GW23 Lessons learned: West Ham pair on the rise

The performances of Marko Arnautovic (£7.0m) and Manuel Lanzini (£6.8m) in Gameweek 23 have sparked a reaction from Fantasy Premier League managers.

The pair produced 16 and 14 points respectively, as West Ham United ran out 4-1 winners at Huddersfield Town.

Devastating as a forward pairing in a 3-5-1-1 formation, Arnautovic scored his sixth goal in seven starts and provided the assists for Lanzini’s brace.

Those two strikes took the Argentinian to three goals for the season, though he has also supplied six assists in 10 starts since Gameweek 13.

That tally matches Kevin De Bruyne (£10.2m), while only Dele Alli (£9.0m) has provided more assists than Lanzini over the same period.

Striking form

But it is Arnautovic who is turning heads.

He has recorded 8.8 points per match since taking up the role of a central striker in Gameweek 16.

When selected, he has now been involved in – scored or assisted – 53% of the Hammers' goals.

The Austrian was sold by 114,000+ managers ahead of Saturday’s victory, losing over 56,000 in net ownership.

Reverse trend

That trend has now been reversed with over 95,000 transfers in, making him the most-signed player since Saturday's deadline. 

Arnautovic is now part of 9.5% of squads, while Lanzini has claimed over 17,000 transfers in and is owned by just 2.4%.

Given West Ham’s forthcoming schedule, there could even be merit in covering both midfield options.

David Moyes’s side are handed three home matches over the next four Gameweeks.

Indeed, all of their next four opponents score just two in the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR).

West Ham's next four Gameweeks

Lanzini on Arnautovic

Also in this series

Part 2: GW23 Lessons learned: Managers look to Leicester