Arsenal's FPL Assets: Who to Buy for Gameweek 2

Arsenal’s title defence has barely begun, but Fantasy Premier League managers have already made up their minds. They want red – and they want it fast.

With Friday’s 18:30 BST Gameweek 2 deadline looming and a wounded Aston Villa up next, Arsenal assets are flying off the virtual shelves. The champions head to Villa Park to face a side thrashed 4-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion, and FPL managers are betting heavily on another statement performance.

Calafiori mania – but is it justified?

No Arsenal player is being snapped up faster than Riccardo Calafiori. Priced at £5.5m, the Italian full-back has attracted over 239,000 new owners after an assist and nine-point return against Coventry City in Gameweek 1.

He’s not alone. Martin Odegaard and Christos Tzolis (both £6.5m) sit among the four most-bought midfielders after delivering 11 and six points respectively, while Kai Havertz (£7.0m) is the second most-bought forward, with 135,000 managers rushing in after his opening goal in the 3-0 win.

• Most-bought Arsenal players for Gameweek 2
• Player – Transfers in – GW1 pts
• Calafiori – 239,000 – 9
• Odegaard – 207,000 – 11
• Tzolis – 163,000 – 6
• Havertz – 135,000 – 6

The crowd has spoken. But are they right?

Arsenal’s attack: who really carries the threat?

Arsenal’s midfield trio against Coventry – Tzolis, Odegaard and Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) – all flashed serious FPL potential.

Tzolis was everywhere. Four shots, three chances created, seven shot involvements in total – more than any team-mate. He drove at Coventry, linked play, and forced the error that led to Saka’s goal when Carl Rushworth (£4.5m) spilled his effort.

Saka, who scored the Gunners’ second, matched Tzolis for shots in the box with three, the joint-most on the pitch. Yet for all that pressure, Arsenal fashioned just one “big chance” in the entire match – Saka’s goal.

• Arsenal attacking stats v Coventry
• Player – Shot inv. – Shots – Shots in box – Chances created
• Tzolis – 7 – 4 – 3 – 3
• Odegaard – 6 – 3 – 1 – 3
• Saka – 5 – 3 – 3 – 2
• Madueke – 4 – 0 – 0 – 4
• White – 3 – 1 – 1 – 2

Coventry’s left flank took the brunt of it. They conceded 11 chances down that side, with Ben White (£5.5m), Saka and substitute Noni Madueke (£6.5m) combining for 10 of those from Arsenal’s right.

Villa, though, were carved open in a very different way at Brighton. Their main weakness came straight through the middle.

That suits one man perfectly.

Odegaard, operating in the most advanced central role behind Havertz, looks tailor-made to exploit that space. His blend of late runs, passing angles and set-piece involvement gives him multiple routes to returns against a Villa side that just shipped four.

There is a catch. Arsenal’s defence is rock-solid, and the midfield bracket under £7.0m is stacked with alternatives across the league. Over the long haul, Odegaard may not be the most efficient way to commit funds.

But for managers eyeing a Wildcard in Gameweek 3, especially those who have already played or are about to play Bench Boost, Odegaard stands out as the pick of Arsenal’s attacking options for this weekend. One match, prime fixture, central role. It’s all there.

• Chances conceded in GW1
• Zone – Coventry – Aston Villa
• Left flank – 11 – 4
• Centre – 2 – 7
• Right flank – 4 – 4

Building from the back: how to play Arsenal’s defence

The defensive puzzle took a fresh twist with the arrival of Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) from Aston Villa. He missed the Coventry game after his late transfer, but his impact on Mikel Arteta’s back line – and FPL planning – could be immediate.

Konsa brings versatility. He can slot in at centre-back or at right-back, which matters with William Saliba (£6.0m) and Jurrien Timber (£6.5m) still sidelined.

If Konsa starts at right-back, White is the obvious casualty. If he partners Gabriel at centre-back, Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m) likely drops out. On the left, Calafiori currently has the edge over Piero Hincapie (£5.5m).

Should Konsa nail down a place, his price makes him one of the standout value options in the game. Arsenal kept 19 clean sheets last season. Replicate that, and a £4.5m defender who starts regularly is essentially a six-point machine in half his matches.

That kind of security at that price is rare. Konsa becomes a set-and-forget option until Saliba and Timber are back to full fitness and Arteta’s long-term defensive blueprint is clearer.

Gabriel: the premium defender in all but price

Value is one thing. Ceiling is another.

Across a season, Gabriel is still the Arsenal defender to own – and it isn’t close.

He’s the biggest set-piece threat in the league’s best defence, and his numbers last season were elite. The Brazilian averaged 6.9 points per start, more than Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) at 6.7, and almost identical to Erling Haaland (£15.5m) at 7.0.

He won’t be anyone’s regular captain, but that’s the company he keeps in FPL terms. When you ask whether a player is “essential”, Gabriel belongs in that conversation.

He blanked in only six of his 30 starts last season. Multiple routes to points – clean sheets, goals, bonus – meant he punished anyone who tried to get clever and bench him.

• Top-scoring players in Fantasy 2025/26
• Player – Pts – Blanks – Pts/start
• Haaland – 239 – 12/34 – 7.0
• Fernandes – 235 – 9/35 – 6.7
• Gabriel – 209 – 6/30 – 6.9

His dominance shows up again in the defensive contribution (DC) and bonus metrics.

• Arsenal defenders’ stats 2025/26
• Defender – DC + BP – DC only – BP only – Starts
• Gabriel – 52 – 22 – 30 – 30
• Hincapie – 21 – 14 – 7 – 20
• Saliba – 18 – 6 – 12 – 30
• Timber – 13 – 4 – 9 – 28
• Calafiori – 6 – 0 – 6 – 22
• Mosquera – 5 – 4 – 1 – 9
• White – 5 – 2 – 3 – 9

Gabriel racked up 52 points from DC and bonus alone, with 30 of those from bonus points. That total equals the combined haul of his three nearest team-mates – Hincapie, Saliba and Timber.

Calafiori, by contrast, sits at the other end of the scale. Zero DC points last season, just six bonus points. A combined total of six, 46 behind Gabriel.

Why Calafiori thrills the eye but frustrates the BPS

The hype around Calafiori is real. His ownership has rocketed to 41.3 per cent, the highest of any defender and fifth overall in Fantasy. Managers see an attacking full-back in a dominant team and pile in.

Yet the Coventry game offered a warning.

Both Calafiori and White walked away with a clean sheet and an assist. White, though, collected two bonus points. Calafiori got none.

That gap is rooted in Calafiori’s role. Arteta uses him as a “line-breaking” outlet, given licence to step into midfield, roam forward and appear between the lines when Arsenal control the ball.

It looks great on the pitch. In the Bonus Points System (BPS), it hurts.

Because he drifts into advanced areas and doesn’t recycle possession as much as his fellow defenders, he attempts far fewer passes. Fewer passes means fewer BPS rewards from passing accuracy, which is a key driver of defender bonus.

• How passing is rewarded in BPS
• Action – Added to BPS score
• 70-79% pass completion with 30+ passes attempted – +2
• 80-89% pass completion with 30+ passes attempted – +4
• 90%+ pass completion with 30+ passes attempted – +6

Against Coventry, three of Arsenal’s back four – White, Mosquera and Gabriel – all made at least 57 passes with a 95 per cent success rate. Each of them gained six BPS points from passing alone.

Calafiori? Just 24 passes, at 83 per cent. He didn’t even hit the 30-pass threshold.

• Arsenal defenders’ passing v Coventry
• Defender – Passes – % Succ passes – BPS score
• White – 78 – 95% – +6
• Mosquera – 65 – 95% – +6
• Gabriel – 57 – 95% – +6
• Calafiori – 24 – 83% – 0

So while his advanced role might bring the occasional assist, it also strips away one of the most reliable bonus pipelines. Over a season, that matters.

From a budget angle, the comparison is stark. Gabriel and Cole Palmer (£9.5m) cost £17.5m combined – exactly the same as Calafiori and Fernandes.

With Palmer looking sharp and confident under Xabi Alonso, pairing him with Gabriel looks a far more efficient use of funds than spreading the money across Fernandes and Calafiori.

The triple-up that could define your season

There is a growing case for going all-in on Arsenal’s defence and largely ignoring their attack for now.

Gabriel and Konsa form the backbone of that strategy. Add David Raya (£6.0m), and you have a long-term triple-up built on clean sheets, value and reliability.

Raya isn’t just another goalkeeper. In FPL terms, he is the standout option. Week after week, he is the most likely ‘keeper to deliver a clean sheet, and his presence removes the need for messy rotation between cheaper options.

Pick him. Play him every Gameweek. Spend your transfers chasing upside in midfield and attack instead.

FPL managers are stampeding towards Arsenal shirts ahead of Gameweek 2. The real question is whether they’re buying the right ones – or whether, by May, the season will belong to those who quietly backed the defence and never looked back.