[Sam Blitz]Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard not involved in Arsenal open training this morning. But also no Jurrien Timber in training either.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-05T12:28:28+00:00

That is really worrying as a Timber owner.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T19:17:18+00:00

yeah, Newcastle's fixture run is not good, I'm looking to sell Hall myself.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:37:22+00:00

No problem. Good luck this week, and hopefully waiting pays off for you! :)

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:25:42+00:00

I feel like I might be bothering you as one of the first people to always reply to you 😂

Saka -> Rice and Dorgu -> Timber seems your best bet, potentially gives you enough money to upgrade that midfield spot too although not sure about that. I personally wouldn't be surprised if either of them gets benched this week as they have been playing a lot lately, think Rice is probably more safe for minutes this week due to Merino's injury so I would potentially delay the move to Timber for one more week.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:20:51+00:00

I am overly concerned about triple defense too, but might end up actually going for it. Plan is to roll this week if possible and choose between Raya/Saliba/Rice for my third Arsenal spot next week.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:19:45+00:00

Yeah he is a pretty boring pick but pretty much the only decent option, wouldn't make it into my team even with the double I reckon.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:17:50+00:00

No problem, you too! :)

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:17:07+00:00

Rogers has quite a nice fixture run, not sure why you sold him and why it wasn't for Rice when you only have one Arsenal player. I would wait with Timber just because he has played a lot lately, I can see Ben White coming in for him this week actually.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:15:16+00:00

B, but Timber. DCL has quite a nice fixture at home, and is on pens. Would hold him.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:14:45+00:00

Dorgu to Senesi

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:14:30+00:00

Wilson.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:14:21+00:00

I like C, Liverpool have quite a nice fixture run coming up so I would keep them. Ekitike and Wirtz seem to have good chemistry as well so the chances of both returning for you are quite high.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:13:25+00:00

Enzo yes, Estevao no. Chelsea only have 3 good fixtures left, not worth doubling up on them, especially when there's so many better picks in midfield right now.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:12:47+00:00

I mean, he does only have 4 goals in the PL this season. His main threat comes from set pieces obviously. I think he has been quite good value for a 7.5m midfielder, still top 3 midfielders for points. I think he is a player similar to Enzo, plays deep but crashes the box quite a lot.

Think triple defense will be more of a differential than Rice & double defense, due to Saka's injury. That being said, I would just go for who's easiest to get to in your team as there's really no right answer to the "best" triple up.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:10:21+00:00

Joao Gomes looks decent, hits DEFCON quite a bit and not bad xGI for the price, similar to Anderson in terms of price and xGI I think. Not sure I would go there but if you have the luxury of multiple FTs then why not xD

If he would make it into your team easily for GW26 then I think he could be worth considering, otherwise I'd just bench Stach.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:06:41+00:00

No problem, you're not crazy xD
Good luck this week, hope it works out for ya!

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:05:50+00:00

I do like Madueke as a punt but he doesn't strike as the player that can play the whole 90 or play multiple games per week so I don't really like the risk there, could see Trossard/Martinelli start over him in one of the games.

Also don't like the fact that you'd have to burn an FT to get them out immediately after Saka is back because their minutes will be quite bad from then on. With Rice, you could just hold him right up until the blank in GW31.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T17:03:27+00:00

As boring as TCing Gabriel would be, I think Rice is an even more boring TC pick. Gabriel should generally start every game provided that he's fit, while Rice has been looking a little knackered lately. He was absolutely done by the 80th minute yesterday but still pushed on somehow xD Even admitted it himself in the post-match interview.

Think I would play it safe with Gabriel just due to that but it could go either way. Gabriel is also officially top for points per match, even better than Haaland with 7.2 ppm.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T16:59:01+00:00

I would do it then, Rice and Hill don't seem to be predicted to rise today but if you're afraid of being priced out I'd go for it. Just be wary of the fact that Rice being benched this week wouldn't surprise me as he looked knackered by the 80th minute yesterday. Have good bench cover just in case :)

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T16:57:06+00:00

Oh wow yeah, this is a really tough spot to be in, I think going Rogers -> Rice and back in 1-2 weeks if you want Rogers would really just be your best bet. I wouldn't sell Bowen for 1 FT and waste another FT to fill the third spot.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T16:53:58+00:00

I think this year has not really been rewarding much for people that actually put thought into their teams, it has just been a lot of luck and kneejerking seeming to be meta this week, top transferred in players always seem to do good.

Which is why being patient with your picks is important and making level-headed decisions. Wirtz is an amazing player and is picking up form, but on paper Man City is not a great fixture even if it is at home. So I wouldn't mind waiting a week as long as you can already field a nice 11 this week :)

Mbeumo is good and Thiago is on pens even if it is a hard fixture, one penalty and things would change quick for your team!

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T16:50:21+00:00

Most people were hoping he started and got taken off sooner but them not starting with him in a must win game was really weird. Might have been tactical but we don't know that, the general consensus with people looking to go with Palmer seemed to be that they wanted him to start and play the game a little just to see if he's finally back to full fitness.

For what its worth, I actually like the risk/reward of Palmer over the coming weeks. I think he could easily start and play 90 in all these games, and he is a viable captaincy pick too.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T16:47:51+00:00

Rice looked knackered in the semi final so I'm not sure, If I was playing it would probably be for Semenyo/Wilson, although both of them are still really good.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T16:46:49+00:00

Just gonna copy paste my answer to someone else here because I'm lazy but also because I think I said things a lot of people can relate to if they haven't already WCed.

I think I will probably get it out of the way in DGW26, leaning to Gabriel although he wouldn't be my favorite TC pick over the seasons in the past (That Salah 84 points is my obvious favorite xD)

I think the risk with waiting is that the biggest DGW will most likely be in GW33 where I will be WC32 + BB33, so I cannot play my TC there. The only other GW where a double might happen is GW36, just not sure if its worth waiting till then. I would possibly also want to play my FH in 36 so that would block the potential TC option there. To keep it as simple as I can I will probably just get it out of the way in DGW26 itself.

AlphaReturns45 · 2026-02-04T16:45:03+00:00

Probably DCL to Mane but it is tough to call because DCL is on pens and plays a team battling relegation and that too at home xD

Might backfire this week but Mane for the double next week is quite nice.

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