This article is part of our FPL Roundup series.
Gameweek 5 of the Premier League season proved to be somewhat of an offensive showcase, as all five of Saturday's matches featured at least three goals scored by the winning teams, and Sunday's four matches included two such victories as well. That multitude of goals offers much for fantasy owners to digest, and one of the more interesting items in that regard involves Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez.
Since arriving in England, the energetic attacker has been deemed a midfielder in many fantasy formats, making his 29 goals over the previous two seasons particularly impactful. While that position designation remains the same, Alexis has actually made all his starts at center forward this term.
Initially, it seemed teammate Olivier Giroud's late return to training following this summer's Euros, as well as Arsenal's lack of alternative options, served as the reason for Alexis leading the line. However, since signing Lucas Perez and welcoming Giroud back to the fold, the Chilean has maintained his spot atop the Gunners' attack, notching three goals and an assist in four league starts.
That tally includes his brace at Hull over the weekend, when he also missed a penalty kick, but fueled an Arsenal attack that's now scored 12 times. Only Manchester City has managed more, illustrating the upside associated with Alexis' increasingly advanced alignment. Although he's proven plenty capable of scoring from wide areas, thus explaining why he's the Premiership's most expensive fantasy midfielder (£11.0m), Alexis' ceiling could climb even higher if he continues playing through the middle. In doing so, he becomes an even more obvious target for assist ace Mesut Ozil, and his constant movement opens more space for teammates all the while.
Such fluidity has helped both Theo Walcott (two goals and two assists) and Alex Iwobi (three assists) start the season strongly, so it's reasonable to think Alexis' impact will override the unconventionality for his central spell to persist for the time being.
Another attacker who's enjoyed a new opportunity is Manchester City's Kelechi Iheanacho.
With star striker Sergio Aguero suspended, Iheanacho has started the Citizens' past two league games, culminating in a goal and an assist from both outings. In fact, through just 167 minutes across all competitions this season, Iheanacho has already racked up three goals and three assists. This comes after he scored eight times in just seven league starts last term, evidencing why manager Pep Guardiola was open to offload Wilfried Bony this summer.
At 19 years old, Iheanacho is a player packed with obvious potential, yet spearheading City's vaunted attack has not proven too big a task for him. It's been quite the opposite, actually, as Iheanacho has relished the brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling surrounding him, which has led to a league-leading three goal per game average.
With little drop-off from Aguero's absence, the Citizens have maintained their perfect start, and Iheanacho has vaulted into the top five among fantasy strikers thus far. While Aguero is eligible to return to the lineup for Saturday's game against Swansea, the young Nigerian has certainly staked his claim for minutes alongside the Argentine.
Even if Guardiola sticks to his one-striker system, Aguero's injury history suggests Iheanacho could find another opening to the starting XI sooner or later, and fantasy owners should not hesitate to pick him up if that transpires.
Following a jump from 12th place to seventh in the final standings after appointing Slaven Bilic at the start of last season, many expected West Ham to kick on as they moved into London's Olympic Stadium this term.
However, to this point in the campaign, the early returns have not been good. Along with failing to qualify for the Europa League for a second straight year, West Ham currently sit in 18th place, with just three points from their first five Premiership matches.
Although having their magnificent attacking trio of Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio back fully fit and firing should help, West Ham's defensive issues have been their downfall, and Saturday's 4-2 loss to West Brom was a clear reminder of this.
Not only did the Hammers ship four goals to a Tony Pulis-managed side, but they also leaked four at home the week prior when they lost to Watford. To the Hornets' credit, they beat Manchester United over the weekend and currently sit a surprising seventh in the standings, but West Ham's defensive deficiencies seem to be a growing cause for concern.
Only one team has conceded more than their 13 goals allowed and Bilic's current options at the back make for an unfamiliar unit. Without the talents of injured left back Aaron Cresswell, Bilic has been forced to fast track summer signing Arthur Masuaku to his first team. The 22-year-old looks a promising player, but his two handballs ultimately were responsible for allowing a penalty goal in Saturday's defeat.
Besides Masuaku, the likes of fellow youngster Sam Byram and offseason additions Havard Nordveit and Alvaro Arbeloa are in competition for the right back spot, since Michail is clearly more effective in attack, while James Collins, Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna vie for duties at center half. Combined, this leaves three of West Ham's four starting defensive positions relatively in flux, which is not a state that's conducive to preventing goals.
Although having three of their next four games at home should aid in improving their form, West Ham will need to sort out its defense before expectations can be elevated again.
