Marked as unsure to participate, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.4m) not only started, but also proved why he is the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) defender you can own.
Here are our scout notes from Arsenal vs Crystal Palace.
GABRIEL SHINES
During Friday’s press conference, Mikel Arteta pulled off another of his media tricks, saying: “whether he is available or not‘about Gabriel, a defender in over 4.3 million FPL squads.
It hinted that the centre-back would not play, but to the initial disappointment of those hoping for one Joe Rodon (£4.1m) auto sub, the Brazilian started.
Still, he David Raya (£5.7 million), Jurriën Hout (£6.0 million) and Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) all ended with a third successive clean sheet on Sunday. Although not William Saliba (£6.0 million), left at half-time.
And Gabriel did his best to surpass the Leeds United defender’s thirteen points. After a long wait it was finally decided that he did not assist in the only goal of the match, but that he gave the free kick taker Declan Rice (£6.6 million).
In short, it was assumed to be a Rice free kick came from Sarr – and not Gabriel – before he bounced off Eze.
Early in the second half, Gabriel’s header hit the crossbar. Adding to the pain, he finishes just outside the defensive contribution threshold (DefCon), being stuck with nine plays.
But add his three bonuses and it means the 27-year-old has collected nine or more points for the fourth time in a row. He feels essential.
ARTETA AT THREE Knocks
Shortly back to Saliba, Arteta confirmed after the match that he, Rice and Calafiori have minor problems.
‘The first was Willem [Saliba]. He was out after the first half. Declan [Rice] suffered from a blow that he absorbed from the first half. Ricky [Calafiori] there was another one. Let’s see how they recover.” – Mikel Arteta
EZE OVERROOMS SAKA + GYOKERES
Meanwhile, this was the second game in a row in which both Bukayo Saka (£10.0 million) and Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) omitted, mocking the recent debate over which provides Arsenal’s best attacking cover.
We’re still no closer to deciding whether or not they will share penalties, although Saka’s removal in the 66th minute meant Gyokeres played more minutes.
“He has been sick. He hasn’t trained. We didn’t know if he would be able to play. He managed to play a few minutes, but the longer the match went on, he got tired and we didn’t want to risk injuries.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka’s withdrawal
Not that it mattered. Neither created a chance, both were limited to just one shot that missed the target. Together there was 0.22 expected goal involvement (xGI).
Maybe God bless you (£7.6 million) is the answer. He scored here against his old club, making four attacking returns in six games, while Rice had three in four.
Moreover, he must continue to start in midfield for the time being Martin Odegaard (£7.9 million) is recovering from a knee injury.
EYES ON MATETA
Arsenal’s defensive superiority limited Crystal Palace to one shot on target as an Eagles duo Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6 million) and Ismail Sarr (£6.5m) matched Saka and Gyokeres’ rest.
Nevertheless, expect recent hat-trick hero Mateta to be a popular Gameweek 10 replacement for Gyokeres or João Pedro (£7.5m). These two are on a five-match drought, but Palace have attractive fixtures.
It’s probably worth noting that Palace’s 19-match unbeaten run was followed by three defeats in four.
At least central defenders Marc Guehi (£4.9 million) and Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m) picked up a few DefCon points.
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