Captain Gabriel as Arsenal double up – FPL team of the week

Being a double gameweek, picking three Arsenal players in your FPL team is an easy choice.

And, despite such a strong real-life squad, they don’t have a tonne of reliable FPL assets to pick from, especially with Bukayo Saka unlikely to be fit for both games.

It’s basically going to be Gabriel, who is essential, and another defensive player – David Raya, Jurrien Timber or William Saliba.

And then Declan Rice will be the most popular forward choice, given he is the third highest-scoring midfielder and offers regular defensive contribution point returns along with his attacking threat.

That’s basically it. Every other Arsenal player is a minutes risk but if you are chasing points and fancy a punt then Martin Zubimendi (five goals this season and two in his past two outings) or Viktor Gyokeres (three goals in two games) could be worth a shout.

David Raya, Arsenal, keeper, £5.9m – Brentford (a) and Wolves (a)

Gabriel (captain), Arsenal, defender, £7.1m – Brentford (a) and Wolves (a)

Jurrien Timber, Arsenal, defender, £6.4m – Brentford (a) and Wolves (a)

I’m going for the defensive triple-up again after it worked a treat in gameweek 25.

And Gabriel is the premium captaincy choice this week. He’s averaging 7.1 points per match this season, making him the fourth highest-scoring asset in the game.

The Wolves match feels like a nailed-on clean sheet and, given their current defensive form, you’re hoping they can keep Thiago and Brentford at bay too.

Daniel Munoz, Crystal Palace, £5.8m – Burnley (h)

Chris Richards, Crystal Palace, £4.4m – Burnley (h)

This week’s team is also all-in on the Palace defence at home to struggling Burnley.

Richards has hit ‘defcon’ on 10 occasions this season and missed out by a point four times too.

Munoz, surprisingly, does not stand out stats-wise in many areas, unlike last season.

Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, £9.8m – West Ham (a)

Fernandes has 42 points in his five games since returning from injury – you can’t afford to leave him out.

Ismaila Sarr, Crystal Palace, £6.3m – Burnley (h)

FPL managers need to pay attention to Sarr. Before his pre-Afcon injury, he was one of the best-value-for-money midfielders in the game.

Per 90 minutes, Sarr has the best expected goals (0.43) of any midfielder in the game.

He should be on penalties and faces Burnley, Wolves and Leeds at home in his next five.

Cole Palmer, Chelsea, £10.5m – Leeds (h)

Go on then! Palmer is such a tempting FPL pick but his injury and form struggles have made him easy to ignore most of the time – until now.

A hat-trick at Wolves was evidence of how he can accumulate attacking returns with ease – two penalties helped him to 20 points.

And Chelsea’s juicy run – they face Burnley at home next – makes him an even better pick.

Erling Haaland, Manchester City, £14.9m – Fulham (h)

Welcome back, Erling. Brave owners might have benched the under-performing Norwegian against Liverpool and they paid the price.

He has double-digit haul potential every time he plays and a home game against Fulham could provide that. He’d be a captain option if Arsenal weren’t doubling.

Joao Pedro, Chelsea, £7.6m – Leeds (h)

The Brazilian has 38 points in his past four matches. He’s on fire and, as mentioned with Palmer, game time isn’t a concern given the big break until Chelsea’s next league game.

He could get a rest in the FA Cup match at Hull on Friday, rather than against Leeds.

Matheus Mane, Wolves, £4.6m – Nottingham Forest (a), Arsenal (h)

With big hitters Fernandes, Palmer and Haaland in this week’s squad, a budget enabler is needed and Mane fits the bill.

It feels like a single gameweek for Wolves with one game of their double coming against the defensive might of Arsenal.

Martin Dubravka, Burnley, keeper, £4m – Crystal Palace (a)

James Hill, Bournemouth, defender, £3.9m – Everton (a)

Pape Matar Sarr, Tottenham, midfielder, £4.5m – Newcastle (h)

Josh King, Fulham, midfielder, £4.4m – Manchester City (a)

Team total cost: £100m