Arsenal FPL Guide GW9 2026/27

• DEFCON: centre-backs and full-backs who rack up tackles, blocks, clearances and interceptions now have a second scoring route beyond clean sheets.
• Fixtures: check Arsenal's opening run on the FPL fixture list and the GW9 preview above before locking premiums.
• Prices: every Arsenal price is on FPL prices : then play free on Gameweek Fantasy.
• Differentials: looking for a low-owned Arsenal pick? Check FPL Differentials.

Arsenal are 2nd on 18 points after 7 games (WWLWW). Last time out they beat Nottingham Forest 1–0 away in GW7. GW9 brings a trip to Liverpool (Sun 1 Nov, 16:30 GMT), rated 4/5 for difficulty. Top FPL scorers so far: Riccardo Calafiori (£6.0m, 44 pts), David Raya (£6.2m, 42 pts), Bukayo Saka (£9.5m, 37 pts). On the injury list: Bukayo Saka (thigh injury: Unknown return date); Christos Tzolis (hamstring injury: Expected back 1 Nov). Open predicted XI → · GW9 preview →

Arsenal go into 2026/27 as champions for the first time in 22 years, and it shows in the prices — there's value here in every position, not just up front. Saka at £9.6m is the obvious way in, one of the most expensive midfielders in the game and still the surest route to Arsenal's attack. The pick I keep coming back to is Eze: £67.5m spent to bring him from Crystal Palace, handed the No 10 shirt, and priced at just £6.4m because the game set his cost before anyone knew how central he'd become. Gabriel at £7.9m is steep for a defender, but he scores like an attacker from corners. Gyökeres (£7.1m) and Havertz (£7.5m) split the centre-forward role, Rice anchors midfield at £7.3m, and Raya at £6.1m is a premium goalkeeper who earns the price.

• ↓ INEberechi Eze, From Crystal Palace for a reported £67.5m, on a four-year deal, wearing the No 10. Priced at only £6.4m: the standout value in the squad.
• ↓ INBruno Guimarães, From Newcastle United. Brings elite defensive-midfield quality and set-piece involvement to the reigning champions. Now priced at £6.8m after an early-season price fall.
• ↓ INViktor Gyökeres, From Sporting CP at £7.5m: a prolific striker priced alongside Havertz as joint first-choice centre-forward.
• ↓ INChristos Tzolis, From Club Brugge, where he scored 43 and assisted 45 in 108 games. Scored on his pre-season debut. £6.5m and barely owned.
• ↑ OUTChristian Nørgaard, To Everton. Was a budget midfield route into Arsenal's squad. His departure leaves Zubimendi and Lewis-Skelly as the value midfield options.

Saka is the one name in this squad you build around rather than debate. Every minute that matters, set pieces, penalties, goals and assists — there's no version of an Arsenal fantasy team that doesn't start with him. Gabriel at £7.9m is the harder sell purely on price, but a defender who scores from corners on a team that barely concedes is genuinely worth the premium. Rice offers goal threat from deep on top of his defensive numbers, and Gyökeres at £7.1m is the striker pick whenever he's actually holding the shirt — check that before you buy, because he shares it.

This is where Arsenal reward you for reading the squad closely. Zubimendi and Lewis-Skelly at £5.3m are genuinely good value in midfield, and Bruno Guimarães, in since the summer from Newcastle, adds a different dimension to their play at £6.8m. The cheaper defensive names — Mosquera (£5.3m), White (£5.4m), Calafiori (£5.9m), Hincapié (£5.3m) — all give you champion-level clean sheets without spending like it. One name to drop from your thinking: Jurriën Timber has moved on to Crystal Palace, so he's no longer part of this defence at all.

Saka at home to bottom-half opposition is about as close to a safe captaincy as fantasy football offers — Arsenal dominate the ball and generate volume in exactly the areas that produce returns. Gyökeres is the fallback armband when he's starting against a soft fixture. Against the other top-six sides, Arsenal's attacking returns get squeezed by better opposition, so I'd shift the captaincy to a striker facing weaker resistance that week rather than force it. Watch Eze too — if he keeps the No 10 role, he'll see more of the ball in the areas that matter than anyone except Saka.

Eze at £6.2m is the differential of the season, full stop — a £67.5m signing priced like a squad player purely because of when the game locked his cost in. Christos Tzolis, arriving from Club Brugge and already scoring in pre-season, sits at the same price with even lower ownership. Madueke and Merino, in the £6.0-6.5m range, round out the mid-price options worth knowing about.

The striker slot is where an Arsenal transfer goes wrong most often. The £5.3-5.8m defenders rotate just as heavily: Mosquera, White, Calafiori and Hincapié, so check the last couple of lineups before committing to any of them. Champions League football adds another layer of genuine rotation risk around midweek ties. My rule of thumb: never stack three or more Arsenal attackers for a fixture against another top-six side.