Dream Team gaffers should target Arsenal defenders over attackers for plentiful points

LAST season, Dream Team managers were spoiled for choice when it came to attack-minded Arsenal assets.

Bukayo Saka (£6.5m), Martin Odegaard (£4.9m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£4.5m) were all among the game’s best midfielders while Gabriel Jesus (£5.2m) also provided healthy returns when available.

There were times when Leandro Trossard (£3.3m) and Eddie Nketiah (£2.7m) were shrewd value-for-money options too.

This season, however, gaffers would be wise to switch strategy and target the Gunners’ defenders in search of plentiful points.

It’s like a throwback to the George Graham era!

Saka continues to satisfy his backers having racked up 136 points, the highest tally among all players in his position right now.

But the England winger is the only Arsenal representative in the top ten midfielders or top ten strikers.

In contrast, William Saliba (£3.8m), Ben White (£4.4m) and Gabriel (£4.1m) are all among the top ten defenders at this stage.

This trend was perfectly illustrated by Saturday’s result at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s side were not at their fluent best in attack but they beat Brentford courtesy of Kai Havertz’s (£3m) header to go top of the table.

The victory was Arsenal’s sixth clean sheet in the league this campaign, the most in the top flight, and their tally of ten goals conceded is the outright lowest after 13 league fixtures.

Add in three other clean sheets across the Carabao Cup and the Champions League and it’s no wonder their defenders are among the best performers currently.

An eight-point return against the Bees has put Saliba second in his position, behind only Kieran Trippier (£5.2m), with White now fourth and Gabriel ninth.

The French centre-back is Dream Team’s most-popular defender with an ownership of 40.1%.

It’s not that Arsenal have been lacking in goals as such, they’ve scored 27 in the league, the sixth-highest tally, but it’s clear their defence is the reason they’re once again competing for the title this time around.

A closer look at the underlying numbers reinforces this point.

The Gunners have generated 22.5 xG in the top flight, only the seventh-highest total, but they’ve conceded just 10.3 xG, making them the best defence according to this metric.

Essentially, they’ve done very well to restrict the quality of their opponents’ chances this season.

Looking forward, it seems reasonable to expect more points from Arsenal’s defenders in Gameweek 14 against Wolves and Luton.

And there’s a midweek meeting with Lens to fulfil before this Gameweek is complete.

Look back, not forward, when weighing up Arsenal’s options.