Bukayo Saka (£8.5m) showed why he is the most-owned midfielder in Fantasy Premier League with his first goal of pre-season on Thursday.
The Arsenal winger made his first appearance of the summer against Nurnberg and wasted no time in making an immediate impact by scoring after only seven minutes.
Back with a bang 💥 pic.twitter.com/vEtfwBnpWD
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 14, 2023
Saka’s strike has strengthened his case as a key pick for managers’ opening squads.
Having started the week on 49 per cent ownership, he has now been selected by 50.7 per cent.
Pick Saka in your 2023/24 FPL squad
Most-owned midfielders
| Player | Ownership |
|---|---|
| Saka | 50% |
| Rashford | 40% |
| Mitoma | 38% |
| Mbeumo | 26% |
| Salah | 26% |
That makes Saka both the most-owned midfielder and Arsenal player in 2023/24 Fantasy ahead of a very favourable opening run of opponents for Mikel Arteta’s side.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), four of their first five matches score only two.
Arsenal’s first five matches
| GW | Opponent | FDR | GW | Opponent | FDR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NFO (H) | 2 | 4 | MUN (H) | 3 |
| 2 | CRY (A) | 2 | 5 | EVE (A) | 2 |
| 3 | FUL (H) | 2 | |||
Saka was among a host of attackers to earn a runout, with Leandro Trossard (£7.0m) also named in the XI, while Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m) and Kai Havertz (£7.5m) featured off the bench.
See: Havertz makes Arsenal debut as Saliba returns
Playmaker Martin Odegaard (£8.5m), the Gunners’ top-scoring player in Fantasy last season, missed out with a minor knock.
Instead, it was Arsenal’s top-scoring defender in 2022/23 Fantasy, Ben White (£5.5m), who supplied the assist for Saka’s effort.
Most-owned Arsenal players
| Player | Ownership |
|---|---|
| Saka | 50% |
| Jesus | 32% |
| Ramsdale | 27% |
| Odegaard | 20% |
| Gabriel | 17% |
White has largely been overlooked by managers due to his £1.0m rise in price, which makes him the most expensive starter from the Arsenal defence.
Indeed, he is only their ninth most-popular pick, found in a mere 10 per cent of squads.
That could mark the right-back out as a major differential for managers willing to pay the premium.
Kluivert impresses on debut
Elsewhere, Justin Kluivert (£5.0m) was quick to impress on his debut for AFC Bournemouth.
The winger emerged from the bench to assist both of Philip Billing’s (£5.5m) goals in a 4-0 win over Hibernian.
A tough opening run of opponents dents the appeal of investing in the Cherries’ players early on.
In their first seven matches, they face five of last season’s top nine sides.
At a cost of just £5.0m in Fantasy, Kluivert could prove a very handy budget pick when their schedule improves from Gameweek 8 onwards.
See: Register your team early to boost your FPL chances
Also in this series
Part 2: Bowen already in red-hot form
Part 3: Ndiaye on target as budget forward