Perhaps Wenger never should have gotten rid of Eduardo
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal had a golden opportunity to move within striking distance of Chelsea yesterday – as the Blues dropped points in a 2-0 loss at Liverpool, but Cesc Fabregas and company failed to score at home in a shock 0 – 1 defeat to Newcastle.
Cesc Fabregas again failed to produce. He saw a free kick strike the crossbar, while Samir Nasri saw his shot in the box (headed for the upper corner) palmed away at the last second by goalkeeper Tim Krul. It’s worth noting that Fabregas made the pass to Nasri, so on another day – Cesc’s output of 1 point could have easily been 10-11 points (5 points – goal from free kick, 3 points – assist to Nasri, 1 or 2 bonus points surely) but Fabregas and his teammates just weren’t up to par.
Fantasy managers will be left scratching their heads as investment in the likes of Fabregas, Nasri, and Chamakh has been high over the past few weeks.
With three key players suffering from slight injuries (Fabregas – hamstring, Arshavin – flu, Nasri – calf), I wonder if Wolves – who have played superbly in the past few games – will be able to pick up a shock draw or win against Arsenal this week.
Wenger will perhaps freshen up his lineup with the likes of Niko Bendtner starting whilst Robin van Persie may see an appearance off the substitute’s bench but is probably 2-3 matches away from starting and playing a full 90 minutes.
Arsenal take on Wolves, Everton, and Tottenham in their next three fixtures – certainly a mixed bag. In their previous two, they managed only 1 goal against West Ham and Newcastle. At home. So certainly, expectations are not high.
But, the Premier League proved this weekend that it tends to offer up the unexpected: Bolton beating Tottenham 4 – 2. Chelsea going down 2 – 0. Manchester United needing a 90th minute winner to take out Wolves at home. Arsenal losing at home. And so on it goes. Arsenal perhaps won’t be predicted to beat Wolves or Everton 3-0 (like they were supposed to take care of West Ham and Newcastle), but it wouldn’t surprise a single fantasy investor if the likes of RVP, Arshavin, Walcott, Bendtner, and Fabregas starting providing the goals and assists over the next few weeks despite the more difficult opposition.
I wouldn’t buy Arsenal players now with the uncertainty over their attacking roles in the starting lineup due to rotation as well as injury, but I would certainly hold the Gunners, because in the next 1-3 weeks, we will see that 3-goal performance – even if it does come, unexpectedly, against the likes of the tough Wolves, or European contenders Everton / Tottenham.
Related posts:
wow shaktar had 9 fans at the game!
so, I should keep my Fabregas?