This Gunner is firing on all cylinders right now.
Gameweek 25 review
The unlikeliest Fantasy Football top scorer of the year award goes to Chris Smalling after the Manchester United defender returned 17 points (17!) against Burnley last time out.
Nobody came close to touching Smalling’s score, with Samir Nasri the next best on 13 points, followed by Hull City’s Dame N’Doye with 12.
Mesut Ozil was one of five players to score 11 points along with Leroy Fer, Willian, Brown Ideye and that man Harry Kane.
Ozil’s Arsenal teammate Laurent Koscielny also warranted a mention with 10 points and was joined at the back by Southampton’s Florin Gardos (9) and Allan McGregor (8) in goals.
J-League
The nip and tuck nature of life at the top of the J-League continued this week with John Cotter’s Iron Army taking the lead after a more than decent 74-point haul last time out.
That score is enough to give John an 11-point lead over Joe O’Neill’s Dr. Neo Cortex in second place, who in turn have three points to spare over Mark ‘tinkerman’ Elliott’s Gylfi Pleasures in third.
Sean Kelly’s The Honey Badgers are only two points behind in fourth place, while there’s a bit of a gap to Garry Doran’s What’s Love Gotze do, who just about broke the 1,500 point barrier in Gameweek 25.
J-League Top 5
- Iron Army – John Cotter: 1,531 points
- Neo Cortex – Joe O’Neill: 1,520 points
- Gylfi Pleasures – Mark ‘tinkerman’ Elliott: 1,517 points
- The Honey Badgers – Sean Kelly: 1,515 points
- What’s Love Gotze do – Garry Doran: 1,501 points
The wizard that’s Ozil is back
Mesut Ozil probably has a lot for sympathy for Angel di Maria at the moment.
Like Ozil in 2013, Di Maria arrived at a big Premier League team for a huge fee from Real Madrid and instantly provided glimpses of why he cost so much money in the first place.
Like Ozil last season, Di Maria has struggled to maintain his early form and now appears to be struggling with the burden that also comes with being one of the most expensive players in the world.
Ozil was by no means terrible when his form dipped last season but it is telling that he wasn’t terribly missed when he sat out a large part of this season with injury.
That is more of a reflection of Alexis Sanchez’s impact rather than Ozil’s ability, but credit to the German, he has fitted in seamlessly alongside Sanchez and company since his return.
When Ozil arrived there was no doubt that he was the superstar in a good Arsenal team and it could be said that he’s flourishing now because, as was the case with Real Madrid, he’s not the only one and probably not even the biggest one.
In any case, he’s managed two goals and three assists in three league games since his comeback, racking up 34 points in the process.
With Santi Cazorla and Alexis still in good form, you can’t fit them all in but at £9.1 million, Ozil is a decent prize and his momentum at the moment can’t be ignored.
Only 4.9% of Fantasy managers have included Ozil in their team at the time of writing; we expect that to change drastically this weekend.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks
Top Dollar: Diego Costa (£10.9 million). Nobody bullies the supposed weaker teams like the Spaniard and after three games out, he could unleash his anger on Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Mid-Range: Harry Kane (£6.3 million). This might seem like an obvious choice, but how this man is still available for this price is beyond us. Has failed to score in only two of his last 10 league games.
Bargain Basement: Dame N’Doye (£5.5 million). One start. One goal. One assist. 12 points. With QPR at home this weekend, we reckon the new Hull City man is worth a shot.
Irish Pick: Seamus Coleman (£6.8 million). Jon Walters is a doubt for the weekend so after his goal against Young Boys on Thursday night, we’re going to plump for our old reliable, Seamus Coleman, whose Everton side are at home to Leicester on Sunday.
Captain’s Pick: Eden Hazard (£10.9 million). We’re tempted to give the armband to Diego Costa in his first league game back from suspension at home to Burnley, but the top points scorer in the league is probably the safer option in this case.
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