Fantasy Football: how do you replace the injured Andrei Arshavin?

Almost 40 per cent of Telegraph Fantasy Football managers have invested in the Russian superstar, and all of them are certain to have shared Wenger's frustration at coach Guus Hiddink's handling of the prized asset. Arshavin (TFF Rating: £5.5m) was already nursing a groin injury in the build up to Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Wales at the Millennium Stadium, but he still played a full 90 minutes in the Eastern European powerhouses' comfortable 3-1 win. “He should not have played,” said Wenger. “He will be out for Wednesday and certainly Wigan. He had a groin problem which I took him out after Manchester United. He should not have played. You can say a lot, but it doesn't do a lot. The French players came back last night and are ok.” The Gunners certainly missed their star man at Manchester City where they fell to a heavy 4-2 defeat, proving his worth to both Wenger and TFF managers alike. So, what now? Well there are several ways to go Keep him in: the beauty of TFF is that one or two weeks without Arshavin won't harm your totals too much. Hold your nerve and the pint-sized predator is sure to make up the missing points over season - and it won't cost you a transfer. Go like-for-like: Arshavin's Arsenal colleague Cesc Fabregas is back from injury and raring to go, and at £5.0m you'll be left with half a mill' in the bank to play with. Dirk Kuyt (£5.3m) represents another option, although he is unlikely to bag as many points. Trade down and ride out the injury: the most sensible path to travel. Buy an in-form cheapie like Aaron Lennon (£3.7m), keep the cash in the bank and buy back Arshavin when his groin heals. It'll cost you two transfers but you won't miss out on those all-important Andrei points.

Source: Telegraph