Photo: Ed g2s / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Croatian Ivan Peula topped the Arsenal fans' Fantasy Premier League league in 2025/26, finishing third in the worldwide overall rankings with 2,536 points across 38 Gameweeks with his side 'Team Peki' — just 44 points behind world champion Erik Ibsen.
"I was really happy to win the Arsenal fans' league – I've supported the club all my life, so it means a lot to me," Peula said. "I never thought I could win the Arsenal fans' league or finish so high in the world rankings."
Peula relied on Arsenal assets Gabriel and Bukayo Saka as frequent captain picks, supplemented by Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk. A final-Gameweek armband call on Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United delivered a 24-point haul in GW38.
The Croatian's route to the top was gradual. After five Gameweeks he sat around 1.8 million in the overall rankings, climbing into the top 1,000 by Gameweek 21. A key decision came in Gameweek 19, when he brought Gabriel back against Aston Villa immediately after the defender's return from injury — a move many managers avoided.
"A lot of managers hesitated to bring him back in the following Gameweek to see how his recovery would go, but I brought him in against Aston Villa – he scored and also earned clean sheet points as he was substituted before Villa scored," Peula explained.
He held Gabriel, Declan Rice and David Raya for most of the season and did not take a single additional transfer for a four-point hit all year. His first Triple Captain and Free Hit chips misfired — the first Triple Captain returned only two points — but his second Triple Captain, second Free Hit and both Bench Boosts all contributed to his rise.
Peula also saved his second Wildcard until the final Gameweek, a gamble he credited as central to his end-of-season position. "The points I scored in GW38 were crucial to my final position," he said.
It was his ninth FPL season since joining in 2017/18, and the first in which he recorded a notable result. He also won several private mini-leagues, including a ten-friend league that has run since he began playing.
FPL managers have until Friday, August 21 at 6:30pm to confirm their Gameweek 1 squads, 90 minutes before Arsenal open the 2026/27 Premier League season against Coventry City at Emirates Stadium.