FPL tips: Assessing Arsenal’s young midfield maestros

Much has been made of Arsenal’s young midfield powering their push for a Champions League place, but just how excited should FPL managers be?

With an average age of just 21, the following group of footballers could be lighting up the Gunners’ XI for years to come.

But will they feature in your FPL squads this season too?

Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka is the most expensive of the quartet at £6.7m while he has an ownership of around 30 per cent.

With nine goals and six assists he is the top Threat scorer and the second best Creativity scorer at the club, and has accrued 138 FPL points so far this term.

The 20-year-old has played 2,135 minutes in the league this season from a possible 2,520, while he has five double-figure points returns and a high score of 16 FPL points from a single game.

With two goals and one assist in his last five league appearances, the attacking midfielder will surely be targeting double figures for both by May.

Emile Smith Rowe

Here we go, Saka and Emile Smith Rowe – the other England midfielder from this bunch, ESR has been making his impact from the bench this season, with just 1,498 minutes in the league.

Between gameweeks 17 and 19 the 21-year-old scored three goals from just 44 minutes of play, demonstrating his ability to make an impact in a short space of time.

Smith Rowe has managed to match Saka for goals with nine, despite a lack of game time, helping him to 108 FPL points.

The £5.7m man – owned by around 11 per cent of bosses – also has nine bonus points so far this term, but has managed just one goal in his last five games.

Martin Odegaard

Martin Odegaard, 23, comes in at just £5.5m and 5.9 per cent ownership, and is perhaps more highly valued by Mikel Arteta than the FPL crowd.

The Norwegian has five goals and three assists this season, ranking sixth for Creativity among the league’s midfielders with a score of 750.8.

With 1,882 minutes under his belt in the Premier League, Odegaard has quickly become a favourite of Arteta’s, but just one double figures points return means he is yet to grab the attention of FPL bosses.

He has one goal from his last five games and has returned seven bonus points so far – will his differential potential help his popularity in the weeks to come?

Gabriel Martinelli

Arguably the player who excites fans the most at the Emirates Stadium, 20-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli is valued at just £5.3m by FPL.

The midfielder has a low ownership of 4.2 per cent too, but has managed five goals and four assists this term despite limited minutes.

With one goal and one assist in his last five appearances, Martinelli does not rank particularly high for either Threat or Creativity but seems to make an impact regardless.

A top score of 15 points after a brace against Leeds in gameweek 18 hints at a player who could return big hauls in the coming seasons.