Arsenal’s Fantasy Premier League Picks: Key Players for Gameweek 2

Arsenal are already the early obsession of Fantasy Premier League managers.

With the champions heading to an Aston Villa side still reeling from a 4-0 dismantling at Brighton & Hove Albion, FPL bosses are stampeding towards Mikel Arteta’s squad before Friday’s 18:30 BST deadline for Gameweek 2.

Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m) is leading that charge. An assist and nine points against Coventry City in Gameweek 1 have triggered over 239,000 transfers in. He’s now the most-bought Arsenal player ahead of the weekend.

He’s not alone.

Martin Odegaard and Christos Tzolis (both £6.5m) are among the four most-bought midfielders, after returns of 11 and six points respectively. Kai Havertz (£7.0m), who opened the scoring in the 3-0 win, is the second most-bought forward with 135,000 new owners.

Most-bought Arsenal players for Gameweek 2

• Calafiori: 239,000 transfers in, 9 points (GW1)
• Odegaard: 207,000 transfers in, 11 points
• Tzolis: 163,000 transfers in, 6 points
• Havertz: 135,000 transfers in, 6 points

The numbers are big. The question is simple: are they the right Arsenal picks?

Arsenal’s attack: short-term firepower

Arsenal’s midfield looked sharp against Coventry, and the data backs it up.

Tzolis was everywhere. He took four shots, created three chances and ended up involved in seven shots in total – more than any of his team-mates. On the eye and on the spreadsheet, he was central to everything.

Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) did what Bukayo Saka does. He scored the second goal, had three shots in the box – joint-most with Tzolis – and remained a constant outlet on that right flank.

The surprise? Arsenal created just one “big chance” in the entire match. It was Saka’s goal, and even that came from Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth (£4.5m) spilling a Tzolis effort into his path.

Arsenal attacking stats v Coventry

• Tzolis: 7 shot involvements, 4 shots, 3 in box, 3 chances created
• Odegaard: 6 shot involvements, 3 shots, 1 in box, 3 chances created
• Saka: 5 shot involvements, 3 shots, 3 in box, 2 chances created
• Madueke: 4 shot involvements, 0 shots, 0 in box, 4 chances created
• White: 3 shot involvements, 1 shot, 1 in box, 2 chances created

Coventry’s weakness was clear. They crumbled down their left. Arsenal carved out 11 chances on that side, with Ben White (£5.5m), Saka and Noni Madueke (£6.5m) combining for 10 of those from the Gunners’ right.

Villa, though, are a different puzzle.

Unai Emery’s side were ripped apart centrally at Brighton. They conceded seven chances through the middle in that 4-0 defeat, far more than out wide. That zone, not the flanks, is where the space appeared.

That’s exactly where Odegaard operated in Gameweek 1 – the most advanced central role behind Havertz. With his ability to both shoot and create in that pocket, he looks perfectly placed to exploit Villa’s soft centre.

For managers planning aggressively – Bench Boost in Gameweek 1 or 2, Wildcard in Gameweek 3 – Odegaard stands out as the prime short-term attacking play from Arsenal. His ceiling this week is high. Over the longer run, though, the sheer volume of strong midfield options under £7.0m means he’s more of a tactical burst than a season-long anchor.

Defence: where the real value lies

The big new factor at the back is Ezri Konsa (£4.5m), freshly signed from Aston Villa and unavailable against Coventry due to the timing of his move.

His versatility is gold dust for Arteta. Konsa can slot in at centre-back or at right-back, filling gaps left by the injured William Saliba (£6.0m) and Jurrien Timber (£6.5m).

The knock-on effect matters for FPL.

If Konsa starts at right-back, White is at risk. If he partners Gabriel at centre-back, it’s Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m) who likely makes way. On the left, Calafiori is ahead of Piero Hincapie (£5.5m) in the pecking order.

Should Konsa immediately claim a starting spot, his price makes him one of the most tempting value options in the game. Arsenal kept 19 clean sheets last season. Replicate that and a £4.5m defender who returns six points in roughly half his games is a low-risk, high-reward asset.

For that price alone, Konsa looks worth owning until Saliba and Timber are fully fit and Arteta’s long-term defensive shape becomes clearer.

But he’s not the main event.

Gabriel: the elite FPL defender hiding in plain sight

Over the season, there is one standout Arsenal defender: Gabriel.

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

You don’t captain Gabriel. But in terms of whether he is “essential”, that’s the company he keeps.

He offers multiple routes to points: clean sheets, goals, bonus. He blanked in only six of his 30 starts last season. That reliability is exactly what FPL managers crave – a player you own, start every week and don’t overthink.

Top-scoring players in Fantasy 2025/26

• Haaland: 239 points, 12 blanks in 34 starts, 7.0 points per start
• Fernandes: 235 points, 9 blanks in 35 starts, 6.7 points per start
• Gabriel: 209 points, 6 blanks in 30 starts, 6.9 points per start

The underlying metrics reinforce it.

Gabriel dominated defensive contribution (DC) points among Arsenal defenders in 2025/26. He collected 22 DC points on his own. The rest of the backline combined for 30. No one in that defence is more likely to be rewarded for their work off the ball.

Add in bonus and the gap widens. Gabriel picked up 52 points from DC and bonus together, 30 of those from bonus alone. That total matches the combined DC-plus-bonus haul of his three closest team-mates in that area – Hincapie, Saliba and Timber.

By contrast, Calafiori sits near the bottom of those charts. He earned zero DC points and just six bonus points all season, for a combined total of six. That’s 46 fewer than Gabriel.

Arsenal defenders’ DC and bonus, 2025/26

• Gabriel: 52 (22 DC, 30 BP, 30 starts)
• Hincapie: 21 (14 DC, 7 BP, 20 starts)
• Saliba: 18 (6 DC, 12 BP, 30 starts)
• Timber: 13 (4 DC, 9 BP, 28 starts)
• Calafiori: 6 (0 DC, 6 BP, 22 starts)
• Mosquera: 5 (4 DC, 1 BP, 9 starts)
• White: 5 (2 DC, 3 BP, 9 starts)

That’s why, over the long haul, Gabriel is the Arsenal defender you build around.

Calafiori: popular, attacking – and limited by the system

Calafiori’s ownership has exploded. His surge in transfers has taken him to 41.3 per cent ownership, more than any other defender and making him the fifth most-owned player in the entire game.

The clean sheet and assist against Coventry justify the attention. But the bonus points tell the deeper story.

Both Calafiori and White recorded a clean sheet and an assist in Gameweek 1. White, though, collected two bonus points. Calafiori got none.

That’s not a one-off quirk. It’s baked into his role.

Arteta uses Calafiori as a “line-breaking” full-back in games where Arsenal dominate the ball. The Italian is encouraged to drift into advanced areas, step into midfield, and attack space. It’s great for the eye test, and it can deliver attacking returns. It’s terrible for the Bonus Points System (BPS).

Because he roams so much, Calafiori attempts far fewer passes than the rest of the back four. In the BPS, passing volume and accuracy are heavily rewarded. If a player makes at least 30 passes with 90 per cent or better accuracy, they gain six BPS points – a big boost in the race for bonus.

Arsenal defenders’ passing v Coventry

• White: 78 passes, 95% completion, +6 BPS
• Mosquera: 65 passes, 95% completion, +6 BPS
• Gabriel: 57 passes, 95% completion, +6 BPS
• Calafiori: 24 passes, 83% completion, 0 BPS

So while his attacking freedom is appealing, his structural disadvantage in the BPS means he will often lose out on bonus to the more conservative, high-volume passers around him.

From a squad-building perspective, that matters.

Gabriel plus Cole Palmer (£9.5m) costs £17.5m. Calafiori plus Fernandes also costs £17.5m. With Palmer looking sharp again under Xabi Alonso, pairing him with Gabriel looks a more efficient way to spend that money than backing Fernandes and Calafiori.

The crowd is flocking to the Italian. The numbers still point to the Brazilian.

The triple-up: lean into Arsenal’s clean sheets

There is a strong case for going all-in on Arsenal’s defence rather than chasing short-term attacking punts.

Gabriel and Konsa can form the core. David Raya (£6.0m) can complete a long-term triple-up.

Raya doesn’t need to be compared to his team-mates. His competition is every other goalkeeper in the game. On clean-sheet probability alone, he stands apart. Arsenal’s defensive structure, their ball control, and their ability to suffocate weaker sides make him the most likely ‘keeper to deliver six points in any given Gameweek.

Owning Raya and starting him every week removes the headache of rotating cheap goalkeepers. It frees your transfers and your thinking to focus on where the real volatility – and opportunity – lies: midfield and attack.

So while Gameweek 2 might be about the rush for Calafiori, Odegaard and Tzolis, the season could well belong to the quieter, more ruthless strategy.

Back the defence. Back Gabriel. And decide how brave you really want to be with that Arsenal triple-up.