great bargain assuming he hasn't score 3 or 4 goals coming off the bench and jacked up his price before he gets a regular starting spot. The only other thing to watch is what formation Wenger elects to use. With the talent on hand he may elect to do something less conventional by finding a way to include Cesc, Arsh, RvP, EdS, and Theo with Song in front of the defenders. I have no idea what that formation would look like but it wouldn't be any less conventional than the way ManYoo and Chelsea deployed their talent last season to maximize what was on hand vs. going with a straight 4-4-2/4-5-1/4-3-3.
Thomas Vermaelen: On the surface, Verm looks like the obvious straight replacement for Kolo Toure - about the same size and type of game but a lot younger. That said, you have to think that Wenger saw enough of Toure/Gallas to figure out that two 5'10" guys probably isn't the right answer in a league increasingly inhabited by 6'+ players (or in the case of Stoke, entirely inhabited by 6'+ players). Having watched Song play over the weekend, he seems more comfortable as a holding midfielder so despite the last two sentences there don't seem to be many taller AND better options on the current roster. If there aren't any more moves on this front then Verm is a no-doubt-about-it fantasy starter who will get you a strong return of 6 points/match+ on a budget (think of him as filling the place that Paintsil had all of last season). One other note on the Arsenal defence before we go, you have to love the fact that they have a FB named Thomas Cruise on their roster. There's definitely an "I knew Wenger liked short defenders but this is a bit too much" joke in there somewhere but I'll let you embellish on it.
you left out a left back in the arsenal starting lineup. Clichy?
ReplyDeleteClichy. Thanks, Francisco. The post has been updated.
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