GW8 Player Performance Review: Gabriel’s 17, Jackson’s Brace, and Bournemouth at Old Trafford

Gameweek 8 produced 19 goals in ten matches, a gameweek average of 45, and a top score of 120. It was a low-scoring round for attackers and a good one for defenders. The biggest return went to Gabriel, who scored, kept a clean sheet and took maximum bonus against Everton for 17 points. Ezri Konsa, his centre-back partner, scored 14. Nicolas Jackson’s two goals against Manchester City earned 13, and Bournemouth’s James Hill and Fulham’s Oscar Bobb took 11 each. The most-owned forward in the game did not play at all. Here is what the underlying numbers say about which of it repeats.

Arsenal’s two centre-backs outscored Haaland’s captaincy between them. That is a sentence about Arsenal’s defence and about a quiet week.

Arsenal’s Centre-Backs: 31 Points Between Two

Gabriel and Konsa both scored in the 2-0 win over Everton, and both kept a clean sheet. Arsenal have now conceded five in eight, the fewest in the league, with five clean sheets. The goals are the part to treat carefully: Gabriel’s came from 0.54 expected goals and Konsa’s from 0.38, which is typical of centre-backs and is not a rate either will sustain every week. The clean sheets are more reliable. So is Gabriel’s defensive work, with 14 contributions on Saturday and 72 for the season. Konsa, at 4.7m and owned by 20.4 percent, has risen in price this week after 209,000 managers bought him.

The context has shifted since Saturday. Arsenal went out of the League Cup at Fleetwood on Wednesday, Calafiori and Rice are doubts, and the next match is Liverpool at Anfield. Arsenal defenders are still good to own. This is not the week to buy one.

Nicolas Jackson: Two Goals From 0.37 Expected

Jackson scored twice either side of Haaland’s equaliser to give Aston Villa their first home win of the season and end Manchester City’s perfect start. His bonus points system score of 66 was the highest among the round’s top scorers. The two goals came from chances worth 0.37 expected goals, and his season now reads four goals from 1.83 expected. That is the same warning this column gave about Pedro Neto’s 15 a week ago, and Neto followed it with three points.

The difference is the role. Jackson has scored in three of the last four gameweeks, Ollie Watkins has been sold to Al Hilal, and Villa’s next five average 2.8 on the official ratings. About 974,000 managers bought him this week, the most in the game, and his price has already risen by 0.2m. He is a sensible replacement for Joao Pedro. He is not a player who will keep converting a third of an expected goal into two.

Bournemouth at Old Trafford: Four Players, Ten Points or More

Bournemouth won 3-0 at Manchester United, and four of their players scored ten or more. James Hill took 11 with a clean sheet, maximum bonus and 22 defensive contributions. Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Adrien Truffert scored ten each. Rayan’s goal was his first of the season from 2.44 expected goals, Tavernier’s was his fifth, and Truffert added an assist. Evanilson scored the third for six. Tavernier, at 6.4m, was bought by about 686,000 managers this week. Hill is owned by 1.7 percent at 5.5m and has 92 defensive contributions this season, the most of anyone in this report.

The Captain Verdict

Haaland was the most-captained player and returned eight, 16 for anyone who used the armband normally. Joao Pedro, the most popular vice-captain, did not play, which mattered only to managers whose captain also did not. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, this site’s second choice, scored two in a goalless draw at Sunderland. Pedro Neto, the differential, scored three. Bukayo Saka, the fade, did not play. Rayan Cherki, owned by 38.2 percent, played 45 minutes and scored nothing. Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper scored 0 and 1 at Anfield, as last week’s Fixture Analysis warned they might. The week rewarded the safe captain modestly and the alternatives not at all.

Ownership Shift Ahead of Gameweek 9

One injury has written most of this week’s market. Joao Pedro has been sold by about 1.18 million managers, more than three times anyone else. Behind him come Calafiori (346,000 out), Saka (245,000), Bruno Fernandes (239,000) and Cherki (224,000). The purchases are led by Jackson (974,000 in), Tavernier (686,000), Alexander Isak (380,000), Evanilson (366,000) and Konsa (209,000). All five have already risen in price, Jackson and Tavernier by 0.2m each.

One big score is a headline. A second one, backed by the chances behind it, is a trend worth building a squad around.