Arsenal’s Double Gameweek 26 got off to a disappointing start for many, with the clean sheet broken and two players owned by less than 2% of Fantasy managers taking the Gunners’ only attacking win.
Here are a few takeaways from Brentford Community Stadium.
WHY SALIBA IS MISSING
William Saliba (£6.1m) was a surprise absentee when the West London team sheets were released.
The relatively good news for Saliba’s owners (unless they have a mega-haul waiting for auto-sub…) is that it was only illness, and not injury, that ruled him out of the Gunners’ first Gameweek 26 match.
One would imagine he would return for next Wednesday’s match at Molineux, if not Sunday’s visit to Wigan Athletic.
“This morning he wasn’t feeling well, so he’s sick and he’s home.
“Yes, [hopefully just short-term].” – Mikel Arteta on William Saliba, speaking ahead of kick-off
Kai Havertz (£7.3 million) was also missing. A muscle injury can rule him out until early March.
“After the game we played against Sunderland he felt a bit bad. We have to wait and see how long he will be out.” – Mikel Arteta on Kai Havertz, speaking ahead of kick-off
SAKA IS COMING BACK – BUT NOT EARLIER THAN ARTETA EXPECTED
While there was bad news on the fitness front, Arsenal were boosted by the return of three others.
Leandro Trossard (£6.8m) shook off a minor fear to keep his place, while Bukayo Saka (£9.8m) and Martin Odegaard (£7.8m) were among the substitutes after short spells. Odegaard came on at half-time, while Saka came on for the final twenty minutes.
“Because of the way they pressed, I think we needed a different kind of profile to generate a lot more problems for them around those areas, and I think he [Odegaard] came on the pitch very well and the team had a different gear and more threat to reach the areas we wanted to reach and that decision.
“I think [Eze] I’ve had moments and it’s not easy when you move to a new club. It’s always like that, and when you play against a team that’s like that and the ball is often not on the ground and you have to constantly break the play and do that, especially for attacking and creative players, it’s more difficult. – Mikel Arteta on why he switched Eberechi Eze for Martin Odegaard at half-time
Reports had suggested the north London derby was Saka’s intended second leg, but Arteta said the winger was on target.
“That was more or less the time frame.” – Mikel Arteta when asked if Bukayo Saka had returned ahead of schedule
He eats in it You Maduk‘s (£6.8m) minutes somehow against Wolves next Wednesday, even if he doesn’t start.
This was Madueke’s fifth consecutive start in all competitions, with the last four not going beyond the 70th minute. But as with Leeds, he made the most of his time on the pitch. This was a well-aimed header Piero Hincapie‘s (£5.1 million) cross.
As for Saka, he’s returning at exactly the wrong time: after the Double Gameweek deadline, with a Blank Gameweek 31 looming, and with many of us moving on to other midfield targets, albeit the similarly priced ones Cole Palmer (£10.6 million) or cheaper alternatives.
RICE GETS LATEST BONUS?
As you will see in our revised analysis of the Bonus Points System (BPS), Declan Rice (£7.6m) could earn a bonus point when the FPL renews the scores next Wednesday.
Rice has gone from 21 BPS (the number you currently see in FPL) to 23 BPS, putting him tied with Sepp van den Berg (£4.5 million) in third place.
Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.1m) almost set up an opener early on Wednesday, with the latter seeing a header blocked from close range. It was an ‘almost’ night for Rice overall, with an almost certain assist up front Viktor Gyokeres (£8.8 million) denied by last-ditch intervention of the excellent Michael Kayode (£4.5 million).
Rice and Gabriel at least racked up DefCon points, with the Brazilian notching his second-highest total of 2025/2026 as the Bees wreaked havoc.
While Gabriel captains/Triple Captainers will complain about the three points, at least he gets an attempt at redemption against Wolves. He was almost at a big zero after playing dice with danger during a booking.
IMPRESSIVE BRENTFORD’S FAVORABLE FIXTURE SWING – BUT IS IT A GOOD THING?
Make no mistake, Brentford were certainly worth it on Wednesday.
If it weren’t for that Gabriel Martinelli‘s (£6.8m) big chance in the 93rd minute, Arsenal’s first shot in half an hour, would have seen the Gunners post their lowest xG of the season:
“We’re a pretty good team, aren’t we? We’re constantly growing, I think – in fact, I know. We play in a fearless way. Will that always get us the result we want? Of course not, but as long as we keep striving for that, it just fills me with pride. The way I look at the team, the way I see the individuals attacking it and embracing the challenge and just going after teams. So yeah, [Arsenal] are an incredible team and we competed against them tonight.” –Keith Andrews
And now the games are getting much, much better for Brentford. Ticker toppingin fact, through May:
A good thing, right? Maybe…. maybe not.
A quick look at Brentford’s results against the bottom half this season doesn’t yield great results:
That’s 14 points out of a possible 39 against the teams currently 11th and below. The Bees have scored 26 points from a possible 39 against the top half.
Is their playing style (fast transitions, back-to-front passes) more suitable for matches against the bigger teams? Considering the recently documented battle for goals against low blocks, it seems so. It’s a challenge that Keith Andrews will have to overcome very quickly.
DAMAGE RETURNS IN GAMEWEEK 27 – BUT WILL HE IMMEDIATELY TAKE HIS PLACE?
Igor Thiago (£7.0m) was knocked out for the fourth time in five games, but how is a mystery.
He led the Gtech in shots and saw two great chances saved David Raya (£5.9m) – the effort was actually too close to him – and flared up for another big chance later in the match.
Keane Lewis Potter (£4.8m), once again playing ‘out of position’ on the left wing, demonstrated his eye for goal by nodding in the equaliser. He previously missed a good chance with another header.
Lewis-Potter’s goal-scoring display begs the question: yes Kevin Damage (£6.9m) get straight back into the team? Damage returns from a three-match suspension in Gameweek 27; the final match will be played in Monday’s FA Cup match.
Dango Ouattara (£5.8m) had to be patient to get his chance after returning from AFCON, spending his first two games back from Morocco on the bench. Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.6 million) and Mathias Jensen (£4.9m) was in such good condition during Dango’s absence that the Burkinabé winger was not automatically recalled.
Similarly, we have seen the shape of Kristoffer Ajer (£4.4m) and then Sepp van den Berg (£4.5m) rewarded at centre-back. Almost nailed it so far Nathan Collins (£5.0m) was on the bench here for the third league game in a row.
Given how good this collective performance was, Andrews could well perform unchanged against Brighton in Gameweek 27.
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