We’ve got the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) takeaways from another two Gameweek 4 matches in this article, with Brentford v Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal v Norwich City under the spotlight.
For a briefer recap of Saturday’s games, our Scoreboard summary here has all the main talking points.
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BRENTFORD 0-1 BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
- Goals: Leandro Trossard (£6.4m)
- Assists: Alexis Mac Allister (£5.5m)
- Bonus: Trossard x3, Lewis Dunk (£5.0m) x2, Joel Veltman (£4.4m) x1, Marc Cucurella (£5.0m) x1
WEBSTER AND GROSS FITNESS LATEST
Brighton’s last-gasp win over Brentford on Saturday came at a cost, with Adam Webster (£4.5m) limping off with a hamstring problem.
The Seagulls were also without Pascal Gross (£6.0m) and Enock Mwepu (£5.9m), who were both self-isolating.
“I need to see but he said [Webster] felt something there but we will see how bad that is. Enock was pinged from a flight and Pascal is just self-isolating.” – Graham Potter
From a cynical point of view, continued absences of key personnel at the back – Dan Burn (£4.4m) and Tariq Lamptey (£4.4m) remain sidelined for now – will surely only aid budget FPL asset Shane Duffy‘s (£4.2m) chances of staying in this Albion side.
He’s the second most-bought defender of Gameweek 5 at present and the joint-top FPL player for ‘value’, based on points per million.
DEFENCES ON TOP
Defences were well on top on this contest and there was plenty of encouragement for owners of Brentford defenders and David Raya (£4.6m) despite the late goal concession, with the Bees affording their visitors precious few opportunities until Leandro Trossard (£6.4m) popped up with a late curling effort from the edge of the box.
A third clean sheet of the campaign would have been deserved, with the Seagulls’ combined expected goals (xG) tally from just four shots a miserable 0.23.
No side has allowed fewer big chances than Brentford (two) this season.
Ethan Pinnock (£4.6m), indeed, was on course for a nine-point haul before Trossard’s 89th-minute winner.
“If you look at the first four games we’ve had consistent, good performances. The last three games, if there should have been a narrow winner, it should have been us in all three games if you look at the games and the stats.” – Thomas Frank
Brighton were slightly less formidable at the other end but gradually ground Brentford to a halt, with the hosts managing only one attempt in the final 40 minutes.
Marc Cucurella (£5.0m) and Joel Veltman (£4.4m), stationed initially as wing-backs before a move to a back four, marked their first starts with a bonus point apiece, while Lewis Dunk (£5.0m) collected two.
TONEY AND MBEUMO: PROMISE, NOT POINTS
Four Gameweeks into the season and the much-hyped Brentford strike partnership of 31-goal forward Ivan Toney (£6.4m) and ‘out of position’ FPL midfielder Bryan Mbeumo (£5.5m) have just one attacking return between them.
There has been plenty of promise but few points: Toney thrice set up decent opportunities that Mbeumo spurned on Saturday and teed up Vitaly Janelt (£5.0m) for a good chance, with the striker also going close himself with a close-range header and a confident 40-yard dink that floated narrowly over.
“I think he [Bryan] and Ivan work so well together, so I think that is promising. It won’t be long until he scores his first Premier League goal.
“He’s had some good chances and I think he’s been one of our best players so far in these first four games. He’s been so consistent in his performance, working hard under pressure and creating opportunities, so he’s been really good.” – Thomas Frank on Bryan Mbeumo
Above: Brentford sit bottom of our Season Ticker over the next five Gameweeks
The pair will invariably return big at some point but the Bees have so far looked more accomplished defensively than in attack, and the unfortunate fact is that the fixtures are about to turn very nasty; even a Gameweek 5 clash with Wolves, which looked appealing in pre-season, no longer seems as promising.
It will be ‘bench or bail’ for most of Toney’s owners, then, with plenty of forwards competing for our money elsewhere.
Brentford XI: Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock; Canós (Roerslev 61), Nørgaard, Baptiste (Onyeka 75), Janelt (Jensen 68), Henry; Toney, Mbeumo.
Brighton and Hove Albion XI: Sánchez; Webster (Moder 37), Duffy, Dunk; Veltman, Lallana, Bissouma, Cucurella (March 82); Trossard; Maupay, Welbeck (Mac Allister 64).
ARSENAL 1-0 NORWICH CITY
- Goals: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£9.9m)
- Assists: Nicolas Pepe (£7.2m)
- Bonus: Aubameyang x3, Gabriel (£5.0m) x2, Kieran Tierney (£4.9m) x1
GLIMMERS OF HOPE FOR ARSENAL
The “we are staying up” chants from the home support and the myriad memes that accompanied Arsenal’s narrow win over bottom-of-the-table Norwich City illustrated how far the Gunners have fallen of late.
Still, things were always likely to get better after back-to-back meetings with arguably the division’s two best clubs and the easing of an injury-and-illness crisis that blighted Mikel Arteta’s August.
80% of the backline, including the goalkeeper, were overhauled for this fixture, while Thomas Partey (£5.0m) appeared for the first time this season and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£9.9m) finally looked back to full fitness after his struggles with Covid last month.
It was far from a perfect display but Arsenal had 30 attempts against the Canaries, taking them to 52 shots in their two meetings with non-big six sides this season – that’s more than 13 clubs have managed in the whole of 2021/22.
And it was no surprise that the ball-playing Ben White (£4.4m), who created an eye-catching three chances from deep, and Gabriel (£5.0m) were a darn sight more solid than the motley crew of misfits that lined up at the Etihad.
Arsenal are a long way from being a great team but if we’re giving a lot of thought to mid-table Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers assets for their similarly appealing fixture runs, then it’s negligent to completely overlook the Gunners.
TOMIYASU V TIERNEY
Above: Touch heatmaps from Arsenal v Norwich taken from our Premium Members Area
Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.5m) made his Arsenal debut at right-back, matching Kieran Tierney (£4.9m) for goal attempts (two) and trumping him two-to-one for penalty box touches.
Make no mistake, though, that Tierney remains the more attack-minded option.
Tomiyasu was typically more reserved as Tierney bombed forward, tucking in alongside Gabriel and White or joining Arsenal’s two central midfielders a la Kyle Walker (£5.5m) at Manchester City.
The Scotland international indeed had over twice as many touches as the debutant right-back in the final third, although admittedly lasted 30 more minutes.
“Really positive. Just the first impression when you met him, it was just joy and happiness and good energy. The moment he steps on the pitch he was really focused, determined, he understands the role really good. He was cramping. Obviously he only trained a day and a half with us, he had to travel, and emotionally it was his first game and we had to take him off.” – Mikel Arteta on Takehiro Tomiyasu’s debut
£4.5m GOALKEEPER DEBUT
Aaron Ramsdale (£4.5m) quietly impressed on his Arsenal league bow between the posts and is now surely catapulted towards the top of the budget goalkeepers’ watchlist, with Bernd Leno‘s (£4.9m) future increasingly in doubt.
Arteta wouldn’t quite rule out the prospect of the German being brought back into the side but his glowing testimony of Ramsdale didn’t hint at the former Bournemouth man being swiftly demoted to the bench:
“I think he was terrific. It is not only what he did on the technical side, it is what he transmits, his energy, his chemistry with the backline, how he reacts, his body language… I think it was top. We have two fantastic goalkeepers and never forgot what Bernd has done for us and what a good goalkeeper he is. I had to make decisions and I felt Aaron was the right one to do so and like in any other position, and that is what we decided today.
“I want to see how they perform [when asked about rotating his goalkeepers]. Now we need performances and we need to win football matches, so whoever gives better performances and whoever transmits more confidence and is more reliable will play.” – Mikel Arteta on Aaron Ramsdale
EASIER FIXTURES AHEAD FOR NORWICH
Point-less Norwich have had a tricky run at the start of 2021/22 but things improve now, with the Canaries sitting top of our Season Ticker for the next four Gameweeks.
There have been pockets of encouragement against Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal but there aren’t really any stand-out Fantasy targets, save for bench fodder and, as a long-shot, eye-catching winger Christos Tzolis (£5.0m), scorer of two goals and assister of another pair in a recent 6-0 cup win over Bournemouth.
We saw two bargain-bin FPL defenders line up at the Etihad, with left-back Brandon Williams (£4.0m) joined in the starting XI by Andrew Omobamidele (£3.9m)
“We needed a bit more pace against a really pacey, offensive team like Arsenal, so Andrew came in, who was excellent for the Republic of Ireland. He was excellent in his defending, calmness, positioning and the build-up.” – Daniel Farke on his decision to start Andrew Omobamidele
Billy Gilmour (£4.5m) lost his place, meanwhile, although Farke seemed to suggest he was merely protecting the Chelsea loanee after racking up the minutes for club and country.
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale, Tierney, White, Gabriel, Tomiyasu (Smith Rowe 62), Maitland-Niles (Soares 81), Saka, Sambi Lokonga (Partey 62), Ødegaard, Pépé, Aubameyang.
Norwich City XI: Krul, Aarons, Hanley, Omobamidele, Williams, Rupp (Idah 79), McLean, Lees-Melou, Tzolis (Rashica 69), Pukki, Dowell (Cantwell 61).
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