Arsenal’s once reliable defenders starting to creak but should Dream Team bosses hold their nerve?

DREAM TEAM managers accustomed to Arsenal clean sheets will have noticed a worrying trend of late.

Following their 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, the Gunners have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five domestic fixtures.

Mikel Arteta’s side did keep PSG at bay in Gameweek 6 but there’s no denying the points have dried up for David Raya (£4.9m) and company recently.

Arsenal’s goalkeeper has mustered 13 points from his last four outings, as has Gabriel (£5.4m), while William Saliba (£5.2m) has notched just nine in the same time frame as a result of his much-discussed red card at the Vitality Stadium.

The Frenchman was the most-popular defender in Dream Team heading into Gameweek 8 and so plenty of gaffers will be seeking a replacement to step in while the 23-year-old is suspended.

It should be noted that Saliba will only miss one game (vs Liverpool) as he was dismissed for a professional foul against the Cherries.

More broadly, Dream Team bosses will be wondering whether Arsenal’s expensive defensive assets are worth sticking by now the clean sheets have dried up.

Last season, the North London side kept 18 clean sheets in the league alone with Manchester City and Everton their closest rivals in the metric on 13 each.

At the start of the current campaign, it was normal service resumed as they registered three clean sheets in their first four league games (four in five in all competitions) but they’ve since conceded to Man City, Leicester, Southampton and Bournemouth in succession.

Arsenal even conceded a goal to Bolton in their otherwise emphatic Carabao Cup victory in the third round.

There’s no shame in conceding to Pep Guardiola’s side but given the other opponents, Dream Team managers would have expected at least one domestic clean sheet from the last four Gameweeks.

It’s been a different story in the Champions League, where they’re yet to concede having drawn 0-0 with Atalanta and dispatched PSG 2-0.

A similar outcome at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night would be warmly welcomed by many gaffers.

Looking further ahead, Arsenal are set to embark on a relatively tricky run of fixtures from Gameweek 9 onwards.

They’re due to host Arne Slot’s league leaders next Sunday with Preston, Newcastle, Inter and Chelsea to follow before the November international break.

For such a long time, Dream Team bosses haven’t had to worry about Arsenal defenders at all but they now face a test of patience.

It should be noted that Raya still leads the way among keepers with 57 points in total while Gabriel is currently ranked fourth among defenders on 66 points.

Additionally, Riccardo Calafiori (£3.8m) has scraped a respectable 21 points from his last four outings thanks to his tackles, shots on target and bonus points.

The fact Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester United all failed to keep clean sheets at the weekend meant Arsenal assets weren’t punished to the full extent, although Saliba obviously dropped down the rankings having incurred minus three points.

The situation at the Emirates is not a disaster by any means but Dream Team managers have a decision to make – stick or twist?

A solid showing against Shakhtar in midweek would settle a few nerves.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk