With Saliba injured and Gabriel at £8.0m, who are the best options to target? Discover our ranked guide to the best Arsenal defenders in FPL 2026/27.
Ranking the Best Arsenal Defenders to Buy in FPL 2026/27
With season soon upon us, Arsenal defenders have naturally been drawing quite the buzz. However, with injuries to Saliba and Timber hanging over them, it has made predicting the remining spots pretty tricky. Not least considering the potential of signing yet another defender.
1. David Raya – £6.0m – 31% owned
If you want the safest possible route into the Arsenal defence, it’s difficult to look past David Raya.
At £6.0m, Raya is considerably cheaper than Arsenal’s £8.0m Gabriel, while offering something arguably even more valuable than the rest of the defenders: complete certainty over his starting position.
Raya was the highest-scoring goalkeeper in FPL last season, finishing around 20 points clear of Caoimhín Kelleher, and he did it behind a defence that is once again expected to be one of the best in the league.
That combination makes Raya about as close to a set-and-forget goalkeeper as you can get.
The beauty of selecting Raya is that managers can potentially forget about the goalkeeper position altogether. Rather than spending transfers chasing fixtures or rotating cheap goalkeepers throughout the season, you can simply stick Raya between the posts and concentrate your transfers elsewhere.
At 31% ownership, he’s already extremely popular, but there’s a very good reason for that.
Verdict: The safest Arsenal defensive asset and arguably the best set-and-forget goalkeeper in FPL.
2. Christian Mosquera – £5.5m – 15.2% owned
There is one very important caveat to putting Mosquera this high: Arsenal must not sign another centre-back.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with defenders such as Ezri Konsa, and another arrival could significantly damage Mosquera’s prospects of starting regularly.
For now, however, he looks like the second-best Arsenal defensive asset.
One of the biggest reasons is his DefCon potential. Mosquera averaged similar DefCon output as Gabriel last season, with 8.7 per 90 compared to Gabriel’s 9.1 per 90. which is particularly impressive given the premium price attached to his teammate.
His position is also a major positive. As a centre-back, he’s naturally involved in clearances, blocks and interceptions, illustrating a sustainable route to those DefCons as well.
At just £5.5m, that combination is extremely appealing.
The problem is that his price only makes sense if he’s nailed. If Arsenal bring in another centre-back who threatens his place, he could quickly fall down these rankings.
Verdict: The standout £5.5m option if Arsenal make no further additions at centre-back. Keep an eye on the transfer news.
3. Gabriel Magalhães – £8.0m – 26.6% owned
Gabriel has seen his price rise significantly, and that has understandably resulted in a sizeable drop in ownership.
But even at £8.0m, he’s still an excellent FPL asset.
Three goals and five assists last season tell only part of the story. Gabriel also finished third among all players in the league for points and indeed bonus points, demonstrating just how well his all-round profile translates into FPL scoring.
Then there’s the obvious factor: How nailed he is.
All the other defenders have something threatening their minutes: White – Timber, Mosquera – New Signing, Calafiori – Hincapie. Gabriel therefore has the safest standalone value.
He’s no longer the obvious bargain he once was, but if you have the budget, there’s still a very strong case for paying the premium.
Verdict: Expensive, but still one of the best defenders in the game. Particularly appealing if you expect Arsenal to dominate the clean-sheet charts again.
4. Riccardo Calafiori – £5.5m – 17% owned
Calafiori is perhaps the most difficult of Arsenal’s defensive starters to completely trust.
As things stand, he’s arguably the least nailed member of the back four that’s expected to start Gameweek 1. If Timber’s return was completely straightforward and was months away instead, Calafiori would probably sit behind Ben White in these rankings.
However, Timber’s exact return date is casting doubt over White’s long term potential.
Calafiori does also offer something that makes him particularly interesting from an FPL perspective: attacking upside.
Arteta has shown a willingness to use him aggressively, with the Italian capable of moving forward and getting involved in Arsenal’s attacking phases rather than simply sitting deep.
That gives him a little more upside than a traditional centre-back, while the strength of Arsenal’s defence means he doesn’t necessarily need huge attacking numbers to justify £5.5m.
The question is simply whether he can hold his place once everyone is fit. As he was brought off early in their most recent pre-season game for Hincapie. Who will likely eat into his minutes throughout the season.
Verdict: A tempting £5.5m option with attacking upside, but his minutes remain less secure than Mosquera’s.
5. Ben White – £5.5m – 0.6% owned
Ben White’s situation has changed considerably with Arteta confirming that Timber is “still weeks away” from returning.
That wording is particularly interesting. The use of “still” rather than something more optimistic like “only” weeks away suggests Timber’s absence could potentially extend beyond the opening few Gameweeks.
If that’s the case, White looks like a very strong candidate to start the season at right-back.
And at just £5.5m, that’s worth paying attention to.
White has already demonstrated that he can contribute attacking returns from full-back, and Arsenal’s defensive strength gives him an extremely high floor even if the attacking numbers don’t arrive immediately.
The obvious concern is what happens when Timber returns. Unlike Raya or Gabriel, White doesn’t have the same level of long-term security.
But at 0.6% ownership, he doesn’t need to do much to become an interesting differential.
Verdict: One of the best ultra-differential Arsenal picks. If Timber’s absence extends, White could become a genuine differential in otherwise highly owned defence. A good option if you think Timber could be out for a while and don’t trust Calafiori’s minutes.
Final Verdict
Raya is the safe option. He is nailed, has an elite defence in front of him and can potentially be left in your team for the entire season.
Gabriel is the premium option. He’s expensive, but combines clean-sheet potential with attacking returns, bonus points and DefCon upside. Similar to Raya, he can also be a set and forget option thanks to how nailed he is.
Then there’s the £5.5m market, where Mosquera, Calafiori and White all offer significant potential but come with varying degrees of uncertainty over their minutes.
For now, Mosquera is the standout £5.5m option, but that could change very quickly if Arsenal sign another centre-back.
If you’re looking for security, Raya is the obvious choice. If you want maximum upside and have the money, Gabriel remains an elite option.
And if you’re willing to take a little more risk, the £5.5m options could offer some of the best value in the entire Arsenal squad.
For once, there is actually some serious decision making to be done in terms of Arsenal defenders.
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