Gianni Buttice returns with his Fantasy Football tips and pointers ahead of the Gameweek 27 action, which is taking place this midweek.
For this set of games the respected FPL tipping judge looks at why Arsenal’s Gabriel is a ‘set and forget’ defender for so many managers – and if this is right heading into the final three months of the season.
Gameweek 27 Fantasy Football Tips: Why is Gabriel a ‘Set and Forget’ For So Many?
The Arsenal centre back is an FPL Community darling – a lock in most teams with no risk of ever being transferred out.
Sure, he’s had a solid season with 102 overall points so far keeping company with the likes of popular assets Lewis Hall (101 points) and Virgil van Dijk (99 points).
Gabriel’s Current Transfer Fee Is £6.3m
Gabriel isn’t cheap and, in a season, when lots of the budget defenders are performing well, to justify his £6.3 million price tag he needs to be returning more consistently than he currently is.
His ownership is crazy high too and only Trent Alexander-Arnold (127 points) is in more teams. In the last eight gameweeks we’ve seen two clean sheets from the Arsenal man and no attacking returns and that simply isn’t good enough.
Yet still he’s held by the masses because.
- Owners feel like he could score any given week when in reality he scores three or four a season
- Managers are worried about his mass ownership in the community and FOMO gets them
Subjectively though, he has been nowhere near good enough to be a set and forget and whilst I have often bet against the template with poor results this season, I have been on the right end with this one.
Some Are Turning To Crystal Palace’s Daniel Muñoz To Replace Gabriel
Back in Gameweek 20 I was willing to bet against the field and sell Gabriel for Crystal Palace right wing back Daniel Muñoz.
Since then, the Columbian has 43 points compared to Gabriel’s 21 and considering the 1.5 million saving, these points have been very welcome and form one of my best FPL decisions of the season.
Munoz and Gabriel both have three goals but Munoz has more assists and better underlying attacking data. Gabriel plays for a defence more likely to keep clean sheets but there is little to split them.
This isn’t mean’t to be a Gabriel vs Munoz discussion, more an example of a much cheaper player comfortably outscoring Gabriel where there are plenty of other similar scenarios versus the Brazilian in recent weeks.
Now I’m not saying go and sell Gabriel instantly, but I am trying to point out he SHOULDN’T be a set and forget option in your team.
In fact only Mohamed Salah should carry the ‘must have’ staus yet time and again I see the FPL community ignoring the very modest returns of the Brazilian.
Many will look to wildcard in the next few weeks and I urge all managers to consider the plethora of defenders around the 5 million mark that have matched Gabriel this season.
You can follow here on his X handle (@giannibuttice) – plus get more Fantasy Football tips and advice each week as the 2024/25 Premier League season enters it’s final three months.
