Fantasy Football Tips: 5 Essential Transfers For Gameweek 22

4. Per Mertesacker

Team: Arsenal Value: £6.5 million Points In GW21: 2 Though Manchester City are snapping away at their heels, Arsenal remain the Premier League leaders after beating Aston Villa Monday this week. And with Fulham their next opponents, you would expect them to still be at the top of the table by the end of the weekend. Arsenal have never lost at home to Fulham in any competition spanning over a century, while the Gunners have the joint best defensive record in the division, conceding 19 goals in 21 matches. It is the tightening up at the back under Arsene Wenger that has largely contributed to them being in such a good position to challenge for the title, with their back four looking pretty lean. Per Mertesacker has been a changed man this season, looking much more composed and reliable, and Arsenal may have at long last solved their problem at centre-back. Fulham are steadily improving after shipping four goals to Sunderland last weekend, beating Norwich 3-0 in their FA Cup replay, but you sense their vulnerable at the moment. The Cottagers' defeat by Sunderland meant they have now lost 14 of their first 21 top-flight matches in a season for the first time in their history. I don't envisage too many problems for Mertesacker and co. here.