Arsenal and Aston Villa fantasy outlook.

Arsenal

RVP will be looking to stay injury free and
take the Golden Boot this season.

Arsenal go into this season with a lot of uncertainty over their squad but one thing we can be sure of is their stand out player. Robin Van Persie will once again lead the line and he is a player you cannot afford to let go if Fabregas leaves – meaning RVP will take the all the penalties.

A sleeper for Arsenal this year could be Kieran Gibbs at left back. At a cheap 5.5, he has no competition and is guaranteed starts. He likes to roam forward so he could get a fair few assists this year. If Arsenal shores up their defence, you may even steal a few clean sheets out of Gibbs.

The other player to consider is Theo Walcott when he is fit. I would only play Walcott against lesser opponents though as he takes no set pieces. He is very good against teams where Arsenal can rack up a few goals but in the tight games, it may be better to go with just RVP.

Aston Villa

Shay Given could transport Villa's defensive woes from
last season into one of the top defensive sides this season

Aston Villa goes into this season with a completely different fantasy outlook to last year. Last year we were wondering how good Gabby Agbonlahor may be and if Stewart Downing and Ashley Young could transform Villa into a top four team. Now we are wondering if Darren Bent, Marc Albrighton, and Charles N’Zogbia can keep them in the top half of the table.

From a fantasy point of view, Bent is the man this year. Expect 20 goals from Bent – he’ll take their penalties now that Young is gone, and he’ll be receiving some good service from Albrighton and N’Zogbia. Albrighton and N’Zogbia are worth  having a look at when Villa is playing weaker opponents, definitely worth saving a spot on the bench for one of these two.

Villa’s defence could be very good this year, and some players will be at a bargain price thanks to their shambolic defence last year. Luke Young, Stephen Warnock (who is in line for a good come back year) and Carlos Cuellar all come in at a bargain 5M thanks to the brilliant Shay Given between the posts.