{"id":807536,"date":"2026-10-19T12:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T12:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/807536\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T12:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T12:14:15","slug":"fpl-notes-gibbs-white-injury-latest-two-solid-defences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/807536\/","title":{"rendered":"FPL notes: Gibbs-White injury latest + two solid defences"},"content":{"rendered":"

The kind of victory that champions grind out, both reigning and prospective.<\/p>\n

Arsenal\u2019s narrow win over Nottingham Forest was a tight, often tedious affair but the Gunners, as they regularly did in 2025\/26, found a way to get over the line.<\/p>\n

Manchester City may be the early-season hares but regardless of what happens with the courtrooms and the commissions, Mikel Arteta\u2019s tortoises continue to chart their own highly effective course.<\/p>\n

Here are our Scout Notes from the City Ground.<\/p>\n

\"White<\/p>\n

GIBBS-WHITE INJURY LATEST<\/p>\n

Before we get to the action, a word on one player who wasn\u2019t even involved on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The roughly 12% owned Morgan Gibbs-White (\u00a37.9m) didn\u2019t feature, having struggled with a muscle injury in the lead-up to Gameweek 7.<\/a><\/p>\n

It sounds very much like he\u2019ll be fit for Friday\u2019s clash with Ipswich Town, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very close to playing today. He said he was fine, but he felt it a little bit in a few situations. He felt his muscle and then I decided not to play him. I didn\u2019t want to take any risk, and we can\u2019t [afford] to lose him, maybe because it was a reinjury, for four, five, six weeks. That\u2019s why I decided not to play him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect him being back for Ipswich game.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner on Morgan Gibbs-White, in his post-match presser<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to take any risk. He felt it a little bit. I think if this is the final game of the year, he would have played, but we play in five days, we play at Ipswich, and I didn\u2019t want to take any risk. So, I decided not to play him and, let\u2019s say not rest him, but prepare him in the best way for the next games because we know then also that Morgan, in these kind of games, can have an impact to help us.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner on Morgan Gibbs-White, to in-house media<\/p>\n

Gibbs-White is being sold at a fair old pace, and dropped in price on Sunday night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, up against an Ipswich side ranked 19th for goals conceded (15) and still without a clean sheet to their name, you\u2019d question the wisdom of selling him now \u2013 even acknowledging the attacking limitations of this Forest side, as we\u2019re about to do.<\/p>\n

TWO SIDES BETTER AT THE BACK THAN GOING FORWARD<\/p>\n

\"White<\/p>\n

Heading into this match, Arsenal and Forest were ranked 1st and 2nd for fewest expected goals conceded (xGC) in 2026\/27.<\/p>\n

Predictably, then, this game was a bit of a slog.<\/p>\n

Goalmouth action was few and far between, with just one Opta-defined \u2018big chance\u2019 recorded. That was Gabriel Magalhaes\u2018 (\u00a37.9m) set-piece header midway through the second half; even that wasn\u2019t a bona fide sitter. <\/p>\n

Arsenal, in fact, only had one shot on target all game \u2013 and that was substitute Noni Madueke\u2018s (\u00a36.2m) deflected winner. Forest had just two, both comfortably saved by David Raya (\u00a36.1m).<\/p>\n

More praise for Arsenal\u2019s defence, then (there were excellent late blocks from Ezri Konsa (\u00a34.6m) and Declan Rice (\u00a37.3m) to preserve the lead), and a doff of the cap to Forest\u2019s backline, who while haven\u2019t had much reward in terms of clean sheets in 2026\/27, seem to be on the right track defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop, top performance defensively. So, not just defending the set pieces but then how few shots we gave them. We really defended this well.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n

\u201cThe win was not possible without them, because [Forest] have so much quality and physicality, having to constantly deal with what we predicted to be 50 balls in the air. I don\u2019t know how many they had, but it would\u2019ve been very close to that. And it\u2019s not only that, it\u2019s what happens after that ball and the consequences from that. To be on it constantly, every action delivered is very tough.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes<\/p>\n

OPEN-PLAY FC<\/p>\n

Arsenal\u2019s winner came from open play, extending the Gunners\u2019 goalless drought from set pieces:<\/p>\n

GW1-7 (2025\/26)GW1-7 (2026\/27)Goals from set pieces70Attempts from set pieces4221Set-piece xG4.492.44<\/p>\n

Still, Arteta isn\u2019t too concerned, highlighting some near misses in the last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo nights [this week] we should have scored two. That\u2019s it. Last year, those two chances, they were goals, but let\u2019s keep generating that and they will come.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta<\/p>\n

The best chance of the first half, indeed, was Kai Havertz\u2018s (\u00a37.5m) off-target header from a set piece.<\/p>\n

The German was otherwise quiet. As was Martin Odegaard (\u00a36.8m). And so too was a shot-less Bukayo Saka (\u00a39.6m), whose run of having a big chance in every match this season was finally ended.<\/p>\n

More evidence of a solid display from the Forest rearguard, then.<\/p>\n

Rice, incidentally, is now joint-second in the FPL table for assists (four) this term.<\/p>\n

MURILLO UNFORTUNATE<\/p>\n

On the subject of the Forest backline, Murillo (\u00a35.5m) was unlucky. <\/p>\n

Seeing a hard-earned clean sheet turn to dust via an unfortunate deflection, he nearly scored a superb equalising solo goal late on and finished just one contribution short of yet more DefCon points:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

No defender can beat him for DefCon points (10) this season, nor can any positional peer better his 10 shots in the box.<\/p>\n

A defender with real FPL potential, if the Tricky Trees can just start turning those decent stats into shut-outs.<\/p>\n

DELAP DECENT<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The only player to beat Murillo for shots at the City Ground on Saturday was Liam Delap (\u00a35.5m). He was a real handful for Konsa and Gabriel.<\/p>\n

The goalless run now extends to three, but the budget FPL forward continues to a) get chances (16 shots in the last four Gameweeks) and b) enjoy the support of his manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we all, of course, judge the strikers by the goals they score but I think Liam Delap had an incredible performance today playing against Konza and Gabriel, potentially the best centre-back pair in the world at the moment, and he caused them really big problems.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner on Liam Delap<\/p>\n

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