FPL notes: Saka injury, Havertz deeper, Jesus + Sarr in form

There were six goals scored at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening but an injury to Bukayo Saka (£10.6m) overshadowed anything else that occurred in south London.

Kicking off the Gameweek 17 Scout Notes, it’s Crystal Palace v Arsenal.

SAKA INJURY: WHAT ARTETA SAID

Saka hit the deck midway through the first half on Saturday, immediately signalling to the bench that he had an issue.

Defeat was soon admitted, with Leandro Trossard (£6.8m) taking his place. Gabriel Martinelli (£6.7m) switched flanks and operated from the right for the rest of the game.

“He felt something in his hamstring, he couldn’t continue, and he’ll have to be assessed. So, we’re pretty worried about that one. “It’s very difficult to [say] now – they have tested him inside but very difficult to say how bad it is. “I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same one, or the same leg. It’s the third minor injury; I don’t know how big this one is going to be but he already had two.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka in his post-match press conference

“I don’t know but he had to come off, he felt something, so it’s not good news obviously. We have to assess him and wait.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka in his post-match interview with Sky

The question now is whether Saka recovers for Gameweek 18. Arsenal at least have an extra day of recovery, not playing until December 27. Their Gameweek 19 clash with Brentford is also generously scheduled for New Year’s Day.

Even so, with a trip to the Amex on January 4, that’s three (very favourable) games in a fortnight. It’s possible that Saka misses all three even with a lower-grade injury.

The problem is we’re probably not likely to find out from Arteta when Saka will be back. Even if we hear from the Arsenal boss before the Gameweek 18 deadline (not a given as it’s around Christmas), he’s not exactly renowned for being open and honest with injuries.

🚨 BREAKING: Bukayo Saka leaves Crystal Palace on crutches! pic.twitter.com/cT3BRHzuFO — Connor Humm (@TikiTakaConnor) December 21, 2024

HAVERTZ DEEPER

The inclusion of Gabriel Jesus (£6.7m) in the Arsenal line-up meant that Kai Havertz (£7.9m) moved back into midfield. We’ve not seen the German operating there much over the last nine months or so.

Havertz still drifted into the box and picked up threatening positions. He did that for his goal, following up the rebound after Jesus’ header hit the post. There were several other nearly moments in the Palace box, even though his shot count was just two.

The bigger problem for Havertz, especially with Jesus in a purple patch, is that his redeployment left Arsenal looking open.

So open, in fact, that Arteta decided to bring Havertz off before the hour and throw on Declan Rice (£6.2m). Rice was only among the substitutes because he had had limited training this week.

Might Arteta go with only one of Jesus or Havertz in future matches?

“Yeah, because they were more aggressive than in the first game which we expected, but we didn’t understand whether or not which sequences we had to put and the spaces that we needed to create. So, we ended up playing too much with David very close his own goal and against them it’s a really bad game to play, and we adjusted a few things. When Rice came on, he changed the game, he gave us more dominance, still the same threat but we were much better.” – Mikel Arteta on whether playing Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus meant that there were defensive sacrifices

“He can be [an asset in midfield], he can play in any of the two pockets. Especially with the way they play as well, and what we expected to have a player like him, we wanted to do something else. It wasn’t going to work because of the way they set up, so I had to change it, but overall, he’s a player in many areas who plays well.” – Mikel Arteta on Kai Havertz

JESUS BRACE

It’s five goals in two games for Jesus, following his midweek treble.

Both goals were opportunistically taken, the second a particularly fine finish. Big hat-trick chances went begging in the build-up to Havertz and Martinelli’s goals.

Is the Brazilian striker back on the FPL radar then?

Confidence is a big thing in football and seems to be especially so with Jesus. He was brimming with it when he first joined Arsenal in 2022, following up a strong pre-season with five goals in his first eight league starts.

It may be that he can enjoy another purple patch over Christmas.

“He’s had some difficult moments and, as a striker, it’s not easy, and you get a lot of the spotlight, but again credit to him. His work ethic, the way he came back in the summer, he was a completely different player and now he’s getting rewarded, sometimes it takes time.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Jesus

Over the long term, however, question marks still very much remain over his finishing ability. He’s underachieved on the xG front in five of the last six seasons, in fact:

Shot-to-goal conversion rate xG delta (Actual goals scored minus expected goals) 2023/24 7.3% -2.38 2022/23 14.3% -2.77 2021/22 12.5% -2.82 2020/21 16.4% +0.28 2019/20 13.9% -4.49 2018/19 16.3% -4.46

SARR DANGEROUS, DEFENCE UNSETTLED

5-1 was a flattering scoreline for Arsenal. Both sides had six shots on target, while the xG (1.72-2.88) hinted at a closer game than the result suggested.

David Raya (£5.6m) had to be alert to deny big chances for Jean-Phillipe Mateta (£7.2m) and Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m), while Palace’s excellent pressing caused jitters for the Arsenal goalkeeper and his backline in the first half.

Sarr curled in a much harder chance early in the game, his sixth attacking return in as many Gameweeks. A differential name to consider, perhaps, with the fixtures turning good:

“He’s in great shape. He had two big chances straight after half-time, and getting the second, maybe you are back again, and this is also what top teams are doing. They get one chance and then game over with the fourth [goal]. The efficiency was really outstanding from Arsenal. “Ismaila is getting better and better, and we are really delighted with his performances.” – Oliver Glasner on Ismaila Sarr

The concession of five goals was a bit of a surprise after the Eagles’ recent form. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been: after keeping the same back five for 10 Gameweeks and seeing results improve, Oliver Glasner made two changes to it on Saturday. One was enforced, with Daniel Munoz (£4.7m) suspended, while Trevoh Chalobah (£4.4m) was benched.

“It was the third game in six days and also Chris Richards is doing well in training and then also it’s time for Chris to get a chance. That was the reason.” – Oliver Glasner on benching Trevoh Chalobah

Expect the normal order to be restored in Gameweek 18, when Eberechi Eze (£6.6m) is also anticipated to return.

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