1. The Arsenal striker conundrum

Arsenal are a team that has always been associated with scoring goals. Given his explosive start to life in the Premier League, big things were expected from Aubameyang under Emery. The Gabonese forward disappointed his backers, with no goals in his first three, but got on the scoresheet in gameweek four only to be eclipsed by his teammate Lacazette. The Frenchman scored on his first start of the season and also provided an assist. As the heatmap comparison shows, Lacazette has had just one less shot than Aubamayeng in fewer minutes and has a far more impressive defensive, attacking and distribution radar which could indicate that he may be a vital part of Emery’s plans going forward. The Frenchman represents a shrewd buy at a price of 9.4, with Arsenal projected to score the most goals (13.12) after Man. City (15.80) across the next six games via our Fix Algorithm.

2. Should we be selling, Salah?

It has only taken one blank for the 'transfers out' to begin. Salah is one of the most sold players after the gameweek four deadline, with Hazard, Mané, Pedro, Lucas and Sterling the biggest beneficiaries as per our Transfer Stats feature. A look at the Fix Comparison Matrix reveals that these managers might be acting hastily. The Egyptian still towers over his competition in every stat, except Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points. He has had more ‘big chances’, attempted more assists and more shots on target (SOT) than his peers, indicating that a big score is just around the corner. Another reason cited for selling Salah is Liverpool’s upcoming fixture run, during which they play Spurs, Man. City and Chelsea in a space of four gameweeks, coupled with a tough Champions League group. Salah scored against the three aforementioned sides last year, and ourFix Algorithm projects Liverpool to score 11.15 goals over the next six games, only behind Man. City, Arsenal and Spurs. Selling Salah still poses a huge risk given his explosiveness and high ownership so patience is advised, especially with Kane not firing on all cylinders just yet. 

3. The midfield template crumbles

With popular midfield assets such as Mkhitaryan and B. Silva benched as well as Walcott picking up an injury many FPL midfields have been left in a state of flux. Looking at the Custom Stats table for replacements at 7.0 and below puts forth some promising candidates. Fraser has so far been the most creative budget midfielder creating 10 chances, but has only had two SOT in four games. Pedro and Schürrle have had the most SOT, with six apiece. The Spaniard is also second for shots in the box (SIB), second only to Pereyra, which is impressive given his limited minutes. Groß tops the table for ‘big chances’ and expected goals (xG), but could have injury problems of his own and is also likely to forfeit penalty duties to Murray after his miss this week. Fraser looks to be the most reliable option playing 90 minutes in each of his four games. Pedro is perhaps the riskier, more explosive option. The Spaniard was benched vs. Bournemouth but came on and opened the scoring, which bodes well for a starting spot in the next game. Willian is also likely to arrive back late from international duty and Pedro has not been called up for international duties. Pereyra’s low xG indicates that his output is perhaps unsustainable. Schürrle could be an explosive differential with only 4.4% ownership but his fixtures (which includes Man. City next) are not very favourable.