FPL GW6 Preview: Who Gets Your Third Arsenal Slot?

Saka or Gabriel for your third Arsenal slot? For FPL GW6, Saka has the stronger individual projection. Across the next eight gameweeks, Gabriel projects 39.8 points to Saka’s 38.9. The useful question is which other player your choice lets you buy.

Gabriel with Mbeumo edges Saka with Tarkowski over eight gameweeks at almost the same combined price. Saka with Tarkowski leads for this weekend. Neither advantage is big enough to justify tearing up a healthy squad for a four-point hit.

The GW6 deadline is Saturday 10 October at 11:00 UK time (BST). Prices, ownership and availability were checked on the morning of 9 October 2026. The Algorithm's player projections below were published on 9 October and cover GW6–13. They are forecasts, not promised returns.

Why Arsenal's third slot matters this week

Arsenal host Leeds in GW6. Saka projects 5.9 points to Gabriel’s 5.6 for that fixture, but the order reverses across eight gameweeks. Both an attacker and a defender have a case.

But FPL allows you to select only three players from one club. If two Arsenal places are already occupied, buying Saka closes off Gabriel unless you make another move. Buying Gabriel does the reverse.

You cannot settle that choice by comparing their points alone. They fill different positions and Saka costs £1.6m more. Compare a defender and a midfielder against another defender and midfielder instead.

The two pairs to compare

These four players give us a practical example. Actual points and minutes are from the first five completed gameweeks; xP means projected points. The live FPL predicted points table lets you check changes before the deadline.

For a rebuild with both positions open, I would lean towards Gabriel and Mbeumo, provided both fit your budget and club limits. They lead over eight gameweeks for an extra £0.1m. That recommendation assumes you start both throughout the window and compares ordinary points before captaincy.

For an existing Saka and Tarkowski owner, I would hold. Their pair leads by 0.6 projected points in GW6, and the alternative's eight-gameweek advantage is just over three points. A four-point deduction would swallow that expected gain. Our free-transfer guide explains when paying for an extra move makes sense.

Your selling prices also matter. The difference between two purchase prices is not necessarily the cash needed to change your own squad.

Three transfer calls for GW6

Buy Gabriel when the money improves midfield too. He leads Saka's eight-gameweek total while costing £1.6m less. The Mbeumo comparison shows one use for the saving; it does not establish the best possible combination for every squad.

Keep Tarkowski if you already own him. Everton visit Hull in GW6. His 43 actual points so far are useful context, but the next fixtures matter more for a purchase: Chelsea at home and Arsenal away follow. Do not buy him solely because he tops this four-player table for past points.

Consider Dewsbury-Hall when you need a cheaper midfielder without using the Arsenal place. Everton's £6.6m midfielder is 5.8% owned, has 20 points from 450 minutes and projects 4.4 in GW6 and 31.4 over eight gameweeks. Ødegaard costs £6.8m, is 19.9% owned and has 29 points from 377 minutes; his corresponding forecasts are 4.4 and 28.3. Dewsbury-Hall preserves the Arsenal option, but the 3.1-point eight-gameweek gap alone does not pay for a hit to sell Ødegaard. Everton's tougher following fixtures apply here too.

Captaincy can change the Saka decision

Bruno Fernandes leads the GW6 projections at 6.4 against Tottenham at home. At £11.9m and 38.2% owned, he has 31 points from 450 minutes. He is my captain if already owned, with Saka the leading alternative at 5.9.

That matters to the paired comparison: if you would captain Saka, add the extra captain points before deciding that Gabriel and Mbeumo wins for your squad. The table does not include them.

Haaland projects 4.7 away to Liverpool. He costs £15.6m, is 74.0% owned and has 39 points from 450 minutes. Moving the armband away from him this week does not require selling him. Fernandes’ advantage over Saka is narrow, so buying Fernandes for a hit just to captain him is hard to justify on GW6 alone.

Availability to check before making transfers

On the morning of 9 October, FPL still lists Palmer with a muscular injury, João Pedro with a knee injury and Rice with an unspecified injury, each at 75% chance of playing. Those are current FPL flags, not confirmation of Saturday's line-ups. Chelsea previously hoped João Pedro would return against Bournemouth, but that earlier expectation does not confirm his availability now.

Check the final club updates and the live projections before committing transfers. If an absence leaves you unable to field eleven, fixing that takes priority over choosing between two closely matched pairs.

GW6 questions

Should I sell an Arsenal player just to fit Saka?

Only if the whole set of moves improves your team after any transfer deductions. A good home fixture does not automatically make a forced reshuffle worthwhile.

What would change the Gabriel and Mbeumo preference?

Captaincy, team news, your available budget, club limits or either player spending weeks on your bench. Later fixtures can also change before the eight-gameweek window ends.

Test both combinations against your own squad in the free FPL team planner. Choose the pair that fits your starting eleven and captaincy plan, then leave a healthy team alone when the gain is too small to pay for.