Ben White, Gabriel & William Saliba only Dream Team defenders on 200+ points this season
ARSENAL defenders cemented their foothold at the top of the Dream Team rankings on Tuesday night.
The Gunners maintained their Premier League title challenge with an emphatic 5-0 win over Chelsea at the Emirates.
Mauricio Pochettino hoped his troops would be able to prove they are not merely ‘Cole Palmer FC’ but the Blues produced arguably their most feeble performance of the season in the absence of their Golden Boot contender, who was sidelined with illness.
Ben White (£4.4m) was the unlikely chief beneficiary on the night, taking Chelsea for 19 points when all was said and done.
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The 26-year-old scored two goals, doubling his tally for the campaign in one fell swoop, albeit with a slice of good fortune involved in the second.
There’s nothing fortuitous about his status as Dream Team’s outright top defender in 2023/24.
As a key member of the Gunners’ unmatched defence, he’s earned 244 points through 20 clean sheets, four goals and six assists.
Gabriel (£4.3m) is 16 points shy of his team-mate, second in the defensive rankings, while William Saliba (£3.7m) is a further 14 points behind in third.
The three Arsenal regulars are the only assets in their position on 200+ points at the time of writing.
DREAM TEAM’S TOP DEFENDERS THIS SEASON:
- Ben White – 244 pts
- Gabriel – 228 pts
- William Saliba – 214 pts
- Kieran Trippier – 199 pts
- Trent Alexander-Arnold – 198 pts
- Virgil van Dijk – 198 pts
- Diogo Dalot – 195 pts
- Antonee Robinson – 189 pts
- Ezri Konsa – 187 pts
- Pedro Porro – 186 pts
Mikel Arteta has forged a tight defence that has been far superior to all his rivals’ efforts this term.
His side come out on top in every key metric, including the one that ultimately matters most – clean sheets.
MOST CLEAN SHEETS AMONG DREAM TEAM ASSETS THIS SEASON:
- Ben White – 20
- William Saliba – 20
- Gabriel – 19
- David Raya – 18
- Emi Martinez – 13
- James Tarkowski – 13
- Jarrad Branthwaite – 12
- Vitaliy Mykolenko – 12
- Andre Onana – 12
- Fabian Schar – 12
Due to their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich, Arsenal have just four fixtures remaining in 2023/24 – the joint-fewest among the top-flight sides.
However, such is the frugal nature of their defence, many top gaffers will choose to stick by the likes of White, Gabriel and Saliba until the final day of the season.
The Gunners face Tottenham in what promises to be a highly-competitive North London derby on Sunday but their last three fixtures – Bournemouth, Manchester United and Everton – have to be considered relatively favourable.
Barring something exceptional from Alexander-Arnold, it seems inevitable Arsenal will finish the campaign with three defenders on the podium.
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