Updated 20 September 2026 after Brighton 3-0 Arsenal.
Arsenal's perfect league start ended heavily at Brighton.
Before the match they had four wins from four and only one league goal conceded. Brighton scored three.
The correct FPL response is not to declare Arsenal defence finished. It is to reassess how many Arsenal slots should be used in defence.
Short answer
For most Wildcard teams, the strongest current structure is:
Saka + one secure Arsenal defender + one flexible third Arsenal slot
rather than automatically tripling defence.
Why one match should not erase four
Arsenal's first four defensive performances were elite.
A single bad away performance can happen even to the league's best defence.
The next fixtures are:
- Leeds (H)
- Nottingham Forest (A)
- Everton (H)
- Liverpool (A)
- Hull (H)
That remains an excellent schedule.
Latest FPL news
Saka becomes even more important to the triple-up debate
If Arsenal have three strong home fixtures in five, using one club slot on their best attacker makes sense.
Saka offers penalties, secure minutes, premium goal threat and captaincy potential.
That raises the opportunity cost of triple defence.
Raya
Raya remains the safest minutes route.
Benefits:
- clean sheets;
- saves;
- low rotation risk.
The downside is less attacking ceiling than an outfield defender.
Gabriel
Gabriel gives Arsenal clean sheets, set-piece threat and DefCon.
He is expensive, so he needs to justify the premium over cheaper defenders around the league.
Calafiori
Calafiori has attacking upside. The questions remain rotation and whether his minutes stay secure after the break.
Konsa/value route
Cheaper Arsenal defensive access can be structurally powerful.
Konsa rose to £4.6m on 19 September.
A cheaper route can help managers own Saka, Haaland and another premium midfielder.
Double defence vs single defence
Double defence
Still strong if both players have secure minutes and the midfield is already balanced.
One defender
Better when you want Saka plus Hall/Gvardiol or need more fixture diversification.
Hall changes the comparison
Lewis Hall scored against Hull and now goes to Coventry.
That gives managers a credible alternative to a second Arsenal defender.
Read Lewis Hall FPL.
Should you sell before Leeds?
Usually no.
Arsenal host Leeds. Selling a secure Arsenal defender because of one blank can be poor process.
The more reasonable move is reducing from three defensive Arsenal players to one or two.
What Brighton taught us
Even elite defences can fail in a hard away match.
That is a reason to diversify, not proof that the underlying team quality disappeared.
Best structures
Balanced
Saka + Raya + value defender.
Ceiling
Saka + Gabriel + attacking defender.
Flexible
Saka + one defender + leave the third club slot open.
The flexible structure has more appeal after GW5 because it reduces over-concentration.
OneFPL verdict
Do not kneejerk out of Arsenal defence.
Do reconsider triple defensive exposure.
The fixtures remain excellent and Saka should be central to the club allocation. For most managers, Saka + one or two defenders is the better balance.
