Gabriel Injury Update: The Best FPL Replacements for Gameweek 12

The league leaders have been dealt a hefty blow ahead of Gameweek 12, with the news that star centre-back Gabriel looks to be out for a minimum of four weeks, with some reports even claiming its closer to the the 2 month mark. Now even though Arteta’s system can be credited with a decent chunk of their clean sheets, there is no denying that Gabriel remains an integral part of the Arsenal defence. His absence will certainly be felt over the winter period as Arsenal seek to consolidate their position at the top of the league.

In FPL terms this is not the end of the world, and for those chasing rank, this could even prove a great opportunity to gain some rank with a differential option. No longer do we have the safety points that someone like a Gabriel provides. Any hit to the template is an opportunity, you just have to know how to take advantage.

If you are after other differential options then make sure you check out our Gameweek 12 differentials article, where we show you other great differential options ahead of Gameweek 12 to help you gain rank. Also, considering the plethora of other injuries reported on the International break, we also recommend checking in with our Predicted Line-Ups page and our Buy, Sell or Hold article for more guidance on navigating the injury chaos.

Anyway, without further ado, we present our favourite Gabriel replacements for FPL’s Gameweek 12:

Jurrien Timber

If like me you believe the majority of Arsenal’s stellar defensive success is due to the system, then maintaining some Arsenal defensive coverage is never a bad idea. Although Calafiori, Saliba and Mosquera are all solid options, Timber has consistently shown a propensity for attacking returns, and as a result bonus points. It is hard to go wrong with FPL’s 2nd highest scoring defender anyway to be fair.

Virgil Van Dijk

 

Yeh, yeh Liverpool’s defence has been bad we get it… But so have their fixtures. Granted this does not mean we fully trust their defence and this is why we much prefer VVD to a Konate for example. But unlike his defensive comades, Virgil just has plenty more routes to points. He has the 2nd most DefCons of any defender in the entire league at 120, and also boasts a superior attacking threat to the likes of Konate. As evidenced by his unfairly disallowed goal against City.

You could not design better defensive fixtures in a lab for Liverpool as well, so I will be absolutely shocked if clean sheets aren’t on offer as well during these upcoming fixtures. Combine all these factors along with the return of Alisson in goal and you’re on to a winning asset.

Marcos Senesi

Weirdly, Senesi actually saw himself dropping out of quite a few FPL teams of late, despite having the most DefCons in the entire game. Bournemouth now come into an excellent stretch of fixtures meaning clean sheets should be just round the corner. Senesi also has a deceptively good role in Bournemouth’s attacking build up, attempting a total of 83 balls over the top this season, which is the most in the league by more than double. For context Pedro Porro is 2nd with 31. This utility stands Senesi in a unique position to capitalise on some potential assists and is in no small part why he sits on a 0.15 xA per 90. A great Gabriel replacement for Gameweek 12.

Daniel Munoz

I genuinely can’t write anymore about this man and I feel like I know him better than my own family at this point. A unique player who can pick up plenty of points at both ends of the pitch. With Palace’s upcoming fixtures he is a great replacement for Gabriel.

Nico O’Reilly

I’m convinced someone has carried out a super injunction on mentioning Nico O’Reilly. How he is only 2.2% owned is completely beyond me. The man has returned a clean sheet or attacking return in 6/7 starts so far this season and costs only £5m. City’s fixtures are also fantastic so this should be more than set to continue. Fresh off his England senior debut, playing for a great city team, attacking potential and even a cheeky DefCon threshold in his last outing, there is not much to dislike about Nico O’Reilly. The best differential option on this list.

Honourable Mentions:

• Reece James
• Marc Cucurella
• Ibrahima Konate
• Ricardo Calafiori
• William Saliba
• Christian Mosquera

 

Make sure you check out our Game Week Tips section for more great FPL advice ahead of Gameweek 12.