FM2008 - Arsenal FC. mo money, no problems edition.

Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London. They play in the Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in English football, having won thirteen First Division and Premier League titles and ten FA Cups.

Arsenal were founded in 1886, though the club's first period of major success came in the 1930s, where they dominated English football for a decade. After a lean period in the post-war years they became only the second club of the 20th century to win the Double in 1970–71, and during the past twenty years they have been one of the most successful clubs in English football — in this time Arsenal won two further Doubles, the Premier League in 2003–04 unbeaten, and in 2005–06 became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League final.

The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history. Similarly, the club have changed location over time; the team were initially founded in Woolwich, south-east London, but in 1913 they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. In 2006 they made a less drastic move to their current home, the Emirates Stadium in nearby Holloway.

Arsenal have a large and diverse fanbase, who hold a string of long-standing rivalries with several other clubs; the most notable of these is with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they regularly contest the North London derby. Arsenal are one of the richest clubs in English football (worth over £600m as of 2007), and thanks to their stature, have regularly featured in portrayals of football in British culture.

Club Information

Name: Arsenal FC

Founded: 1886

Ground: Emirates Stadium, London (capacity 60432 all seated)

Chairman: Peter Hill-Wood

League: English Premier League

Rivals: Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United

Value: 352 million Euros (377 million Euros debt)

Training Facilities: Top training facilities

Youth Facilities: Excellent youth facilities + academy

Media Prediction: 4th

Transfer Budget: Ranging from 30 to 45 million Euros depending on squad targets.

First Team Squad

The numbers in brackets are to quote the game help system "each player will receive a star rating based on their expected standard within the team. This can range from 1 to 7 stars, with 7 exceeding expectations and 1 falling well below. Youth players are compared to similar players in their own age group".

GK - Jens Lehmann (4/4), Lukasz Fabianski (2/3)

DL - Gael Clichy (4/4), Armand Traore (3/5)

DC - Wiliam Gallas (6/6), Kolo Toure (5/5), Philippe Senderos (3/4), Havard Nordveit (3yth/3)

DR - Emmanuel Eboue (4/4), Bakay Sagna (5/5)

DM - Gilberto Silva (5/5), Lassana Diarra (3/4)

MC - Francesc Fabregas (5/7), Abou Diaby (4/4)

AMR - Aliaksandr Hleb (4/4), Robin Van Persie (4/5), Theo Walcott (3/4)

AML - Tomas Rosicky (4/4), Francisco Merida (4yth/4)

ST/FC - Eduardo (5/5), Emmanuel Adebayor (4/4), Nicklas Bendtner (4yth/4)

Reserves Squad

GK - Manuel Almunia (3/3), Vito Mannone (1/1)

DR - Justin Hoyte (2/3)

DM - Mathieu Flamini (3/4)

MC - Denilson (3/4), Alexandre Song (4/4)

AMR - Vencent Van Den Berg (1/1)

Highly rated U-18 squad members

ST - Rhys Murphy (3yth/4)

MC - Henri Lansbury (3yth/4)

AMC - Nacer Barazite (4yth/3)

Importantl players out on loan

DC - Johan Djourou (Birmingham)

D/WB L AMLC - Pedro (Salamanca)

AM/FC - Carlos Vela (Osasuna)

Analysis

The while the cream of the team, players such as Fabregas, Gallas, Toure and Van Persie have all maintained a similarly high standard to their last incantations in 07 the real difference to Arsenals squad this time round has been the improvement of squad players like Diaby, Denilson, Song, Adebayor and Almunia to the point that they are very useful rotation/squad players rather than the trade bait they were in FM2007. Ill analyze the squad assuming you're using a vanilla 4-4-2

Goalkeeper - Lehmann seems to have been slightly strengthened in 08, i played a full half season with him and he was very very solid and didnt make the gaff's that he is prone to in real life and in 07. This spot will become a problem after a season or two in the game as Almunia and Fabianski, while solid arnt going to keep many clean sheets if you're consistently playing top level football.

I'd start looking for a suitable replacement after a season. Old favorites Akinfeev, Ustari and Ochao are all rated very highly again and will likely be available for around 15 million euros.

Defense - Toure, Gallas, Senderos and Nordveit are the first team center backs, Eboue and Sagna play the right while Clichy and Traore are on the left. Arsenal again have a very very exciting back starting back four Sanga - Gallas - Toure - Clichy is one of the best in Europe and barring serious injury problems you shouldn't have any problems with that line.

You might look to sign someone short term to cover for Clichy until Traore is able to take over. Djourou returns from his loan at Birmingham at in January to strengthen the center back position.

Midfield - Again a very strong line of four Rosicky(AML) - Gilberto(DM) - Fabregas(MC) - Hleb(AMR) with strong cover from Diaby(MC), Diarra(DM), Flamini(DM), Song(MC) or Denilson(MC) with the potential to rotate any of Walcott(AMR), Eduardo(AML) and Van Persie(AMR/L) through if you're in a crisis. The center of the park is incredibly deep, potentially look at quicker wingers on both sides to cover for Hleb and Rosicky.

Marcelo is available early on and has a release clause of 8 million so he's a definite possibility, other potential targets are the super cheap Luka Modric, Van Der Vaart is able to be picked up for about 15 as well.

Strikers - You start with a great set of five strikers - Eduardo, Van Persie, Adebayor, Walcott, Bendtner and in a season Carlos Vela returns from loan. You can very well go for 10 years without needing to purchase anyone else for this position as every single one of these players is either currently top shelf or will develop to a high level. Of the five i've been most impressed by Walcott, the game engine has a much higher appreciation for speedy players than 07 had and young Theo is one of the quickest in the game, his finishing is a bit low but he makes up for it by running past defenders like they arnt there and getting lots of shots on goal.

Potential targets early on if you're looking to strengthen this area could be Adriano who is listed as "back up" at Inter and able to be purchased for a bargain price of about 10 million and Julio Baptista (i know, sucks in real life, great in the game) who can be picked up for about 15.

Anyway, that's a pretty basic analysis of the squad, I hope it helps some people get a good start at an Arsenal game. You've got a great squad to play with and a massive kitty to strengthen if you need to. Dont hesitate to disagree with any of my analysis or post your own formations, transfers advice, tips and results.

Good luck and Go Gunners!

I don't know. I went out and bought both Maxi Rodriguez and Obafami Martins (both 16 mil), and i'm constantly rotating them in and out. Playing them on the wings, etc. Pretty solid team this year. Rosicky and Toure got into a fight in mine and they hate each other, heh. But yeah, that's all really.

Hi to all Arsenal fans! I started my FM08 Arsenal game with a big success. I play 4-5-1 attacking and I have a good record up to now - 12 wins, a draw and a lose. Newcastle and Man Utd are second and third in Premiership - both 11 points behind me. Here are my first 11:

GK - Lehmann

DL - Clichy (nearly equal with Traore)

DC - Gallas

DC - Toure

DR - Sagna (great in FM08)

DMC - Gilberto

MC - Fabregas

MC - Rosicky

ML - RVP

MR - Hleb

ST - Eduardo ( also very good player in FM08)

The only new player is Belluschi (typo?), the only sold - Almunia (great in FM08, but Man City's 8mil euro offer was too good for a reserve GK). Now I'm looking for a new GK.

Ustari seems great, but is very expensive and have no intention (which is dumb, because if IRL he will die to go to Emirates with 3 timer bigger wages and bonuses)!!! Akinfeev has better GK stats but less PA, I think.

Good luck to all Arsenal fans and let us beat the **** out of Sunderland today!!!

Originally posted by Terror:

I don't know. I went out and bought both Maxi Rodriguez and Obafami Martins (both 16 mil), and i'm constantly rotating them in and out. Playing them on the wings, etc. Pretty solid team this year. Rosicky and Toure got into a fight in mine and they hate each other, heh. But yeah, that's all really.

Yeah I know what you mean, it's just a preliminary analysis. I'm just looking at the squad and not seeing any massively glaring holes in the list.

Lehmann will need to be replaced in the summer. I actually just started a new game and brought Akinfeev for 20 million just to see what he's like. he promptly got injured for three weeks so i'm no more informed than i was before. Will report back with results some time soon.

I agree with you though, another winger is probably a must for the first season. Jeremy Menez (14 million aprox) is rated incredibly highly by all my scouts, might give him a go.

Marcelo has an 8 million release clause and Gio Dos Santos has a 30 million release clause might try out both of them, scouts say they're definite purchases.

How about Guardado? He's brilliant in FM07. In the original version, he's probably the biggest bargain of the game (you can get him for 2M). In the Weegie transfer deadline update, he costs almost 20M. But an amazing player none-the-less. I suppose he'd be just as good in FM08?? Also, try out Angel Di Maria. He was actually heavily linked to Arsenal in the summer (infact, it was rumored that he's already signed). I bought him in FM07 and although he's on loan to Colorado (WP issues), he's been doing great there. He cost me a few pennies only (like 150K or something) and in half a season, he's already worth 4M. I dont have FM08 so dont really know, but just some suggestions!!

Originally posted by theincrediblehulk:

How about Guardado? He's brilliant in FM07. In the original version, he's probably the biggest bargain of the game (you can get him for 2M). In the Weegie transfer deadline update, he costs almost 20M. But an amazing player none-the-less. I suppose he'd be just as good in FM08?? Also, try out Angel Di Maria. He was actually heavily linked to Arsenal in the summer (infact, it was rumored that he's already signed). I bought him in FM07 and although he's on loan to Colorado (WP issues), he's been doing great there. He cost me a few pennies only (like 150K or something) and in half a season, he's already worth 4M. I dont have FM08 so dont really know, but just some suggestions!!

No definitely, they're both top shelf. Problem with both Guardado and Di Maria is that due to their recent transfers to new clubs - Di Maria to Benfica and Guardado to Deporo that neither of them are interested in a move to a new club and as far as i've tried all inquiry's and even testing the waters, silly money bids get rejected.

So, transfer deadline just passed.

In

Henri Saivet AM RLC FC, Bordeaux 625k(5 star potential)

Igor Akinfeev GK, CSKA Moscow 20million (5 star)

Mamadou Sakho DLC, PSG 700k (4 star)

Ever Banega DM, Boca 4.9million (4 star)

Marcelo D/WB/AM L, Real Madrid 8 million release clause (5 star)

Jeremy Menez AM RLC FC, AS Monaco 15.4 million (5 star)

Out

Gilberto Silva DMC, Inter 14.25 million

Alex Song MC Aston Villa 5.25 million

Seems with transfers that it's allot easier to offload deadwood.

How come you decided to sell Bert?? Just looking for some cash to buy and try new players out??

Originally posted by theincrediblehulk:

How come you decided to sell Bert?? Just looking for some cash to buy and try new players out??

Pretty much, the good thing about the demo is it run's like a dream if you've got a half decent rig because you're only loading a small database.

Im pretty much running this game as a bit of a test to find some players who are quality/potential quality for when the full release drops. Gilberto is great, i know he's going to produce quality performances so im just testing out how Diarra and Banega go in his role. Both are rated quite highly by my coaching staff.

The DM position seems to be much more pivotal in 08 at the moment, every game i've run it seems to be both wing backs and the dm getting the most of the ball, even if im running Fabregas as a playmaker the wingbacks and dm are getting lots of possession.

I'm considering dropping Fabregas back into that position and seeing what kind of distribution he can give me, ill be sacrificing defense though. Possibly play a defensive mid in the MC position and Fab in the DMC, see if i can get some cover further up the field and allow Fabregas to stay back and distribute from deep. ahhh possibilities....

Selling Song?! On my game the coaches say he is going to be world class!

good opening post, but you forgot to credit whatever website you took that from.

and mo money mo problems?? come on.... could've done something simpler and better than that tbh.

im doing class as arsenal so far for creating chances etc. just need to start finshing them off, i havent bought ne1 atm.

By chrisperring at 2007-10-07

<img src="http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1588/arsenalposyk1.png" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/><br/>By <a target="_new" href="http://profile.imageshack.us/user/chrisperring">chrisperring</a> at 2007-10-07 think this makes it bigger nt 2 sure

First impressions of the squad are pretty much as expected; good depth but in need of a goalkeeper and possibly a winger. Duly went to and got Modric for £3.8m and Akinfeev for £14m. Diaby is unhappy after the signing of Modric saying there is too much competition, which is a bit confusinf as Modric will be used as a winger.

I will probably sell Gilberto and would settled for £8m. Haven't really looked into youngsters,as i would in the full gaem,as the demo is only half a season.

I am not sure what to do with Walcott. I am tempted to loan him out for a year. Keeping my optiond open on Senderos.

Any thoughts as to potential signings would be greatly appreciated.

Just started my obligatory game with Arsenal. Promised the board the title and adjusted my budget accordingly so amassed £48m for transfers, with £160k p/w so that should be enough to bring in the players needed to strengthen.

I'm playing an attacking 442 formation, with RVP and Hleb on the wings - with Van Persie allowed to drift inside to support the strikers. I'm using Cesc as my playmaker in the middle alongside Gilberto.

As far as transfers go, I'm using that £48m to bring in Zapater (£7m release clause), Marcelo (£5.5m release clause, although Inter have also made a bid but fingers crossed he'll choose England) and I've got Cani on loan. The squad is also in big need of a decent backup for Lehmann, but as the demo is only half a season I think I can get away with what we've got from the start. If I can't get Marcelo I'll just pump everything I can to Valencia to try and get Silva.

The groundsman asked about pitch dimensions, and as a hark back to Highbury times I opted for the smallest available.

Originally posted by aussiegooner:

good opening post, but you forgot to credit whatever website you took that from.

and mo money mo problems?? come on.... could've done something simpler and better than that tbh.

As far as im aware i don't need to credit my sources for a forum post unless im using it to back up a contentious subject. If you must know the historical information is from the wikipedia entry, the club information is taken STRAIGHT FROM THE INFORMATION SCREEN IN THE GAME and SO IS THE SQUAD, the analysis is all my own opinions.

as for the title, it's a bit of a joke, albeit not a great one. it's actually a play on the 'mo money mo problems' song, 'mo money NO problems' as i've tried to put it quite clearly in my analysis the squad is very strong, you've got lots of money to fix it up if you need it. hence mo money no problems.

thanks for the criticism, call me back when you've contributed more than twenty posts to the forum.

Originally posted by SkeeterP:

The groundsman asked about pitch dimensions, and as a hark back to Highbury times I opted for the smallest available.

i never really know what to do when im asked this, have you noticed much of a difference in the game if you've got a smaller or larger pitch?

I've not noticed anything yet, but it's obviously a feature that depends on tactics. If you are strong down the middle and like to play narrow football then a small pitch will give you an advantage over a team who like to employ wingers.

So, with a team like Arsenal who have much stronger central players than they do wide men, a narrow pitch will work better. However, a team like Man Utd who like to have players on the wing will benefit from a wider pitch.

I'm sure the difference between the options will become more apparent the further along the game you get and the more aware we become of the game. I can't see pitch dimensions having much of an effect in the demo.

Good to see the Gooner fans back on for the FM08 demo! Howdy chaps, it's been a while!

Anyway, I'm only a few games into the start of the demo (only downloaded it on the weekend, trying to avoid painstakingly slow download speeds during the initial-release rush period)...

I only signed Saviet so far (on a free, so why the heck not), and my attempts to find a winger as cover was to no avail. The wings is definately a place of concern for this gunners team - I lost Eboue, Hleb and Rosicky in short order to injuries of at least 3 weeks, which left me playing Walcott and Traore on the wings.

Struggling with tactics at the moment, the match engine seems sluggish and it's hard to get a decent pace from my team (we cough up a lot of chances at the other end too, and scoring is slow). All wins in competitive games so far (1-0 at home to Middlesborough; 1-5 away in CL Qualifying; 2-0 at home to Derby). Only Adebayor has scored of the strikers (although Walcott got a goal from the wing).

The centre of the park is way too crowded, although I'm considering switching to a 4-1-3-2 tight formation given my winger crisis, which would allow me more players.

Fab is a sure-fire starter, but he can't play every match consecutively, especially with the new tougher fitness ratings. I found Daiby is a good replacement for him (probably superior to Denilson at this stage). Haven't tried Daiby on AML yet, because he doesn't have that position despite playing there in real life.

Diarra is pretty good, and so is Gilberto. Flamini still seems underated, but can probably do the job. I don't rate (and probably never will rate) Song, but his stats seem ok.

Defence is the strongest area of the team. As others have noted, Sanga - Toure - Gallas - Clichy is a first-rate combination. Senderos is capable of cover, and Djourou returns in Jan, so CB is well covered. Traore is good to go occasionally at LB, and with Eboue and Hoyte as further defensive reinforcements, and flexibility in positions from Toure, Sanga and Gallas means every position is well covered.

Strikers are well-set to go on, but one or two injuries could have a crippling effect on the team, as Bendtner will probably struggle a bit in year 1, and Eduardo seems off the pace early in the season.

Finally, the keepers look okay. Alumnia seems much improved, and Lehnman seems solid as ever. Not really looked at Fabinski as I didn't expect to be playing him. Age is a problem, as both Alumnia and Lehnman are what I would consider 'over the hill', so a new GK (probably only need to purcahse in season 2) would be a high priority.

Finances seem solid enough, and hopefully the game will represent the awesomeness of our recent financial position. I would also like to see our board a little less willing to sell-up and hike out.

All in all, I think this Gunners squad has the ability to challenge for the title (I said as much to the board), but could probably do with at least 1 first-team winger (probably on the left is the major concern), and maybe another striker.

Best of luck, chaps!

In:

Saivet

Zapater

Menez

M.Rodriguez

Modric

Out:

Walcott

G.Silva

btw please don't mind me as i adjusted the budget to buy these players, I did it so i can tell you how do these players do.

There are still more players for me to buy

Updated List

In

Saivet - 575K

Zapater - 10M

Menez - 17M

M.Rodriguez - 24M

Modric - 8.25M

Cani - Loan

Sakho - 700K

Out:

Walcott - Loan

G.Silva - 4.6M

Song - 2.4M

Canceled All friendlies except two

Saivet - He played OK in the 2 friendlies as a sub

Zapater - Controls The Midfield well

Menez - Getting better by the Minute

M.Rodriguez - Still hasn't proved his point

Modric - Great As a sub in the second friendly

Cani - He came by for the second friendly and only played 20 Mins, But he scored two goals

Sakho - Still hasn't played

Players you must get out of these:

Zapater

Cani

Saivet/Menez

Modric

which formation do you use? Just bought zapater and is not doing so well. his form 6-8-7-6-6. where does he play well?

I used Zapater next to Cesc in the middle. Didn't alter any of his individual instructions and he scored 2 in 2 (pretty spectacular as well).

anyone having any success with anything but the default 4-4-2 cos im really sucking in this version...........trying a 4-1-3-2 now...restarted a few times but looks like i have to use the default to get any decent results

Originally posted by HaraBau:

which formation do you use? Just bought zapater and is not doing so well. his form 6-8-7-6-6. where does he play well?

4-1-4-1

Originally posted by HaraBau:

where does he play well?

DM to be exact

Originally posted by inter milano:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HaraBau:

where does he play well?

DM to be exact </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, Zapater one of my first choices in 07 to replace Gilberto in the later incantations after Lucas was signed by Liverpool, he's a great DMC.

I've been trying out Miguel Veloso from sporting cp, in real life the club tried to sign him in the last window and were rejected but apparently we're going to throw 20 million at him in the summer.

My scouts rate him as 'potential to be as good as Gilberto' and give him a 5 star rating. The only bid's i've had accepted for him have been at about 22million euros though, pretty expensive for a DM and twice as much as Zapater who looks just as good.

Having said that though Diarra, who we've already got in the squad is a really good replacement for Gilberto whenever you decide to shift him.

ug. got too excited and posted too early. i've been having great defensive success with a flat back four and my DM with arrows back between the two centerbacks.

i'm really noticing how prominent the DM is in 08, they've been easily getting the most ball in nearly every tactical incantation i've attempted. Might be looking at a good playmaking DM. suggestions? i think Alonso, Pirlo and Gago will either be priced out of my range or unavailable in the demo.

Re-train Cesc and buy Van der Vaart?

re-train Cesc?????

Originally posted by hughsieb:

ug. got too excited and posted too early. i've been having great defensive success with a flat back four and my DM with arrows back between the two centerbacks.

i'm really noticing how prominent the DM is in 08, they've been easily getting the most ball in nearly every tactical incantation i've attempted. Might be looking at a good playmaking DM. suggestions? i think Alonso, Pirlo and Gago will either be priced out of my range or unavailable in the demo.

I'm pretty sure you can get pirlo for like 20 mil with some unsettling. Milan look like they have too many dmc. Not sure about the others.

One of my first purchase was Huntelaar, in a swap deal with Adebayor plus some cash and Sergey the Russian captain for a free as backup. Jose Ortiz as backup for Hleb and Rosicky, both who can't seems to keep fit.

As for DM, right now I using Bert, but he had at least 2 more seasons left in him and I thinking of using a creative DM like Alonso too, but I'm worried that the midfield would lost out on too many headers and balls going over the top.

Antonio Cerrajero was great DM in 07

Try Baptista. I dont know about 08, but in 07 he could play just about anywhere you wanted him to. He was decent going forward and with a little bit of re-training, he was BRILLIANT as a DM. His stats would probably have gone down though seeing as he's been pretty poor since the 07 game came out.

Originally posted by theincrediblehulk:

Try Baptista. I dont know about 08, but in 07 he could play just about anywhere you wanted him to. He was decent going forward and with a little bit of re-training, he was BRILLIANT as a DM. His stats would probably have gone down though seeing as he's been pretty poor since the 07 game came out.

As he is a "Backup Player" at Real Madrid I managed to loan him for a season but had to pay 100% wages.

I played him at AMC and he played pretty well.

I also loaned in Albelda from Valencia, rotated him with Gilberto Silva, so that I could loan out Diarra for a season and he always played well when called upon.

Ins:

Adriano P/e Adebayor + 5 mil

Marcelo 8 mil

Akinfeev 15 mil

Sergey ignachevic free

Outs:

flamini 4 mil birmingham

denilson loan derby

diarra loan aston villa

adriano is must buy. he's scored 3 hatricks in 4 premiership games. marcelo is first choice left winger. akinfeev superb as usual. sergey very good backup. what to do with bendtner? sell or loan out?

I was under the impression that we were going to wait until near to the actual game release before we (read: mikiz) set up a new 2008 thread... oh well.

Originally posted by super sub:

Diaby is unhappy after the signing of Modric saying there is too much competition, which is a bit confusinf as Modric will be used as a winger.

Unfortunately the game has no such understanding...

Originally posted by SkeeterP:

The groundsman asked about pitch dimensions, and as a hark back to Highbury times I opted for the smallest available.

Originally posted by SkeeterP:

I've not noticed anything yet, but it's obviously a feature that depends on tactics. If you are strong down the middle and like to play narrow football then a small pitch will give you an advantage over a team who like to employ wingers.

So, with a team like Arsenal who have much stronger central players than they do wide men, a narrow pitch will work better. However, a team like Man Utd who like to have players on the wing will benefit from a wider pitch.

I'm sure the difference between the options will become more apparent the further along the game you get and the more aware we become of the game. I can't see pitch dimensions having much of an effect in the demo.

As we played really well a Highbury with a team very focused on the wings you just never know. I think our short passing game should work better on a small pitch though.

Been playing the demo since release, and these are my experiences.

Back line is very solid, but I used a chunk of our generous transfer kitty to buy Micah Richards. Firstly, wanted to see how much i could get him for (and therefore if its worth it once full version is released), and second to try to start getting some decent uk players to undo Wenger’s ‘France FC’ policy. (i mean Diara? Wtf).

The midfield is also solid. With the (apparently) new way the game engine runs things, players like Cesc, Rosicky and Hleb can really show off their creativity more so than in 07. Lots of very creative slow runs and deadly through balls. They are creating HEAPS of quality chances. Which brings me to the problem area as far as I can see. The forwards.

Despite the number of quality chances created by the midfiled, the forwards have been (with the exception of a couple of games) extremely wasteful and ineffective. I’ve had lots of 0-0 draws and most games i’ve only managed 1 goal, 2 if its been a good game. Adebayor was doing ok at the start but has since dropped off. RVP seems more intent on scoring goal of the month (but you actually have to score first Robin...) than actually running at the keeper (even when free) and scoring. Ade has picked up the ‘long distance screamer’ bug as well (and yes, I have set up the long shot option properly). Theo is still too raw, and though his pace has been very useful at times, he seems to get dispossessed far too often. And then there’s Eduardo. Where do I start? His natural fitness is 8, which I can’t understand for anyone at this level and age. This meant for me that after he played one game, he then had to be rested for another 3-4 before he was above 94% and ready to play again. Oh yeah, and he couldn’t hit a barn door from five paces! So from this, I reckon the Gunners are in serious need of a killer forward, and with 40 mil to spend, I reckon its well justified.

And finally, the tactics seem to be different and I am not being anywhere near as effective with the RoO set that I developed very successfully for 07. I seem to struggle to dominate both possession and passing, despite always leading number of shots. I’m going to have to play around with this.

Mind to share your tactic mate? My Arsenal are seeing a lot of the ball but some how I can't seems to create quality chances. The opposition isn't even parking a bus in front of goal.

There have definately been some tweaks to tactics due to the changes in the match engine... my standard tactic for all CM/FM games is a high-tempo, mixed passing, creative, attacking game from start to finish, overwhelming opponents.

In the demo? Not a chance! I had to tone the tempo right dow and really spend time tweaking my tactics. I agree that scoring is really hard to come by (although improving as the team settles), and my team ships chances at the other end like it's a Boxing Day Sale. My midfield doesn't appear to be all that creative either.

I have noticed an improvement about a month or so into the game (RVP, Eduardo, and Adebayor all now have 4 goals in 6 or 7 games), but we still give up too many chances for my liking (especially at home) and still lack a killer touch in front of goal.

my main tactic is basically a 4-2-2-2, with a flat back four, cesc (Mc) and gilby(mcd) in the centre, AML (Rosicky/eduardo/RVP) and AMR (Hleb/Theo), target man (Ade/Bendtner)and fast striker (RVP/Theo/Eduardo). I mostly play fairly fast tempo with a bit of width. The tactics are all based around core RoO theorems from over at FM Britain (esp wwfan and next diaby). I found these very successful with the gunners in 07, but i'm not so sure about 08. I agree with Balthazars that the tempo probably needs to be reduced. I'm considering re-starting the demo and employing a 4-1-3-2 formation with a slower tempo/short passing etc.

I think finishing off chances is going to be a constant battle for the gunners in this game due to the quality of the strikers. Sure, they all have talent (esp. RVP) but are not lethal strikers in the context of the game (ie I think they each have finishing around 15), I really think you need a striker with 18+ finishing and 15+ composure. Which raises another question; why did we re-sign Bendtner when Lupoli has far better stats (not just technical but team work, work rate etc)????

Originally posted by dzstone:

Which raises another question; why did we re-sign Bendtner when Lupoli has far better stats (not just technical but team work, work rate etc)????

Bendtner is much better mentally than Lupoli and offer's a different dimension to the team. We've got enough technically gifted small players who can play up front coming through the youth ranks at the moment, we dont have any 190cm, great aerially and fantastic with the ball at his feet players like Bendtner.

Mark my words he'll develop into a superstar, we've just got to hold onto him for a little longer.

As for in real life, we didnt really have a choice on Lupoli. He didnt want to resign with the club and wanted to go back to Italy, huge shame considering his obvious talent and what he'd bring to the club but at the same time we had an incredibly strong list of forwards at the time and had just signed Walcott so his wanting to leave probably had to do with first team options and getting a change to go home and so forth.

Shame really because in him, Anthony Stokes and Bendtner we had probably three of the most prolific european strikers of that age on our books.

Fair enough, I wasn’t aware of what the real life situation was with Lupoli’s contract etc ( i live in Oz!). But I can tell you who i would rather have in the game at the moment, and it wouldn’t be bendtner! He obviously isn’t too highly rated by AI clubs either cos try as I may, i couldn’t offload the bugger! Sorry but with his team work and work rate stats, he’s either going to languish in the resi’s or get farmed out on loan again!

Nothing wrong with living in Australia my friend, s'where im from too.

yeah i agree though, he's definitely 5th choice up front for me, I loaned him out to Man City and he's playing quite well there. personally i dont think either he or lupoli would have been breaking into my first team rotation when the full game comes out, Vela coming back is going to push him further down the pecking order.

Also, with regards to your concerns about Arsenal not having a pure finisher Vela has the base stats at the moment to turn into one of the highest quality.

So I finally decided to download the demo. Had to leave the damn thing on for ages before I could manage it!! Bloody dial-up!

Anyway, have just entered August and so far my transactions have been:

Ins:

Rafael Van Der Vaart (7.5M)

Michael Owen (10M)

Yoann Gourcuff (loan)

Outs:

Alex Song (3.7M + 30% sell on fee) to Man City

Flamini (loan) to Newcastle

Rui Fonte (130K) to Derby

I'm desperately trying to sign Barzagli but they are quoting a ridiculous price of 22M! Am trying to get it down to about 11-12. If not him then either Naldo or Mertesacker. After I've bought a CB, if I have money left, I might make a bid for Robert Pires!!! He's still got very good stats and he's got a release clause of 2.5M!! Thats only if I have money left as I dont really need him. But he was one of my favs at Arsenal so thought I'll get him back! And he's willing to be a backup! Woohoo!!

I'm happy to sell any of the "smaller" players like Denilson, Merida, Barazite (bid) etc etc. Since the demo only lasts till Jan, I thought might as well see how the bigger guys are.

Just gonna start my first match against Boro.!!

Finally, the keepers look okay. Alumnia seems much improved, and Lehnman seems solid as ever. Not really looked at Fabinski as I didn't expect to be playing him. Age is a problem, as both Alumnia and Lehnman are what I would consider 'over the hill', so a new GK (probably only need to purcahse in season 2) would be a high priority.

Try out Remy Riou from Auxerre I haven't tried him out myself. but my scout says he will get very good.

The transfer window just closed, and this is what happened in my first 2 months:

I won 2-0 over Middlesbrough

Got a 0-0 draw at Emirates against Red Star

Won 3-0 over Derby

Won 4-0 against Man City away

Won 7-0 away against Red Star

Bought/loaned:

Georginio Wijnaldum(Feyenoord)£275.000

Mamadou Sakho(PSG) £350.000

Jeremy Menez(Monaco) £9.75m

Genero Zeefuik(PSV) £200.000

Ever Banega(Boca) £2.9m

Henri Saivet(Bordeaux) £400.000

Micah Richards(Man City) £27.5m

Iago(Barca) £4.3m

Diego Capel(Sevilla) loan

Total: £45.5m

Sold/loaned out:

Gilberto Silva(Juventus) £7.25m

Denilson(Man City) £3.4m

Emmanuel Eboue(Aston Villa) £5m

Rui Fonte(Derby) £120.000

Abou Diaby(Aston Villa) £3.9m

Vincent Van den Berg(Cheltenham) loan

Mathieu Flamini(Sunderland) loan

Alexandre Song(Newcastle) loan

Total: £19.75m

I have a feeling you might regret offloading Denilson...

He is superb in real life & I'm sure he'll be quality in game.