Fantasy Premier League: Writer’s Team of the Season
Goalkeeper: Aaron Ramsdale (4.5m, Arsenal)
Even though Aaron Ramsdale went through a rough patch for points in the final third of the season and finished only 5th in the Goalkeeper standing for total points with 135, I’m strongly of the opinion that he’s deserving of a spot here, and I’ll explain why.
The 4.5 million-priced Arsenal Goalkeeper came into the team right about a popular time for the first Wildcard being deployed by Fantasy managers.
Historically, good defensive data meant Robert Sanchez from Brighton at the same price was a popular contender for the goalkeeper spot too, as were other goalkeepers in the 5.0 and even 5.5 category.
However, early adopters of Aaron Ramsdale were rewarded with six scores of 6 points or more in his first 13 appearances. He tended to make saves and subsequently do well with the bonus point system, meaning a clean sheet usually meant save and bonus points, giving him haul potential.
He scored far higher than any other goalkeeper in his price category in this initial period, giving FPL managers who bought him a big field advantage and as much as a 0.7m price rise!
By the time his performances and points began to fall off, his ownership was extremely high – the most popular goalkeeper in the game by some distance – meaning this points dropoff didn’t impact managers quite as badly, since most were in the same boat.
For the big push that he gave his ownership in his first few months at a basement price of 4.5, Aaron Ramsdale is in the FPL Team of the Season, for me.