The upcoming Blank Gameweek 12 for Arsenal and Manchester City will have a major influence on how Fantasy Premier League managers prepare for the upcoming period.
Both clubs have enjoyed outstanding starts to the 2022/23 season, with Man City supplying four of the five top-scoring players in Fantasy.
Arsenal pair Gabriel Martinelli (£6.6m) and Bukayo Saka (£7.8m), meanwhile, rank among the four top-scoring midfielders, while William Saliba (£5.0m) places third in defence.
As a result, the key performers from those sides have been hugely popular picks in the opening 10 Gameweeks of 2022/23.
Indeed, six of the eight most-owned players in Fantasy come from Arsenal or Man City.
Meanwhile, Phil Foden (£8.2m) has emerged as the top target ahead of Gameweek 11 after moving to the top of the midfield standings on 62 points.
He has earned 249,000 transfers in ahead of Friday’s 18:30 BST deadline, 110,000+ more than any other player.
Managers who own a number of Arsenal and Man City players should now use their free transfers to strike a balance in their squads, while at the same time keeping vital picks such as Erling Haaland (£12.2m).
Retaining three Arsenal and Man City players and simply benching them for Gameweek 12 can prove a profitable move as they both have very kind schedules from Gameweek 13-16.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), three of their next four matches before the season stops for the FIFA World Cup each score just two.
Those with Wildcards still remaining should look to play the chip in Gameweek 13 to take advantage of those favourable runs of opponents.
They can “dead end” their squad in Gameweek 12 by selling some of their Arsenal and Man City stars before immediately bringing them back in on the Wildcard.
Tripling up on Man City trio Haaland, Foden and Joao Cancelo (£7.3m) looks a very strong tactic at that point, while Martinelli, Saliba and Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m) all have the potential to thrive for Arsenal.
Part 1: GW10 Bonus points Part 2: GW10 stats: Haaland breaks more records as he hits century Part 3: Saturday review: Top midfielder Foden is No 1 target Part 5: FPL experts on how to navigate Blank Gameweek 12
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