The Real Arsenal 4-2-3-1

Introduction

OBSERVE! The SI forum doesn't allow for more than 4 images in one post, so it will be pretty text-heavy. For a better overview and easier on the eyes, read this article on my blog instead: http://www.mantralux.com/the-real-arsenal-4-2-3-1/

New year and new season – it’s time to once again try and analyse the real Arsenal tactic, and figure out how to implement it into Football Manager so it:

This is done by comparing real life match analysis with the in game match analysis tool, tweaking every position until they correspond to each other. When they match, we start comparing the 3D match engine with real life videos of games played, to see if it looks convincing. Lastly, we play longer saves to see how players performances and ratings stack up. If they perform too different to reality, we either alter their positions/individual instructions slightly, or we alter them in the database.

The goal is to create the most realistic Arsenal experience in Football Manager 2011 possible, and this article is the first in a series of Arsenal-centric puzzle pieces that will eventually form the massive Arsenal Simulation Compendium – the most in-depth simulation guide for playing a realistic Arsenal save in Football Manager.

Differences From Last Year’s 4-3-3

At the beginning of last season, Arsene Wenger moved away from his trusted 4-4-2 he’d been using and tweaking since the late 90′s. This was a tactic that had won him two doubles, and had allowed his team to go unbeaten for 49 domestic games and coming within 20 minutes of winning the club’s first ever Champions League trophy. The most important key to the success of Wenger’s 4-4-2 was the wide forward positions that allowed wingers to cut inside and play as high (or, at times, higher) up the pitch than the two central forwards. Players like Overmars, Ljungberg and Pires thrived in these positions.

After the 2008/2009 season, Wenger decided to try something new. One reason was to finally conquer Europe, where Wenger tried a more exotic 4-5-1 to adapt more to continental tactics. Another reason was to create more freedom for Cesc Fabregas, letting him roam more without compromising on the numbers in midfield.

He took the best elements from the trusted 4-4-2 -> positional fluidity, inside cutting wide forwards, highly attacking full backs and a clever possession-based short passing approach, and created a 4-3-3 that worked quite well at first. The players definitely enjoyed it more, as it allowed them greater creative freedom and more passing options.

This first version of the 4-3-3 had a fairly flat midfield, with Song as the only defensive-minded midfielder in the middle, while Cesc and Diaby where attacking midfielders. Cesc started out in the right MC slot and was the most attack-minded. Diaby started out in the left MC slot and was the link between Song and Cesc – creating a skewed midfield.

This tactic had a couple of problems, especially defensive ones. The defensive line pushed very high up, due to the full backs replacing wingers on the flanks when they cut inside, and also due to our defenders not being physically blessed enough to fully control opposition players further down the pitch. Instead, they tried pressing high to reduce any threats early on.

You can view the analysis of last years 4-3-3 here.

This year, Wenger has tweaked his 4-3-3 into a 4-2-3-1, and it now features a couple of key differences to the previous tactic:

These changes (and some good signings for once) makes this years Arsenal formation a little bit more rigid, and as a result; better defensively.

Match Analysis Comparisons

So here is the first step; making sure the players move and behave like in reality, and the best way to do this is by comparing real match analytics with the in-game ones.

New for this season is that instead of showing you three example games for each player, I’ve combined the first ten Premier League games of the season and superimposed each and every position so you have a good overview of how they move over a prolonged period. I’ve also included both passing arrows and heatmaps that shows activity percentage.

Gael Clichy & Bacary Sagna (WBL & WBR)

True wing backs, covering the whole span of the flanks. Defending, attacking, assisting, crossing…the wing backs have a key role in the Arsenal 4-2-3-1.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/dl.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/dr.jpg

The biggest difference between the two is that Sagna gets further up the field. Walcott covers a lot of area on the entire right flank (see below), and also moves into central positions, so the reason for Sagna being further up the field is because he’s replacing and overlapping Walcott throughout the game. On the left, Arshavin is more of a classic AML/AMLC, so the left flank is slightly more cautious.

Thomas Vermaelen & Laurent Koscielny (DLC & DRC)

No matter who is playing in central defence, there is a difference between the DLC and the DRC positions. The DLC position is the more advanced one, pushing forward and trying to press higher up, while the DRC position is covering behind him. Normally this behaviour would be controlled by the type of player in the position, but as evidenced by the chalkboards (they take both Vermaelen and Koscielny into account for the DLC slot), it’s purely position based.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/dlc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/drc.jpg

When the wing backs push up, the central defenders stretch wide to cover both the DC and DL/R positions. Koscielny (DRC) is spending almost 20% in Sagna’s defensive space (DR/WBR), and Vermaelen (DLC) is spending around 10% in Clichy’s defensive space (DL/WBL).

The DRC position is better suited for slower and taller players (Koscielny, Squillaci), while the DLC position is better for short, quick and more creative players (Vermaelen being the only one in the squad fitting this description at the moment).

I also have to mention the Djorou-Squillaci partnership – to be honest I think this duo provides more stability than the Vermaelen-Koscielny partnership. Squillaci is a traditional no-nonsense defender, and Djorou has the physical traits of a bull. Sure he’s not the quickest defender, but this partnership has led to less confusion in the backline.

Jack Wilshere & Alex Song (MLC & MRC)

It’s still unclear whether or not Jack Wilshere is regarded as a first team regular. Diaby is still highly regarded by Wenger, and Denilson has been getting some action lately…but apart from Wilshere, Denilson and Diaby, there aren’t many players able to convincingly play in that MLC position.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/mlc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/mrc.jpg

Song is still more of a classic defensive midfielder, even though he constantly travels up the field.

Song touches the ball more than Wilshere (Wilshere only does 2/3 of the average amount of passes as Song), and is more compact in the middle. These two positions do swap around a lot with each other, filling in when needed. More about this in the ‘Connections to Total Football’ section below.

Andrey Arshavin & Theo Walcott (AML & AMR)

As previously mentioned, Walcott covers more ground, due to his tenacious nature. In these chalkboards you can clearly see how the wide forward positions work – the wide forwards start from an AML/R position, but moves up and cut inside to become central forwards. This behaviour is also tactically encouraged by having a “false 9″ – a central striker that drops down to a FC position to draw central defenders from their positions.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/aml.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/amr.jpg

In FM terms, the players usually operate somewhere between the AML/R and AMLC/RC positions, but push forward and generally play as high (or higher) up as the FC.

Walcott, or the AMR slot, is more of a traditional forward. This is true even if Nasri is playing in this position. Arshavin, or the AML slot, is not as high up the pitch.

Also worth noting is that Walcott is seeking a more central position this year. He’s moving into channels and often end up in a FC position, forcing the actual FC to replace Walcott on the right flank. We could mimic this behaviour through the swap instruction. Once again there is more info about this in the ‘Connections to Total Football’ section below.

Cesc Fabregas & Robin Van Persie / Marouane Chamakh (AMC & FC)

This year, Cesc has been moved from a MRC position to an AMC position, probably because he had such an impact at the end of last season when he started playing in a more advanced role. The AMC position enables him to roam around, and as you can see in the chalkboard, he is the player with the widest cover of the field, playing everywhere from DMC to AMR to AML to AMC.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/amc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/fc.jpg

Cesc just has a 100% free role, and the key to making this work is that other players in the team replace his position if he moves into theirs. That’s why Song and Wilshere often end up close to goal – it’s usually because Cesc has come deep to get the ball, so either Song or Wilshere has replaced Cesc in the AMC slot to keep the structure of the formation intact. Once again an attribute of total football.

Robin Van Persie and Marouane Chamakh are very similar in their movements, and the latter has definitely been brought in to provide a mirror replacement for the former. Van Persie and the FC position is so important for Wenger’s tactic to work, as the false 9 role is designed to allow for the wide forwards to push up and offer attacking options at the same level as the FC.

In essence, the AMC and FC play fairly level in terms of position on the pitch, forming what could be perceived as an attacking bank of four in a 4-2-4.

Another interesting thing to note is how the FC position follows the same pattern as the wide forwards – on the left side the position is more withdrawn and on the right side it’s more advanced. A clear indication that the FC covers for the AML/R positions when they cut inside.

Formation

Now that we have all the individual positions analysed, the Arsenal tactic can be described as many things. It can easily be a 4-5-1, 4-2-4, 4-2-3-1, 4-2-1-3, or even some more exotic shapes like 2-4-1-3 or 3-3-1-3. But if we just take the raw data and position the players in their average positions, the formation looks like this:

It’s a tie between a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-2-1-3, but for simplicity’s sake we’ll just call it a 4-2-3-1.

Some interesting things to note: all the sideways motion of the central players (MC’s and FC) should be familiar for anyone who has watched Arsenal the last 10 years or so – those movements are causing the “pass the ball into goal” effect so often displayed on bad days.

Core Of The Formation

When trying to emulate a real life tactic, I usually try to figure out the core of a formation to better understand it. The “core” are the players who makes the most passes in the game. Most football teams today are broadly divided into two groups – the distributors and the receivers – and it’s usually balanced evenly (5-5).

To figure out the core, we take a look at where the most frequent passes are made, and from which positions. This is important for two reasons, and by figuring out where most of the passes come from, we can:

In the Arsenal 4-2-3-1, most passes come from Clichy, Sagna, Song, Wilshere and Cesc, and if we take a look at it like this…

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/corefive.jpg

…we see that at the core, Arsenal are distributing passes from a fairly flat midfield five, sacrificing some defensive stability by pushing the full backs up to form a 2-4-1-3 at times. The reasoning behind it is to have the benefits of a 5-man midfield – being able to outnumber the opposition in midfield increases your possession…but also have the benefits of a 3-man forward line – creating triangles and balancing the numbers in attack vs defence.

The way it works is that by distributing passes from a width of a 5-man midfield, Arsenal are able to bring versatility to their passing. The full backs offer more direct passing and one-two’s on the flanks, and the midfield can switch play from flank to flank and serve through balls for the front three.

For comparison purposes, we can take a look what the core of Manchester City looks like:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/mancity-passing.jpg

A completely different approach. Arsenal are trying to distribute the bulk of their passes through width, while Man City are trying to distribute their passes from a defensive center. More about the Man City tactic in another article, coming soon.

Possession Much?

Another thing we have to do in order to re-create Arsenal’s style of play in FM is to figure out how and why Arsenal have so much ball possession. There are a couple of reasons:

The first point is very interesting to analyse. If we draw lines between every players short pass options, we get a whole lot of triangles:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/triangles.jpg

By creating lines like this, we can see why the core have the most passes: they have the most options available, both to receive and distribute. The midfield trio all have at least 6 short passing options at any given time, and that makes it easier for them to distribute passes. It also allows them to move more freely, since even if one midfielder is out of position, the other midfielders have at least 5 clear options.

Now the most important thing to note here is that the default 11.1 database will NOT get you realistic possession and pass completion results. The reason is that pass completion and possession are mainly controlled by two attributes: passing and decision. Both of them have to be pretty high to get the 60/40 possession and 85% completion rate results we need to make it realistic. So if you want realistic results; apply the DS2 database, which is a custom Arsenal database. More details here.

To make this work in FM, we need to make sure the players in the database have good enough Off The Ball, Passing, Anticipation, Decision and Position attributes, and we also need to set the passing to short across the board.

So on average, Arsenal has 60% possession, 86.8% pass completion rate and 494 passes per game. We won’t get that amount of passes per game in FM2011, due to it counting passes slightly different than the Guardian Chalkboards, but with the custom DS2 database you should definitely come close to the 60/40 possession and 86% pass completion rate.

Passing The Ball Into The Net

If we analyze how and when Arsenal tends to shoot, we see that few long shots are attempted. Usually a team would have at least a 50/50 distribution between shots from outside and inside the box.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/shots-arrows.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/shots-heatmap.jpg

In Arsenal’s case it’s a 62.5% distribution in favour of shots made from inside the box. Last year this distribution was close to 70/30, so apparently the team has tried bringing some versatility to the shooting department in the 2010/2011 season. They still prefer to shoot closer to goal though.

Learning from these shooting statistics, it’s clear that Arsenal are lacking an option in midfield that can take some shots at goal if it’s too crowded in the box. Someone like Essien/Lampard/Gerrard that will add one more dimension to the attacking play. Other than that it’s all a matter of making it count when you do have a shot at goal, something Arsenal seem to lack a little at the moment.

Connections to Total Football

The philosophy behind total football is to have a 100% fluid team. That’s the simple explanation. The more detailed explanation is that in total football, every player is expected to make positional decisions on his own, roaming into attacking or defensive positions as he wish.

However, in total football it’s extremely important to keep the structure of the formation intact as well. So whenever a player decides to roam, another player has to fill that position to keep the structure intact. Otherwise there would just be 10 forwards on the pitch, and this actually happened at times with the 1974 Holland team (there are videos on Youtube showing the team starting attacks with 8 players lunging forward).

Wenger has always been interested in total football, and has been using parts of the philosophy in all his tactics – most notably in the wide forward positions. Last year he experimented with a ‘floating core’, where almost half the team had license to roam, and the other half rigid.

This year he has abandoned the floating/solid core idea and gone for another approach that is more vague. Fabregas is the most obvious example of a player with full roaming instructions. He comes deep to get balls, he goes wide, he often ends up in FC positions, etc. The connection to total football here is that Wilshere and Song both covers for Fabregas to keep the formation intact, so when Cesc comes deep to get the ball, one of the midfielders will push up to the AMC slot.

This makes the midfield trio very fluid, and as evidenced by the season so far, both Song and Wilshere are frequently ending up in advanced positions. And when they do, you’ll often find Cesc outside the penalty area, arriving from a deeper position.

The midfield trio aren’t the only players exercising this behaviour though. Theo Walcott has always said he regards himself as a striker, and this year Wenger has allowed him freedom to seek a central position throughout games. And to keep the structure intact, the FC (either Van Persie or Chamakh) fills that position.

Those two examples happen lots of times, but the whole team are instructed to fill position and keep the structure if someone ventures forward. The latest example is when Clichy lunged forward in the Man City game – Arshavin immediately fell back to the DL slot.

In FM we’ll have to emulate this behaviour by swapping instructions. The new match engine actually is more intelligent – players WILL replace each other in extreme situations, but not as much as in reality of course.

Using in FM: Formation

Finally it’s time to fire up the game and start transferring what we learned from all those statistics and notes. The formation is pretty straightforward:

Wing backs are pushed up a notch to emulate their real life behaviour of being very attacking. As previously mentioned, they are slightly different, but not enough to push Clichy back to a more traditional DL position.

Central defenders are in traditional positions.

The holding midfielders are also in traditional 4-2-3-1 positions, and one might argue that Song should be placed in the absolute MC slot, as he does play very central…but placing him there created some negative behaviours in the match engine, so he’s stuck in the MRC slot.

Wide forwards start out from wide positions, but cut inside and usually occupy the AML/RC slots. I had some issues with getting the AMR slot to behave as intended for a while, and I even tried putting him in the AMRC slot instead…but I finally got him right, and the AMR slot is the correct one.

It is essentially just a classic 4-2-3-1 in FM terms, with full backs pushed up to wing backs, and AML/R’s instead of AML/RC’s. I don’t really know why a standard 4-2-3-1 in FM has AML/RC’s instead of AML/R’s, usually when teams play a 4-2-3-1 they use wide forwards/wingers.

Using in FM: Team Instructions

Here’s just an explanation of the general team instructions. For individual instructions questions, check the tactic in-game and post a question in the commentary section at the bottom of this page.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/instructions.jpg

Starting from the top: very fluid philosophy, as all players are expected to perform both attacking and defensive duties. Control as a starting strategy, as that’s what possession football is all about: control.

Passing is shorter, as Arsenal play a short passing game. Creative freedom had to be pulled down to default, as the higher setting just made all players ignore much of the tactical instructions. Arsenal plays a pretty good pressing game this year, so closing down is set to ‘press more’.

Tackling is just default, or ‘normal’. Marking is always zonal, Wenger has always said that he don’t believe in man marking anyone, even though Song clearly did man mark Messi at The Emirates.

Crossing is set to drill, mostly because the floating ones are too floating. It didn’t look realistic. Roaming is set to more – the whole team roams around constantly throughout matches.

Defensive line was higher last year, but fairly normal now. The introduction of more ‘traditional’ centre backs like Koscielny and Squillaci has naturally pulled down the defensive line slightly, and gives it more stability.

Even though Arsenal play pretty wide at times, I struggled with getting a realistic experience in the 3D match engine with a wide instruction….so I narrowed it down and now it looks much better.

Some might argue that since Arsenal are playing a probing passing game, they should be set to a pretty slow passing tempo, but they do in fact pass the ball around quickly. Watching Arsenal games shows you that they rarely dwell on the ball, but rather try to move it around the team swiftly and probingly at the same time.

Focus passing was set to through the middle in the first versions of the tactic, but the ball possession percentage took a big hit, so it’s now mixed.

No counter attack and no offside trap. The team do counter attack many times in real life, but counter attack in FM terms means lots of long balls to lone strikers, which isn’t really Arsenal.

Final Result: How close did we get?

As with every tactic in the world, there are positives and negatives, and I’m fairly sure I’ve captured the most important traits of both:

Some things were impossible to do, like the width of the central defenders (they play very wide when Arsenal is in possession), the interaction between Song and the defensive line, etc…but overall I must say that this tactic will get you as close as possible to the real Arsenal 4-2-3-1.

Limitations Of The Game

Obviously there are limitations in trying to emulate reality through a game. Some behaviours just won’t be possible to reproduce, due to database, match engine or just game functionality limitations.

In FM2010 there was an issue with letting central defenders burst forward, as Arsenal’s defenders did during last season. Luckily for us, they don’t do this anymore, at least not as frequent as before, so this won’t be a major issue.

There are also some limitations when it comes to positioning – I’d like to place some players in between the pre-determined positions, and at times FM can feel restricted in this area. I’d like for Song to drop down to a third central defender when Vermaelen or Koscielny are out wide covering for the full backs, but so far I haven’t been able to create this behaviour.

But the biggest limitation is the one dealing with positional fluidity. The current match engine can’t cope well with fully free roles, which is a key feature of the real 4-2-3-1.

Final Result: Player Stats Comparisons

Finally, the best evidence of the tactic emulating real life behaviour is to compare match stats side by side. Keep in mind that the real chalkboards draw a dot to the receiver as well as the distributor, so some of the real chalkboards will seem ‘wider’ than the in-game ones.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-dl.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-dr.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-dlc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-drc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-mlc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-mrc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-aml.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-amr.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-amc.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1897235/fm/mantraluxblog/2010-arsenal-tactic/comp-fc.jpg

The most obvious problems are getting the midfield trio to play as wide as they do in real life, and to get the FC to occupy the flanks as frequently as he should, but it’s as close as it’s going to get.

Final Words

I just have to mention a couple of things. Last tactic I made received an awesome response from the FM community, and I’m very thankful for all the positive comments I’ve received. This time I’ve tried to put in ten times the effort, and I hope it shows. Personally, I think this article is light years above the old one, and I’m very happy with the result.

Also, I’d like to thank Joss, who helped me out more than he thinks. It was completely priceless having someone to look through the work, test the tactic and receive feedback from. And having such a person to bounce ideas with made me work harder as well. We’ve had plenty of discussions on Twitter during the last month, so thanks Joss for all your input!

Frequently Asked Questions

• I can’t score, what am I doing wrong?

You have to give the team some time to become fluid with the formation, and if you’re struggling for goals I would suggest playing the FC and AMR/L’s that are in the best form and have the best morale. When the team have momentum you can go back to the normal first choice players.

• I’m conceding lots of goals, what am I doing wrong?

Unfortunately this is true in reality as well. Arsenal have had instability at the back since the iron curtain of Seaman-Winterburn-Keown-Adams-Dixon was dissolved. And just as in reality you will concede goals, especially since the goalkeepers at the club just aren’t good enough for top flight football at the moment. However, the current backline will become very good, so buying a good goalkeeper in the January transfer window could help you concede less.

• I’m losing/can’t keep possession/let in late goals, what’s wrong?

There are a couple of tricks I do frequently to alter a match without messing with the core tactic. First one is pulling the wing backs down to full back positions, without altering anything else. This makes the tactic slightly more stable, and is a good trick if you want to protect a lead. Another trick is to raise tackling to hard – a good approach in hard away games.

And the final one, my favourite: lower ALL players’ creative freedom to zero. This will make them stick more to the gameplan, which can be absolutely vital in some games. I usually do this if I notice that our pass completion is bad (below 77-78%), or if it’s just not “working” on the pitch.

• I don’t know what kind of players I should sign?

In the upcoming Arsenal Simulation Compendium Deux, there will be a whole section dedicated to transfer suggestions, with realism scores and so on. But in the meantime, here are a couple of somewhat realistic suggestions;

Rene Adler (GK), Mark Schwarzer (GK), Debuchy (DR), Van Der Wiel (DR), Etienne Capoue (DM), Moussa Sissoko (DM), N’Zonzi (DM), Eden Hazard (AM), etc…

• Do I need the database/what is it for?

You don’t need the database, but without it you won’t get realistic results when it comes to possession and pass completion. The database also has changing home/away/third kits every year, altered attributes, improved player looks, correct competition names, etc.

• Why is AMR set to swap with the FC?

Both Theo and Nasri does this in real life when playing in that AMR position, especially Theo. Many times during games he drifts in towards the FC position, and the FC comes out to cover and keep the structure intact. Read more about the philosophy behind the swap instructions in the ‘Connections to Total Football’ section in the article above.

Downloads

Arsenal 4-2-3-1 | v1.02

DS2 Database | v1.00

Either click directly on the links, or right-click and choose ‘Save As…’

Instructions: the tactic is put into User/Documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2011/tactics, and the database is put into User/Documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2011/editor data – you apply it by starting a new game and choosing it in the database dialogue.

very impressive opening post mate

Tactic looks interesting but I don't see the attraction of using a custom database just to make the default squad as good as possible..

Very informative indeed, not sure if I want to try it after reading that you get lots of possession but defence struggles and Gunners pass into goal as IRL...

Tactic looks interesting but I don't see the attraction of using a custom database just to make the default squad as good as possible..

It's not made to make the default squad as good as possible, it's made to properly emulate the real life statistics. The passing completion and possession rates are 60/40 and 86% in reality, and these two stats are controlled by the passing and decision attributes. SO in order to get close to realistic stats, I had to increase these attributes throughout the squad.

I've even lowered the finishing skills of most squad members to more appropriate levels, so it's not all about improving.

Very nice OP mate.enjoyerd reading it.

Will give it a try with my Arsenal save game ATM.

wow, gna check it now. Briliant OP

very interesting, well thought out. i've been trying to achieve the same thing

This looks interesting, just started at Arsenal. I am going to sit back and read now .

That was a nice read.

How about opposition instructions? Do they need to be applied?

like the idea, hope it works out well too. what might help you emulate the tactic is by looking in the database at wengers tactical stats and set up as according, as thats basically si's attempt at recreating arsenals style of play.

Just want to say...Wow....brilliant OP. You put a lot of work into it, and I absolutely love seeing that. Tactic's threads OP should be detailed like this (although this may have been overkill LOL.)

KUTGW!

This one looks pretty realistic This is after my first game with this tactic. Comfortable up 0-3...mistake by Almunia 1-3 (84th min) and a counter 2-3 (89th min).

(although this may have been overkill LOL.)

KUTGW!

Heh well if you're going to do something, do it properly. That's what my mom always say.

Do you use any shouts?

Like keep the ball or pass to feet?

Do you use any shouts?

Like keep the ball or pass to feet?

I might shout 'retain possession' if the match stats are showing less than 75% pass completion, and 'pass to feet' if it feels as if the team is playing too many long balls yes...but so far I haven't had an issue with long balls with this tactic.

I use 'get stuck in' and 'hassle opponents' often in away games where I'm losing the grip on possession....but those four shouts are basically the only ones I use. =)

Great work, really interesting thread.

nice post ill give the tactic a go but i have a couple questions, will the tactic work without the database update & how often do the wingers score?

nice post ill give the tactic a go but i have a couple questions, will the tactic work without the database update & how often do the wingers score?

Yes it will work fine with the default database, but you won't see realistic results in term of possession and especially pass completion rates. In general, the Arsenal players in the default database have low Decision attributes, which makes them lose a lot of pass completion.

Wide forwards score quite similar to reality, Arshavin is not as advanced as Walcott, and doesn't score as much.

Gave a try with my Arsenal save game and didn't manage to win a single game in 4 matches.3 loses and 1 draw.

Gave a try with my Arsenal save game and didn't manage to win a single game in 4 matches.3 loses and 1 draw.

Realism score 10/10 then.

Probably because the team isn't used to the tactics, I'm getting realistic results in my save.

wow, what a fantastic tactic, but the download page can't open.

thank you mantralux.

Giving it a go now with my Man City team...

I just got my game today, btw... hehe!

wow, what a fantastic tactic, but the download page can't open.

There is no download page, just right-click and choose 'save as' on the links. =)

Excellent opening post. Really impressive detail and analysis.

There are also some limitations when it comes to positioning – I’d like to place some players in between the pre-determined positions, and at times FM can feel restricted in this area.

[...]

But the biggest limitation is the one dealing with positional fluidity. The current match engine can’t cope well with fully free roles, which is a key feature of the real 4-2-3-1.

Definitely two of my main frustrations as well.

Thanks crouchaldinho. =)

Looks fantastic but the download doesn't work for me

Internet Explorer was not able to open this internet site

I can still download the file....using Firefox

Looks fantastic but the download doesn't work for me

Internet Explorer was not able to open this internet site

Just right-click and choose 'save as'..?

Some are having "problems" with letting in too many goals, and I just wanted to repeat what this article is about: realism. This tactic will probably not make your team invincible, it won't dominate the league for years to come, it's not exploiting weaknesses in the match engine. It's just an emulation of a real life tactic.

In my current save I've scored 30 goals in 15 matches, let in 12 goals and I'm currently 2nd in the league. Unfortunately, FM will not give you similar saves even if you start a save using the same database and pre-season set-up. So your experience could vary quite a lot from the next person, it all depends on the "mood" of the save.

If you're having horrible results, the only suggestion I would have is to start a new save.

Yeah I've been using this recently and it's just ridiculous. 8 matches played in the Premier League, won 7 and drawn 1 (with Chelsea, so even that is weird as Arsenal always lose to Chelsea), that's not realistic of Arsenal's form this season, the editor datafile you've created makes the game way too easy when you use the tactic. Arsenal's players (without modification) SHOULD allow the team to get 3rd position in the game if managed by AI, you've made them into essential super-players by increasing their technical and mental stats, it doesn't matter what tactic they play, essentially you've made them better as an over-all aspect.

So what I'll do is this; play half a season with the tactic AND the editor datafile, and I'll play half a season with the tactic alone. It is far too easy and unrealistic with the editor datafile IMO and it is possible to replicate how Arsenal play without needing to modify the players, just a lot more research and experimenting is required.

The tactic alone can be exposed in many ways in FM which is why a lot of people are conceding a lot of goals, it's due to the game not believing you are playing a 4-2-3-1, which, in real terms, you aren't, thus any 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation can just destroy this if the team do not have good control of the ball in midfield. Arsenal do have great control of the ball in midfield, so this is why mantralux has only let in 12, where as other people are conceding 2 or 3 a game, it's about controlling your midfield and constantly modifying it within certain parameters of a game, which is what Arsenal do in real life, it's what every good or even average team do. Expecting to get 60% possession by just plugging this tactic in will not work.

the editor datafile you've created makes the game way too easy when you use the tactic. Arsenal's players (without modification) SHOULD allow the team to get 3rd position in the game if managed by AI, you've made them into essential super-players by increasing their technical and mental stats

This isn't true at all. In fact, I've lowered lots of attributes to counter the benefits of the raised passing and decision stats. Most of the players have around 10 in the finishing attribute, to reflect the lack of end product in the real squad. I've lowered many CA's and PA's, so it's not only boosts.

The biggest increases I've made are passing and decisions. Rest of it is mainly very small tweaks.

And so far I haven't heard of anyone feeling the players are "super-players", on the contrary I've heard that many are letting in goals and have a hard time scoring.

You might just have had a lucky save. Of all the 30-40 saves I started when creating the tactic, I've never had any issues with "super-players".

This isn't true at all. In fact, I've lowered lots of attributes to counter the benefits of the raised passing and decision stats. Most of the players have around 10 in the finishing attribute, to reflect the lack of end product in the real squad. I've lowered many CA's and PA's, so it's not only boosts.

The biggest increases I've made are passing and decisions. Rest of it is mainly very small tweaks.

And so far I haven't heard of anyone feeling the players are "super-players", on the contrary I've heard that many are letting in goals and have a hard time scoring.

You might just have had a lucky save. Of all the 30-40 saves I started when creating the tactic, I've never had any issues with "super-players".

I'll upload a .GIF and the match file of Denilson (playing MCr, a restricted role with no through balls allowed) playing an absolute beauty of a pass (through ball) for Samir Nasri to score in the first 17 seconds against WBA, this was the first game he's played, and since then, I think he has 4 in 5, which is impressive, but not like the real Denilson in real life. I had a feeling it'd happen.

I see what stats have been reduced, RvP for example has had his free-kick rating reduced by 3, I think; but with his passing/decisions at both 18+, he's actually become a more productive player. Lowering CA's and PA's while boosting just 2 stats (and position stats) doesn't necessarily equal a "balancing" force.

I'll post more screenshots in a bit with more emphasis, but I really feel you need to give this tactic a go without modifying the database, it seems superficial to call it a good possesion-based tactic (which in my view, is a good tactic) knowing you have modified your players to play in that tactic.

Because it's "very-fluid", statistics like finishing become minute when the decision making attribute is called into action, even with finishing of 5 for somebody like RvP, he's still going to score a lot of goals in this game-save.

I'll upload a .GIF and the match file of Denilson (playing MCr, a restricted role with no through balls allowed) playing an absolute beauty of a pass (through ball) for Samir Nasri to score in the first 17 seconds against WBA, this was the first game he's played, and since then, I think he has 4 in 5, which is impressive, but not like the real Denilson in real life. I had a feeling it'd happen.

You are the first claiming it has happened. It has never happened in any of my saves. Once again, the passing and decision attributes do not control what kind of passes the player makes, only how well he does them.

If you want to avoid him doing through balls, you need to set through balls to rarely, passes to short and creative freedom to none.

I see what stats have been reduced, RvP for example has had his free-kick rating reduced by 3, I think; but with his passing/decisions at both 18+, he's actually become a more productive player. Lowering CA's and PA's while boosting just 2 stats (and position stats) doesn't necessarily equal a "balancing" force.

In my and many others saves it has, and there have been plenty of changes, not just free kicks. Passing and decision attributes are the focus of the database, they have been raised and exaggerated to emulate real life pass completion rates, no other reason. Finishing skills have been lowered to balance the domination.

I don't really know why you keep going on about it. If you feel the database/tactic is unrealistic, don't use it.

but I really feel you need to give this tactic a go without modifying the database

Listen, I've been testing the tactic out for a long time without any database modifications. I tweaked the tactic to come as close to reality as possible, before I even made one database change. When the tactic was as close as possible, I couldn't get the realistic pass completion rates I needed, no matter what I tried. So the last resort was to raise the passing and decision attributes to get more possession.

it seems superficial to call it a good possesion-based tactic

I don't call it that though. In fact, in the article it says that you won't get the possession levels with the default database, so if you want it more realistic in terms of match stats, you need the database. You will never get close to realistic match stats using the default database.

Because it's "very-fluid", statistics like finishing become minute when the decision making attribute is called into action, even with finishing of 5 for somebody like RvP, he's still going to score a lot of goals in this game-save.

No, decision is mainly a passing attribute. Decision controls what option the passer chooses. If a player has 5 in the finishing attribute, he won't score loads of goals no matter what you do - finishing controls the shot accuracy, just as passing controls the pass accuracy. Other attributes comes into play, like composure, but the main point is that RVP won't score loads of goals because his decision attribute is high. He will get a better pass completion rate though, as his passing choices are better.

The tactic has been downloaded more than 1000 times, and so far you are the only one with the problem that it's too good. I'm guessing you just had a lucky save, as your experience differs so from the rest of the feedback I've gotten on my blog and on several other fansites.

The main complaint I get is that the tactic lets in goals, which was expected.

No, decision is mainly a passing attribute. Decision controls what option the passer chooses.

Not at all, decision is not mainly a passing attribute, it's involved every time a player starts to make something, a run, a tackle, a pass etc...

Bad decision rating means he could make the wrong choice, not only the wrong pass.

Not at all, decision is not mainly a passing attribute, it's involved every time a player starts to make something, a run, a tackle, a pass etc...

Bad decision rating means he could make the wrong choice, not only the wrong pass.

Yes, but most of the decisions a player makes is passing-related. Therefore, the decision attribute is mainly a passing attribute. A player will spend most of his time on the pitch passing the ball, so he will use the decision attribute for this the most.

The decisions attribute can be defined as how good a player is at making a good decision as to what to do with or without the ball. However, I do understand what Mantralux is saying, because decisions is hugely important for a good passer of the ball. When we are looking for a midfield regista, we are all, first and foremost, looking for the 'holy' trinity of:

1) passing (indicating how well the player can pass the ball).

2) decisions (indicating how good he will be at making good decisions when he has the ball).

3) creativity (which is defined as how good a player is at recognising players in good positions to pass to).

So essentially, Higgins is right that decisions is not limited to passing, but Mantralux is right in suggesting that it is extremely important for a good passer of the ball and therefore quite strongly linked to passing. You're both right.

Higgins is right that decisions is not limited to passing

But I agree with this. I'm just saying that of all things a player does, passing is the most frequent, and therefore decision is being used mainly for passing. Even though it's used for other things as well. =)

If a player have 20 passing, 20 creativity and 1 decision, the pass completion rate will be very low. If he has 20 in all three, the pass completion rate will be much higher. The reason I know that is because I've tried everything under the sun to increase pass completion without having to alter tactics. =)

Considering there are 20 outfield players and only one ball, players will spend far less time with the ball than without the ball. So NO, passing is not the most frequent. Movement off the ball, such as running into space during attack, and positioning oneself during defense, are more frequent actions than passing. It's just that of all the technical things, passing is the most frequent.

But yes, there is no doubt that decision is a vital ability for a good passer.

Movement off the ball, such as running into space during attack, and positioning oneself during defense, are more frequent actions than passing.

I'm saying that of the things that are dependant on decision, passing is the most frequent one.

Example:

Player positioning is controlled by the position attribute. Decision doesn't play as much part here as in passing, as there are fewer options in where to position yourself (often only one or two "correct" positions to be in) compared to how many options you have when using your passing attribute.

The decision in the positioning area controls how well a decision is made about a players positioning. But positioning is controlled by several other attributes, like anticipation, etc.

People generally read too much into the attributes, giving them properties that they don't really have (like SFraser's theory about the influence attribute). It's pretty simple actually, and even though decision is a general attribute, it influences passing the most.

I'm saying that of the things that are dependant on decision, passing is the most frequent one.

Example:

Player positioning is controlled by the position attribute. Decision doesn't play as much part here as in passing, as there are fewer options in where to position yourself (often only one or two "correct" positions to be in) compared to how many options you have when using your passing attribute.

The decision in the positioning area controls how well a decision is made about a players positioning. But positioning is controlled by several other attributes, like anticipation, etc.

People generally read too much into the attributes, giving them properties that they don't really have (like SFraser's theory about the influence attribute). It's pretty simple actually, and even though decision is a general attribute, it influences passing the most.

Mental attributes are often underrated by FM players, if we talk about the ability to make a successful pass is obvious that decision has a role, but for example composure is vital too.

Then other skills are involved in a well executed pass, technique and first touch are an obliged choice in my opinion, the second could seem less obvious, but when you're under pressure if you can't control the ball quickly your chance to perform a good pass will decrease.

This isn't, I think, giving them properties they don't have, this just means that attributes are linked together and every action a player perform on the pitch is determined by more than a couple of skills, otherwise we'd make a simplification.

Decision, to follow your example, is key for an aggressive defender, with good tackling skills, who's going to tackle his direct opponent, his high aggression could force him to tackle, even in the wrong moment, if he's got good decision, his chance to do the right thing will appreciably raise.

So it influences lots of things, passing is just one of them.

So it influences lots of things, passing is just one of them.

And I'm agreeing with you. But I'm saying passing is such a big part of it, that the decision attribute is mostly used for passing. As soon as the defender makes his tackle, if he gets control of the ball he now faces a passing decision, and so on.

I performed tests on it all, I'm not just guessing. Passing and decision are the only attributes that increases pass completion averages significantly. No other attribute has any major influence on this statistic than those two.

Not only that, but the amount of successful tackles didn't drop drastically with everyone in the squad having a decision attribute of 1.

Anyways, this thread isn't about what the attributes in FM does, it's about the Arsenal tactic and database. The biggest change in the database (except the changing kits every year) is that the first team squad (+ some of the more frequent reserves) have been given higher decision and passing attributes to get closer to realistic pass completion averages.

MY FIRST GAME IN PL

WHAT IS WRONG?

Your team isn't used to the tactic yet.

Take a look at your match preparation screen it will give you a good idea how well your team is used to the tactic.

Yeah it takes a while for the squad to get used to the tactic. Did you use the default database or the custom one?

Not only that, but the amount of successful tackles didn't drop drastically with everyone in the squad having a decision attribute of 1.

Maybe more yellow and red cards...

Added a FAQ section towards the bottom of the article!

Well I've been using this for a while; results are 1st place in Champions League, FA Cup, Super Cup and Premier League, without even really trying hard, I'll post some screenshots later on tonight and raise some further discussion on how to achieve an even more realistic Arsenal tactic by just simply modifying the player's positions.

Well I've been using this for a while; results are 1st place in Champions League, FA Cup, Super Cup and Premier League, without even really trying hard, I'll post some screenshots later on tonight and raise some further discussion on how to achieve an even more realistic Arsenal tactic by just simply modifying the player's positions.

You're the first one I've heard having won everything like that. The player positions are as close as you're going to get, as you can see in the comparison screenshots in the article here: http://www.mantralux.com/the-real-arsenal-4-2-3-1/

If you're winning everything, it has little to do with positions. And your results aren't really representing the majority of people who have tried the tactic. Are you using the default or custom database? What is your first team line-up? Have you altered anything in the tactic? Are you using shouts? Have you bought any players? Etc. Winning everything like that is completely unrealistic, but it wouldn't have much to do with the tactic, but rather a "lucky save".

People aren't winning everything like that even with exploitative tactics, and I seriously doubt I've just randomly developed a super tactic.

Bought nobody, altered the tactic's positions heavily, but other than that, your base is pretty much 90% of it, shouts are often used, yes, otherwise I wouldn't be the manager, it's not a lucky save as in nearly every FM version I win everything with any top-4 team in any given division (Chelsea, Villareal, AC Milan, Rubin Kazan, Lyon, etc) by just using good tactics with some good football knowledge.

Screenshots:

Some possession pictures just to prove that total domination in a game is possible (both away from home, and both in succession of each other to show consistency, the third is just complete domination): http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8499/98664599.png, http://img339.imageshack.us/i/44356716.png/, http://img195.imageshack.us/i/31656362.png/

Run to Champions League win: http://img560.imageshack.us/i/77043372.png/

Run to FA Cup win: http://img168.imageshack.us/i/67416129.png/

Passing statistics of the DMC (the Sergio Busquets, Alonso, Denilson, Lucas, etc, of a team): http://img689.imageshack.us/i/49731824.png/ (denilson), http://img585.imageshack.us/i/30541586.png/ (song), http://img210.imageshack.us/i/83994732.png/ (denilson again)

Transfers (I bought pretty much.. no one): http://img530.imageshack.us/i/56191085.png/, http://img600.imageshack.us/i/65937002.png/

Fabregas's passing statistics for Spain, look at the 79 passes against Norway and the 50 passes (in 45 minutes) against Norway to show that it is possible to completely dominate and play like Spain/Arsenal/Barcelona: http://img600.imageshack.us/i/65937002.png/

Fabregas's recent passing statistics, I've set run with ball and run from deep to sometimes and through ball to often, so he doesn't often make 60+ passes like Denilson or Song, but it suits him in real life with the driving runs that he's so famous for (against Tottenham, Everton last year, etc):

Tactics I use against different teams (formations, home/away, etc): http://img121.imageshack.us/i/38698736.png/, http://img530.imageshack.us/i/97460201.png/, http://img641.imageshack.us/i/47276704.png/, http://img201.imageshack.us/i/46956967.png/ (your tactic),

Importance of wide players (Nasri and Walcott): http://img821.imageshack.us/i/74335540.png/ (Nasri), http://img809.imageshack.us/i/92578045.png/ (walcott)

And of course, the chart of me winning the league: http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/8374/74998003.png

Complete domination by playing a possession based tactic, I'm positive it's not a lucky save, I alter the tactic heavily in between playing teams, but the mentality and philosophy is clear: pass and receive. Although I heavily believe in all 3 of Arsenal's midfielders revolving around the DMC-MC position much more than they do in the MC-AMC position for about 70% of games they play.

altered the tactic's positions heavily

It's no wonder you haven't reached realistic results then. Of course you'll be able to win more if you alter the tactic to make it better. The whole point of the article is to have an Arsenal tactic that makes players behave as close to reality as possible - not a tactic that performs as good as possible in FM. If you move the positions of the players you will alter the formation, which would leave you with much less than 90% of the original tactic.

But anyways, I'm not really sure what conclusion you're drawing from your results?