Should we sell Arsenal players in FPL?
We try to answer one of the biggest debates amongst managers in the community, should we sell Arsenal players in FPL? With the help of the Fantasy Football Scout members area, we utilise the fixture ticker and underlying stats to come to a conclusion.
We are approaching a very important period in FPL. In the latter stage of the campaign managers will have blank and double Gameweeks to navigate. One of the biggest questions amongst managers is, should we sell Arsenal players in FPL? So lets take a look.
Fixtures
Firstly it is vital that we look at the fixtures. We can see that Arsenal rank second from bottom on the season ticker. This means they have the second worst fixtures in the league from now until the end of the season.
It is also worth noting that Arsenal do not have a double Gameweek for the rest of the campaign. However they do face a fixture in blank Gameweek 32.
Double Gameweek teams
One of the biggest issues with keeping Arsenal players is that they could block double Gameweek players. The following teams have two double Gameweeks approaching and so have two more fixtures than Arsenal:
- Liverpool
- West Ham
- Manchester United
Brighton also have two double Gameweeks scheduled but do not play in blank Gameweek 32.
The Arsenal defence
This season Arsenal rank the third best for goals conceded (26), joint first for clean sheets (12), second for shots in the box conceded (158), fourth best for shots on target conceded (90) and sixth best for big chances conceded (43).
More recently in the last six matches Arsenal rank third best for goals conceded (five), joint second for clean sheets kept (three), the best for shots in the box conceded (28), sixth best for shots on target conceded (21) and third best for big chances total (seven).
In terms of what the Arsenal defenders can offer offensively, three of their defensive assets rank in the best 12 defenders for non-penalty expected goal involvement this season. Centre-back Gabriel (£5.2m) ranks sixth (4.24), right-back Ben White (£4.7m) ranks eighth (3.58) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.2m) ranks 12th (3.33).
It is also worth mentioning that three of the top four highest scoring defenders in the game are Arsenal players. The Arsenal backline have proven to have good clean sheet and offensive potential.
The Arsenal attack
Amongst all teams this season Arsenal rank second best for goals scored (66), first for total attempts on goal (462), first for shots in the box (315), third for big chances total (74), joint first for minutes per chance (5.8) and third for shots on target (147).
More recently, amongst all teams in the last six matches Arsenal rank first for goals scored (19), first for attempts on goal (106), second for shots in the box (68), fifth for big chances total (17), first for minutes per chance (5.4) and third for shots on target (33).
Arsenal have been maintaining some elite offensive stats all season and their attacking assets highlight that in their own stats. Amongst all players in the league this season, Arsenal have three attacking assets in the top 10 for non-penalty expected goal involvement. Martin Odegaard (£6.9m) ranks fifth (14.8), Gabriel Martinelli (£6.6m) ranks seventh (12.94) and Bukayo Saka (£8.6m) ranks 10th (12.07). The latter two players rank amongst the top four highest scoring players in FPL.
Should we sell Arsenal players in FPL?
There is a strong argument to sell all of our Arsenal players in the latter stages of the season. Their fixtures are tough until the end of the season and the fact that other teams have more and better fixtures suggests there could be more potential for other assets.
However, Arsenal have been consistent in defence and attack and their assets are some of the best performing and most explosive in the entire game. They have proven that they can outscore double Gameweek players with a single fixture so it could be difficult to sell them. Selling them could go either way in terms of success.
Check out all of the top picks for Gameweek 29 right here.