After 10 Gameweeks of 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League, Arsenal's defence looks on course to once again be the best in the competition.

The Gunners have kept seven clean sheets and have conceded only five goals - apart from Brighton & Hove Albion and Leeds United, that's at least half the total of any other side.

Goalkeeper David Raya (£6.2m) and defender Riccardo Calafiori (£5.9m) are by far the most-popular picks at the back in Fantasy for Mikel Arteta's side; owned by 47 and 48 per cent of managers respectively, they are also the most-selected players in their positions. 

But it's the premium-priced Gabriel (£8.1m) who leads the way on 66 points, while his fellow centre-back Ezri Konsa (£4.8m) fares best in terms of points per start, with 7.0.

Ahead of the busy upcoming schedule, however, the best way to invest in Arsenal could soon be about to change. 

The return from injury of William Saliba (£5.9m) now places question marks over Konsa's starting role in central defence, although the versatile England star does also offer an option at right-back.

Furthermore, with the first midweek round of matches this season shortly getting under way in Gameweek 13, there are rotation concerns over Calafiori. He has only started three matches in the space of a week once across 2025/26 and 2026/27, and he was withdrawn at the break in the second of those matches.

So, who will be the best Arsenal defensive assets to own in Fantasy over the coming period? Here, The Scout investigates. 

Arsenal's top-scoring backline picks, 26/27

Player	Pts	Ownership	PPS	Blanks
Gabriel	66	26.1%	6.6	3/10
Raya	60	47.5%	6.0	3/10
Konsa	57	24.6%	7.0	1/8
Calafiori	57	48.7%	6.2	2/9

PPS = Points per start
Scroll across to see the full table

Judge Arsenal defenders by defensive contribution and bonus-point potential

When assessing the best way to invest in Arsenal's defence, a breakdown of Gabriel, Konsa and Calafiori's points shows why it is their prospects for defensive contribution (DC) points and bonus points that matters most, and not their attacking potential.

All three have each scored once and collected five points, while Calafiori's more advanced role has helped him supply two assists to collect six points.

But as the table below shows, Gabriel and Konsa's roles as centre-backs in an Arsenal side who dominate possession means they both lead Calafiori by 15 points to three when it comes to collecting DC and bonus points.

Points breakdown

Player	Goal pts	Assist pts	DC pts	Bonus pts
Gabriel	5	0	10	5
Konsa	5	0	8	7
Calafiori	5	6	0	3

DC = Defensive contribution points
Scroll across to see the full table

All the more crucially for Fantasy managers, due to their respective roles under Arteta, the chances of Gabriel and Konsa earning these returns are far more predictable than Calafiori scoring or assisting. 

In terms of DC, Gabriel and Konsa have been consistently profiting from their roles as centre-backs for Arsenal, with both collecting two extra points in 50 per cent of their starts.

WATCH: Incredible Arsenal defending v Liverpool

Calafiori's role as a roving left-back means he doesn't make the same number of defensive actions in a match. Indeed, since the metric was introduced in Fantasy in 2025/26, the Italian has NEVER earned any DC points.

Meanwhile, whenever Arsenal keep a clean sheet, Gabriel and Konsa's passing statistics alone means they are far more likely to earn bonus points than Calafiori.

The table below shows how passing is rewarded in the Bonus Points System (BPS), which determines the bonus points in each match in Fantasy.

As you can see, if a player makes at least 30 passes with a success rate of 90+ per cent in a match, their BPS score would improve by six and boost their potential of earning bonus points.

How passing is rewarded in Bonus Points System

Action	Added to BPS score
70-79% pass completion with 30+ passes attempted	+2
80-89% pass completion with 30+ passes attempted	+4
90%+ pass completion with 30+ passes attempted	+6

An assessment of the Arsenal defenders over the first 10 Gameweeks shows that Calafiori has averaged 32.6 passes per 90 minutes - just above the minimum of 30+ passes - with an 81 per cent accuracy.

Both Gabriel and Konsa are considerably better on both counts, producing 55.7 and 49.4 passes per 90, while also sitting around the 90 per cent mark for accuracy.

Per 90 mins statistics, 26/27

Player	Passes	% succ. passes
Gabriel	55.7	89.0%
Konsa	49.4	95.0%
Calafiori	32.6	81.0%

Why Arsenal centre-backs are profiting from Arteta's tactics this season

Arguably, Arsenal's 1-0 win over Hull City in Gameweek 10 has handed Fantasy managers one of the biggest takeaways of 2026/27 so far. 

Although their side dominated the match and had over 67 per cent possession, both Gabriel and Konsa still earned two DC points each.

This time, a delve into the team data shows a definite change in tactics by Arteta, which is particularly effective when his side are defending slim leads.

When compared with the same point last season, Arsenal have allowed their opponents 56 more crosses - that difference is more than twice any other side apart from the 51 of Aston Villa. 

Essentially, they are conceding almost six more crosses per match than last season, which has allowed Gabriel and Konsa to make more defensive actions and regularly hit the DC threshold of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT)

First 10 Gameweeks, 25/26 v 26/27

Club	Difference	Crosses conc. 25/26	Crosses conc. 26/27
ARS	+56	111	167
AVL	+51	173	224
NEW	+26	162	188
EVE	+18	161	179
BRE	+17	180	197
CHE	+16	158	174
LEE	+12	179	191

So, what should managers do with the Arsenal defence?

Similarly to last season, a double-up on Arsenal's defence looks the most productive strategy in 2026/27.

While there's no denying that both Konsa and Calafiori have served many managers well up to this point, planning an exit route for both seems wise.

Saliba's return will surely now impact on Konsa's starts at centre-back, while Calafiori needs to rely on attacking returns to stand any chance of keeping pace with the top-scoring defenders in Fantasy.  

WATCH: What to do with Konsa now Saliba is back?

Instead, paying the premium and pairing Gabriel with goalkeeper Raya is the best move now. 

Gabriel's hugely impressive 50 per cent DC success rate cannot be overlooked here, as only 12 defenders with 19+ starts managed this last season. By allowing his side to concede more crosses, Arteta has boosted Gabriel's consistency even further in 2026/27 Fantasy. 

Added to his potential for clean sheets, bonus points and goal threat from set-pieces, the Brazilian is the best defender to own in Fantasy and simply start in every Gameweek. 

Raya's security of starts makes him an easy set-and-forget option between the posts, avoiding the need to rotate cheaper 'keepers in your starting line-up.

WATCH: FPL Pod's Julien Laurens on the Arsenal defence