When Christian Hunstad opted for a last-minute swap of the Gameweek 3 captaincy, he had modest expectations.
By the time the whistle blew at the KCOM Stadium later that evening, the true magnitude of his decision became clear.
Christian's 96-point tally steered him to the first Fantasy Premier League manager of the month prize, pipping runner-up Gundsamba Gantumur by virtue of being the first to register his team.
The pair now sit at the top of the overall FPL rankings, tied on 239 points.
Now in his ninth campaign, we caught up with Christian to talk more about that armband call, his gamble on avoiding Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and ambitions from hereon in.
The Gameweek 3 captaincy of Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez (£11.0m) provided the springboard for your victory. Being in the Arsenal fan league, was that the heart ruling head or were you convinced of his return to form at Vicarage Road?
I was planning on giving the armband to Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.8m), which in my head was the safe choice. But the more I thought about it, the more I believed Arsenal would come back strongly at Watford, and that even if Sanchez failed to return to full form, he might be involved in a goal or two. So I ended up switching captains one hour before Saturday’s deadline.
Are you now looking to invest further in Arsenal’s assets ahead of their improving schedule?
Eventually I might go for Shkodran Mustafi (£6.0m), but I’m not totally convinced by Arsenal yet and I want to see him in action first. I am also curious about the Chelsea defence, as to whether David Luiz (£6.0m) will be a starter
You have won the manager of the month and ranked top overall without Sergio Aguero – that’s a brave decision. Can you tell us more about that approach?
When setting up the team I felt that Ibrahimovic or Aguero was a 'must have', but that having both of them was way too expensive. I believe that Zlatan can score as many points as Aguero in a season, hence no place for Aguero.
You have spent big in midfield and opted for two budget strikers in Alvaro Negredo (£6.9m) and Andre Gray (£6.5m) – do you think you will persevere with this policy?
I went for Negredo because of Middlesbrough’s "easy" opening fixtures, and Gray because of his great pre-season. One of them is probably going to make way but I want to wait a couple of matches. I can see myself maintaining this policy and going for a strong midfield.
You have got to the top without deploying a chip – that’s a big achievement. What is your approach to the chips based on your experience of last season?
I didn’t really concentrate enough on FPL last season, as you can probably tell from my very poor ranking. This year I will probably be holding on to the chips until there is a double Gameweek.
You are in your ninth FPL season – presumably this has been your best start. What have you done differently and what are your ambitions for the campaign ahead?
In previous seasons I think I have been opting for too many Arsenal players. Sure, I might have had the inside track on up and coming players, but that belief has also clouded my judgment. My ambition this term is to win all my private leagues, I guess I can only dream about being top of the overall league come May.
Has the start to your season changed your approach to FPL?
I will probably spend a lot more time checking up on the performances of different players. Taking some risks is what got me to the top, so now I’ve got to be careful not to get too complacent.
