It’s way too early to talk about Christmas, but Arsenal fans will chat about their own little Santi every day of the week after his impact to date.
Gameweek 4 review
Scores around the 40 and 50 point mark seemed to be par for the course in Gameweek Four and it’s not really a surprise when you see the Motley Crew of individuals that made up the Dream Team after last weekend’s fixtures.
Gareth Bale (11 points), Demba Ba (12) and possibly Gervinho (15) are the only ones who could claim to feature in a relatively high percentage of fantasy teams, with a few golden oldies – Jussi Jaaskelainen (10), Paul Scholes (9) and Dimitar Berbatov (13) – and a couple of new boys – Alexander Buttner (17) and Alex Kacanicklic (10) – making up the rest.
Buttner was the highest scorer – unfortunately for him he won’t be playing Wigan every week – while honourable mentions must also go to Aston Villa’s Matthew Lowton (14), QPR defender Ryan Nelsen (9) and Fulham’s Steve Sidwell (10) whose impressive early season performances have probably come as a surprise to many.
J-League
There was a dramatic fall from grace at the top of the J-League for Richard Snowden’s Release the Krakens, who were ranked sixth in the world a couple of weeks back but could only manage a paltry 28 points this week.
It was still enough to keep Richard four points adrift of top spot, which is currently shared by Barry McCabe’s Breffni Blues and Gavin Gingles’ Meath Lovers Pizza.
Release the Krakens are in second spot alongside David O’Donnell’s Jimmyswinningmatches, with Stephen Ruth’s Man Red, Godfrey McDermott’s Hangover 96 and K Coffey’s Dromeala FC making up the rest of the top five.
J-League Top 5:
- Breffni Blues – Barry McCabe, Meath Lovers Pizza – Gavin Gingles: 314 points
- Release the Krakens – Richard Snowden, Jimmyswinningmatches – David O’Donnell: 310 points
- Man Red – Stephen Ruth: 308 points
- Hangover 96 – Godfrey McDermott: 307 points
- Dromeala FC – K Coffey: 306 points
It’s not Christmas, but Santi has already arrived
It’s probably because there were more high-profile comings and goings during the summer, particularly at his new club, but the arrival of Santi Cazorla at Arsenal was relatively low-key in Premier League terms. If his arrival was quiet, his impact since has been anything but and although it’s very early days yet, the diminutive Spaniard might just turn out to be the signing of the summer.
It’s a bold statement considering the instant impact made, for example, by Eden Hazard at Chelsea, Robin van Persie at Man United and Michu at Swansea, but Cazorla has been as, if not more, impressive than that distinguished trio to date.
The stats haven’t yet reflected Cazorla’s impact, but they’re starting to. The midfielder has a goal, two assists, two bonus points and a decent, but hardly outrageous overall total of 24 points to his name, but had Arsenal not been as profligate as they were in the opening two games, he’d be alongside Hazard and Michu as the highest scoring midfielders so far.
Cazorla’s form shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, however. He might not be a regular for his country but at 27, he’s still amassed 48 caps for Spain. In his last season at Villareal, he scored seven goals and set up another 13 and he scored another nine for Malaga last year, a decent return for someone who’s used to giving the final pass as opposed to sticking it in the net himself.
At £9.2 million, he’s not cheap and it might be best to wait until after this weekend’s game at Man City to get him in, but his quality is undoubted and you should expect to see him amongst the highest Fantasy Football point-scorers by the season’s end.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Yaya Toure (£8.3 million). The man is an absolute machine and one of the best, if not the best, midfielders in Europe at the moment. Has already scored twice this season and tends to reserve his greatest impact for when City need him most, as they will in a potentially tricky tie with Arsenal at the Etihad.
Mid-Range: Jermain Defoe (£7.6 million). Looked incredibly sharp against Reading on Sunday and like a lot of English strikers, he tends to have hot streaks amidst more prolonged cold spells. With QPR at home on Sunday, we’d jump aboard that bandwagon while it’s still hot.
Bargain Basement: Jussi Jaaskelainen (£4.7 million). Some predicted a tough return to the Premier League for the Hammers, but the ex-Bolton man has helped them keep three clean sheets in four games.
Irish Pick: Stephen Ireland (£5.3 million). Has started three out of four games for an Aston Villa side that might just be turning the corner under Paul Lambert.
Captain’s Pick: Eden Hazard (£10.3 million). Could have scored a brace of goals against QPR last weekend, but at least we know now that he is human. His pace and trickery should prove too much for Stoke at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
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