FM12 Arsenal Thread - Life after Cesc

[exorcisto]

Serious question JEinchy - is it still fun when you haven't lost a league game for two seasons? I only ask because I'll probably never find out for myself.

[JEinchy]

Even though the stats may suggest otherwise, the save hasn't been easy as it may seem. There've been a decent number of teams that have kept me on my toes and have made not losing a bit difficult and I'm not beating the bigger sides with riduclous ease, either. When I start to whip teams without trying, and when the big sides no longer pose any threat to me whatsoever, I know it'll be time to pack it in.

The most enjoyable part of this save so far has been developing the kids and achieving success with good but not outstanding players. My management style has always been about getting the most out of good players; the likes of Eardley, Reus and Tadic, for example, and not resorting to buying the stellar names. I still believe my team can perform better, so I suppose that's another challenge for me to overcome.

Really, as long as I'm being challenged I'll enjoy a save.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Hello and Welcome to my first update of my newly-made Arsenal save - I'm hoping, and expecting, that this will be a very fun, satisfying save with my favourite club. I am running a Málaga save alongside it, so, this won't be as essential, if you like. Hope you like my update.

Formation's and likely line-ups;

** Will add a screenshot later.

What I will be and, touch wood, look likely to achieve is to play a good brand of football which will inevitably win us games sooner rather than later. I will base my footballing manner on how Arsene Wenger plays his football, Brilliantly! Also, I'll be aiming to vaguely base my football on how Germany play - Good passing movements, with a strong defensive unit and a willingness to score good goals. One of the most important 'cogs in the mechanism' is the 3-man midfield that I will look to control games - a 3-man pivot is essential for a midfield such as mine. Aaron Ramsey will be the more creative midfielder; he'll look to do what he does in reality, support the attacking play, breaking into the area from time-to-time and to play that final ball into a more advanced player. As for Mikel Arteta, he'll be the 'middle man' of our midfield. Someone who'll link defence to attack, a work-horse to press the ball down. Then we come to Song, one of my favourite players for The Arsenal. He will play a huge part in my outfit; he'll hold down the midfield but, will also push up alongside the two other midfielders to help orchestrate proceedings. As it stand, the 'Cover-Stopper' system I'm trying to implement in my side is working well. With some fine tweaking, I could be onto a winner.

Pre-Season fixtures and results;

All in all, I'm very pleased with this pre-season. In my opinion, a good pre-season is vital for a good campaign. We had a very accomplished pre-season. One of my main objectives in pre-season is to get a good, positive tactic up and running. I've definitely got that done as we played very, very well. Even after losing Mikel Arteta to a straight dismissal, in the second minute might I add, against SL Benfica, the team pulled through and managed smash 4 goals passed the highly respected Portugese side; performances like that get me going for what seems to be a exciting season.

Transfers - Summer Transfer Window;

I disabled 'First Transfer Window budgets' therefore, I've had no leg room to make any signings. Although, I have determined who I will target as a long-term replacement for ageing players. At the moment, I've targeted these three brilliant players that many of you will, undoubtedly, know;

A few final words...

Youth Development - A major part of any of my saves with Arsenal is the youth development aspect that I will inherit from Wenger. I'm a admirer of Arsene's policy, which is to sign promising youth players and develop them into world-beaters. This 'development cycle' will begin as soon as January, where I will have time and funds to invest in various youth players that interest me.

Vital start to the season - Well, first impressions are always key; I have to start off well to put myself in the fans', boards and players' good books. we have a tough start to our campaign - Stoke and Manchester City to name a few August opponents - but, I'm hoping to start well, boost morale and get my season going. I don't want to have to rely on the likes of Wilshere to come back from injury or someone like Eden Hazard to come in January to get us Champions League qualification.

Well, that concludes my first update of my season; I will do this on a regular basis, every month to be in fact, so expect me to be a regular poster in here. Good Luck with your saves too.

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

[bigman]

a few people have won alot with arsenal, i think the poacher role and quick wing players means winning alot of games

i hope they make it more difficult, i did the treble first year and others seem not to lose!

[Llew_Arshavin23]

These two goals, by Gervinho and Walcott, were taken from the recent Premier League opener against Stoke; [more on that to come in my monthly update]

[video=youtube;RpAPXcTih8c]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpAPXcTih8c

These two goals have portrayed the style of football I want to play, especially Walcott's strike. You didn't see the build up to the first goal but, our mdifield and defensive unit teamed up well to create passing triangles, a method any football coach looks to employ in-game, in the middle of the pitch before, If I recall correctly, Alex Song set Theo Walcott off down the right wing with a well timed through ball. The second goal is a good example of the creativity and passing range I want the likes of Ramsey and Arteta to use too

[Jorgie9]

I have to post this up.. I'm in to my fifth season of the game, after moving to arsenal in the 2013/14 season and spending a treble winning season in my first year in charge, Real Madrid come in with a 45 MILLION pound bid for Koscielny. Couldn't believe it! And its all up front as well. I don't really want to sell Koscielny as he has had a blinder of a season, but there is no way I can say no to that! Bye bye Koscielny, hello 45 mill!

[Llew_Arshavin23]

£45 million for Laurent Koscielny, a centre-back who everyone criticise's who's not a Arsenal fan... GEE-ZAS!

You must have a healthy transfer budget now; any ideas on who to bring in?

[jlm8695]

Decided to sell Arshavin, as he was asking for 95,000 pound per week. He is off to Man City for 15 mil.

Decided to bid for Jovetic as his replacement, and Fiorentina came back asking for 60 Mil. So i decided to ask the board, and they duly obliged

I Fell he will make the Left wing his own, and will also become the perfect False 9 to replace RVP.

[llama3]

even I would sell Koscielny for £45m, although he has been utterly magnificent on my save. Actually an interesting few stats on how well koscielny is performing on arseblog which is worth a read.

http://news.arseblog.com/2011/11/arsenal-in-europe-v-arsenal-in-england-by-the-numbers/

[exorcisto]

In season 5 too, so he must be pushing 30! That's absolutely insane money for Koscielny.

jlm8695, let us know how Jovetic does, particularly in replacing van Persie when the time comes, as that's something I haven't really planned for yet on my save.

[taogyn]

hi guys

Just to let you know where i am:

2nd season in April

- knocked out of CL group stages - disgraceful

- 2nd in league - 2 points behind spurs with 6 games to go. I surrended top spot by losing to Villa away in the bloody last minute, still have spurs to play away, who are smashing everyone

- FA cup final against Man U

- Just beat spurs 4-0 away in the first leg of the Euro cup. Should give my team a boost for the title decider. Chamakh who has become crucial, scored all 4

Team:

SZNY

Wilson - at left back has been immense

Vermaelen

Mertesacker - got 10 goals from set pieces, pure pleasure

Sagna - always linked with Real and City

Wilshere/Ramsey

Arteta - always linked with Barca

Song

Tevez - left

Chamakh - didn't use him much because of RVP. Decided to bring him on when we were 1 nil down away at QPR. Got me 4 goals in 20 mins. Ever since, he's our main striker. Then RVP returned from injury, i decided to give Chamakh a rest, and then we lost to VIlla away, so perhaps the balance of the team was disrupted

Walcott - trained ppm for placed shots and has since scored crucial goals. A last minute winner against City and goals against liverpool at home

Will update you all

[jlm8695]

In season 5 too, so he must be pushing 30! That's absolutely insane money for Koscielny.

jlm8695, let us know how Jovetic does, particularly in replacing van Persie when the time comes, as that's something I haven't really planned for yet on my save.

Will do. Cost the board 44Mil. However he will be the only big signing i will make for the next few seasons.

[James9]

Hello and Welcome to my first update of my newly-made Arsenal save - I'm hoping, and expecting, that this will be a very fun, satisfying save with my favourite club. I am running a Málaga save alongside it, so, this won't be as essential, if you like. Hope you like my update.

Formation's and likely line-ups;

** Will add a screenshot later.

What I will be and, touch wood, look likely to achieve is to play a good brand of football which will inevitably win us games sooner rather than later. I will base my footballing manner on how Arsene Wenger plays his football, Brilliantly! Also, I'll be aiming to vaguely base my football on how Germany play - Good passing movements, with a strong defensive unit and a willingness to score good goals. One of the most important 'cogs in the mechanism' is the 3-man midfield that I will look to control games - a 3-man pivot is essential for a midfield such as mine. Aaron Ramsey will be the more creative midfielder; he'll look to do what he does in reality, support the attacking play, breaking into the area from time-to-time and to play that final ball into a more advanced player. As for Mikel Arteta, he'll be the 'middle man' of our midfield. Someone who'll link defence to attack, a work-horse to press the ball down. Then we come to Song, one of my favourite players for The Arsenal. He will play a huge part in my outfit; he'll hold down the midfield but, will also push up alongside the two other midfielders to help orchestrate proceedings. As it stand, the 'Cover-Stopper' system I'm trying to implement in my side is working well. With some fine tweaking, I could be onto a winner.

Pre-Season fixtures and results;

All in all, I'm very pleased with this pre-season. In my opinion, a good pre-season is vital for a good campaign. We had a very accomplished pre-season. One of my main objectives in pre-season is to get a good, positive tactic up and running. I've definitely got that done as we played very, very well. Even after losing Mikel Arteta to a straight dismissal, in the second minute might I add, against SL Benfica, the team pulled through and managed smash 4 goals passed the highly respected Portugese side; performances like that get me going for what seems to be a exciting season.

Transfers - Summer Transfer Window;

I disabled 'First Transfer Window budgets' therefore, I've had no leg room to make any signings. Although, I have determined who I will target as a long-term replacement for ageing players. At the moment, I've targeted these three brilliant players that many of you will, undoubtedly, know;

A few final words...

Youth Development - A major part of any of my saves with Arsenal is the youth development aspect that I will inherit from Wenger. I'm a admirer of Arsene's policy, which is to sign promising youth players and develop them into world-beaters. This 'development cycle' will begin as soon as January, where I will have time and funds to invest in various youth players that interest me.

Vital start to the season - Well, first impressions are always key; I have to start off well to put myself in the fans', boards and players' good books. we have a tough start to our campaign - Stoke and Manchester City to name a few August opponents - but, I'm hoping to start well, boost morale and get my season going. I don't want to have to rely on the likes of Wilshere to come back from injury or someone like Eden Hazard to come in January to get us Champions League qualification.

Well, that concludes my first update of my season; I will do this on a regular basis, every month to be in fact, so expect me to be a regular poster in here. Good Luck with your saves too.

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

Llew are using the 451/433 formation. Could you let me know what roles and duties you give your midfield trio? Do you play inside forward or wingers in the AMR/AML positions? I am having trouble with getting my Arsenal Team to play well so any advice you can give me on player roles, duties team instructions would be really helpful.

[llama3]

Llew are using the 451/433 formation. Could you let me know what roles and duties you give your midfield trio? Do you play inside forward or wingers in the AMR/AML positions? I am having trouble with getting my Arsenal Team to play well so any advice you can give me on player roles, duties team instructions would be really helpful.

James something that is very obvious from a LOT of your posts, is that you make a lot of tweaks to settings, and i get the imrpession (rightly or wrongly) that you chop and change a lot. You need to keep things a little more simple, and not chop and change quite so often. Major problems - keep it simple. If you need it simple then try the default roles.

[Sourav]

DECEMBER UPDATE (2011-12 SEASON)

PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal (Rosicky 9', Van Persie pen 13', 17') 3 - 0 West Brom

A routine win. 20 minutes were all we needed to end this contest.

Everton (Saha 26') 1 - 1 Arsenal (Arshavin 57')

A tough game away. The scoreline was deserved.

Arsenal (Van Persie 45') 1 - 1 Chelsea (Torres 77')

I couldn't believe that we drew this. In the first half itself we should have just blown Chelsea away. They were very lucky to get away with this.

Arsenal 0 - 0 Fulham

Came up against the dreaded 442. Disappointing performance, to say the least.

Blackburn 0 - 0 Arsenal

Our team is in a slump. I can already see the title hopes evaporating.

Swansea 0 - 0 Arsenal

This is the last straw. Our fifth successive draw on the trot. Man Utd cross us to first and Spurs are not far behind with games in had. New Year's eve is not so good.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Arsenal (Vermaelen 19', Walcott 29', Chamakh 79') 3 -1 Udinese (Segolela 28')

Thrashed Udinese on home turf.

LEAGUE CUP

In semi finals we meet Tottenham.

FA CUP

In the 3rd qualifying round, I have been handed out a tough fixture. we face Liverpool away.

We have tough sequence of games coming up. Liverpool away in FA Cup, Tottenham away in League cup and Man Utd away in the League. I can already foresee a trophyless season.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judging from the posts in this thread, I seem to be the only one to be keeping up with reality. Most of you have already won the league comfortably. It's not a real surprise though since I am really bad with tactics. Just hope I can get that one tactic that leads me to some glory.

[JEinchy]

You don't have to stick with the one tactic. I personally use about four or five during a season, depdning on the match situation, and I look to get my results that way instead of having one super tactic that beats all. I know I'm not capable of making such a tactic.

What I've found is that 4-4-2 is effective against 4-5-1/4-3-3, 4-5-1/4-3-3 is good to use against 4-2-3-1 and 4-2-3-1 is good against a 4-4-2. There are exceptions of course, but it might pay off to mix and match a bit.

[Sourav]

Well it's not that I am not mixing and matching. I made a set of four tactics 4-5-1, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and 4-4-1-1 at the start of the season. They sometimes do work well when I want them to for example 4-2-3-1 worked wonders at home against Man Utd's 4-4-2 but failed miserably away (covered in my next update). In FM 2011 I stuck to one tactic that is 4-4-2 and won most of my matches. I normally do a lot of tweaking in game according to the situation so even if I have the same tactic going on I may change the player roles/instructions a lot. Since playing a set of different tactics is a foreign concept to me (due to success in FM 2011), maybe I am just not playing the right tactic at the right time. Hope it comes with experience

[James9]

James something that is very obvious from a LOT of your posts, is that you make a lot of tweaks to settings, and i get the imrpession (rightly or wrongly) that you chop and change a lot. You need to keep things a little more simple, and not chop and change quite so often. Major problems - keep it simple. If you need it simple then try the default roles.

Thanks for the advice Llama but I really need help with getting my midfield trio working the right way. The problem is that I need assistance with the right player roles and duties. I have read so many threads on how to set up a 3 man midfield and still I cannot get mine to work. I have read some many threads that advised that the best way to set up the Arsenal midfield. Some of the threads advised on an advance playmaker – support, advance playmaker – attack and defensive midfielder – defend.

There is so many ways to set up the Arsenal midfield that I get confuse on what to do. I rely on tactical experts like yourself and Llew to guide me because you guys always seem to make winning tactics with Arsenal and sometimes I wonder if you guys a secret Arsenal Coaches because you seem to have the game mastered.

If you give me any advice on the best way to set up a three man midfield with Arsenal then that would be great.

[lomekian]

My 3 man midfield is song behind the midfield line- in front of the right sided cover centre half (DMC) on defensive midfielder (support), arteta on the standard centre mid Line - ie lcm - on DLP support and my third, siggurdsson (or any amc) in the hole (behind the centre forward) as a trequarista. This works well as I have gervinho on IF attack and Walcott on Winger Attack. This ensures there is always some width, thus creating more space for the AMC

[llama3]

Thanks for the advice Llama but I really need help with getting my midfield trio working the right way. The problem is that I need assistance with the right player roles and duties. I have read so many threads on how to set up a 3 man midfield and still I cannot get mine to work. I have read some many threads that advised that the best way to set up the Arsenal midfield. Some of the threads advised on an advance playmaker – support, advance playmaker – attack and defensive midfielder – defend.

There is so many ways to set up the Arsenal midfield that I get confuse on what to do. I rely on tactical experts like yourself and Llew to guide me because you guys always seem to make winning tactics with Arsenal and sometimes I wonder if you guys a secret Arsenal Coaches because you seem to have the game mastered.

If you give me any advice on the best way to set up a three man midfield with Arsenal then that would be great.

OK well here are the basics ok a 3-man midfield. You need some form of "triangle" rather than a straight line, this creates more passing options. So use a DMC & MRC, MLC or MRC, MLC & AMC.

The best way of setting up that midfield is 1 defend role, 1 support role, 1 attack role - now other variations can work, but its the most simple way. Once the basics work, then it is easier to change the other settings and roles once the basic frame is in place. Now the best way of doing that is DMC (defend), MRC (support), MLC (attack) or MRC (defend), MLC (support), AMC (attack).

I am not winning much at the moment mate. I have won 2 league cups in 2 and a half seasons - hardly vintage form. But it will come, as will yours. Just keep it as simple as possible before making it more complex.

So with basic in mind - try this for a 4-2-3-1:

Goalkeeper - Defend

Full Back - Automatic x 2

Central Defender - Defend x 2

Ball-Winning Midfielder/Central Midfielder - Defend

Deep-Lying Playmaker/Central Midfielder - Support

Winger - Attack x 2

Trequartista/Attacking Midfielder - Attack

Poacher - Attack

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Llew are using the 451/433 formation. Could you let me know what roles and duties you give your midfield trio? Do you play inside forward or wingers in the AMR/AML positions? I am having trouble with getting my Arsenal Team to play well so any advice you can give me on player roles, duties team instructions would be really helpful.

Here's how I set-up my midfield trio;

Alex Song [DM] - Defensive Midfielder > Support; the more defensive minded of the three - as well as

Mikel Arteta [CM] - Deep-Lying Playmaker > Support; the middle-man. Will look to link defence to attack - once Wilshere returns to his best, Arteta will be dropped.

Aaron Ramsey [CM] - Advanced Playmaker > Attack; will play the 'free-role' of our midfield. Bursts forward and keeps hold of the ball well - this role is the creative role of the 3-man midfield.

As Llama said, don't chop and change as much as you do too. Once a team will become familiar to a good tactic, or what you believe to be a good one, it will inevitably begin to pay back the time and effort that has been put into it. 'The Skills to pay the Bills'.

[WillyBroadband]

Evening all,

Was just wondering how you guys have got the best out of Leandro Damiao up front? I'm playing him with either Theo or Diego Milito (both Poacher) and RVP just behind as the Trequartista.

Am still on my first season in January, only signed him this window and he has been awful so far! 5.8 average in 3 games, looking at his stats he looks like an all rounder.

Thanks!

[Ron_Burgundy]

Evening all,

Just came across this thread and have been trying to catch up... but it is tough with 750 posts!

I had a save game left over from the demo with Arsenal but it went tits up and the lack of database annoyed me too so I have started again.

Early days and I hope to employ a 4231 with 2 MC's and either AML and AMR or 3 AMC's.

I had a great save with FM11 with Arsenal when I managed 7 league titles in a row so hoping to get a similar sort of domination this time around.

Will report back with signings shortly hopefully...

Oh and JEinchy, utterly amazing success mate! Really impressed on the two-year unbeaten run. Like you say, definitely involved a bit of luck but no worries with that, it is a great achievement.

See you all soon and KUTGW!

[Llew_Arshavin23]

I've just qualified for the UEFA Champions League after a good aggregate win against Holland's FC Twente. Then came the UEFA Champions League group stage draw;

Very happy with this group; Dynamo Kiev could prove to be a tricky prospect but, I'm sure I will triumph over the Ukrainians. FC Kobenvhavn are a good team with good players but, I expect to surpass their challenge and KRC Genk, the Belgian Jupiler Pro League champions, might be a tough place to travel to but, once again, I'm expecting a positive result.

EDIT: If any of you are wodnering why my Champions League group has changed, it's because my save didn't save properly last night and it took me back to before the UEFA Champions League group stage draw - much happier with this draw although, in all honesty, I would've preferred my last group to challenge myself.

[Carmi88]

3rd in my group behind Hannover who are unbeaten, bloody applauded getting them, what a mistake to make. Lyon are second, did what they did last year and played out a defencive 1-0 win, however my team never bottled it at home this time and beat them 3-0 cherry on the cake with gibbs getting an own goal Now to play Rosenborg who have 0 points from 5 games in the group, have been everyones stepping stones AND! The loser of the Lyon Hannover match is out, aslong as I win.

[llama3]

I've just qualified for the UEFA Champions League after a good aggregate win against Holland's FC Twente. Then came the UEFA Champions League group stage draw;

When Shakhtar and LOSC Lille were drawn, to say the most, I was content but then, the up and coming European force of Napoli entered my group - 4 of the best footballing sides in Europe join together in one competition - that's why I love Champions League Football.

Will be tough to progress but, I am aiming for a good run and win our group.

ah thats no problem if you keep the ball at home and keep it tight away

[Sourav]

JANUARY UPDATE (2011-12 SEASON)

PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal (Miyaichi 27') 1 -0 Newcastle

After five games drawn on a trot, finally won one. The match itself was a scrappy affair but a win is a win.

Man Utd (Hernandez 19', Anderson 25') 2 - 0 Arsenal

Horrible performance. I don't even want to write about it.

Arsenal (Van Persie 7', 90 + 3', Miyaichi 48') 3 - 1 Bolton (Knight 80')

Finally a commanding performance from my team. Van Persie was brilliant and Miyaichi's performance has made me forget about Gervinho who's away on African Nations duty.

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Arsenal

We dominated proceedings but lacked the cutting edge up front which is not all that surprising really, seeing that I didn't have Van Persie, chamakh or Park for this match. Plus song and Gervinho are away on African Nations duty. Let's not forget about Arteta who's out with an injury and wilshere who is yet to return from his injury lay off. To make matters worse, after the match Diaby and Rodwell are out for 3 weeks each. My game is mirroring reality too closely.

Standings:

1 Man Utd - 22 games, 55 points

2 Man City - 23 games, 51 points

3 Arsenal - 23 games, 50 points

4 Tottenham - 20 games, 44 points

5 Chelsea - 23 games, 42 points

6 Liverpool - 23 games, 41 points

May well have to settle for the fourth spot if we don't start perfroming better.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Topped the group. I face Lyon in the first knouckout round.

LEAGUE CUP

Semi final away leg

Tottenham (Defoe 30') 1 - 2 Arsenal (Gervinho 9', Vermaelen 52')

A lucky away win. The first goal infact was such a fortuitious one that I literally jumped off my bed. Van Persie let go of a piledriver from 30 yards as the GK was off the goal line. Their GK tried to go back but the ball hit the bar of his goal and hit the back of his head. Before he could realize what was going on, Gervinho had outrun three defenders to tap the ball into the open net.

Semi final home leg

Arsenal (Walcott 80') 1 - 1 Tottenham (Gallas 30')

I feared for the worst when Gallas popped in from somewhere to score against his former team. After what seemed like eternity Walcott got the equalizer to calm nerves. We face Newcastle in the final.

FA CUP

3rd Round

Liverpool (Kuyt 77', 84') 2 - 4 Arsenal (Van Persie 49', 69', Vermaelen 73', Gervinho 74')

We destroyed them with three goals in a 6 minute period. Dirk Kuyt tried to do some heroics on his own but we held on to keep FA Cup hopes alive.

4th Round

Bristol city (Maynard 16') 1 - 1 Arsenal (Mertesacker 69')

How a team that beat Liverpool in the previous round produces a result like this is beyond me. A possession of more than 65% proved to be of no avail.

TRANSFERS

No transfers for me. On the other hand all the big teams made purchases of their own

Man Utd - Gregory Van der wiel (£18.25M), Toby Alderweireld (£9.25M)

Man city - Salvatore Bocchetti (£13.5M)

Chelsea - Hulk (£17.75M)

Liverpool - Demy de Zeeuw (£12.5M), Kader Mangane (£10M)

Tottenham - Darijo Srna (£15M), Alvaro Perreira (£7.5M)

EDIT:

I am in the middle of February. Wilshere finally got fit. I am wary of playing him straightaway so I assign him to reserve matches until match fit. Match aganst Aston villa reserves. Wilshere out for 2-3 weeks.

[error]

If anyone is wondering how Vela gets on he has been great for me in the third season. Didn't use him much in the second season when he came back but he was getting unhappy with playing time and I have always liked him so didn't want to lose him. I gave him some games and never looked back, he is scoring roughly a goal a game and is keeping Theo out of the team.

On a side note, is anyone having much joy with a diamond in the middle? I have always kept away from it but play with a flat 3 in midfield at the moment with a AMC and would like to move song down to DMC.

Had some really annoying draws which have put me 9 points behind City with 11 games to go, they do have a harder run in then me but I cant see them losing three as they have only let in 4 goals all season!

[exorcisto]

After spending a long time this week struggling through my second pre-season I have finally got into the 2012-13 season proper. I'm going to do some monthly updates from this season, a decision inspired largely by my last result in August, and the need to do a little bragging. Therefore, if things go quiet, assume the worst.

Friendlies

Gangwon A 3 - 0

Ulsan A 5 - 1

Chunnam A 2 - 0

CSKA Moscow H 2 - 3

Fenerbahçe A 2 - 0

Colorado A 4 - 0

Villarreal H 3 - 0

Premier Division

Everton H 2 - 0 (Gervinho, 2)

A fairly typical sort of game for my Arsenal side, we bossed posession but struggled to break down Everton for long periods. Everton have bought well in my save, getting Shawcross, and Ji-Sung Park over the summer. In the end it took two almost identical Gervinho strikes (sliding in from a couple of yards to connect with crosses from the right), which came late in each half to secure us the win. A minor injury to Koscielny was the only real down side, meaning he would miss our trip to Old Trafford in 7 days. Alvaro Pereira made his debut, as did Vertonghen when he replaced Kos.

Man Utd A 2 - 0 (Wilshere, Park)

This was my first really good result in this entire save. Last season I always struggled against good teams, particularly away from home against City, United, and Real Madrid when we just crumbled. Determined to change that this time I dropped my midfield trio back one line and kept it very disciplined. It worked as United came at us but just couldn't break through, creating no CCCs in the first 45. In the second half, a frustrated Rooney was sent off for a lunge from behind on Song, and the dynamic changed. I brought on Wilshere and Park and reverted to my normal 4-2-3-1, and while they still came forward, we suddenly looked like we could nick a goal too. The subs combined for the first goal, Park feeding Wilshere, who finished from a tight angle, and late on Gervinho squared to an unmarked Park in the box who slotted home nicely to seal it.

Maybe we just got lucky with Rooney getting sent off, but the early signs for this season are very positive indeed. I have a huge squad of 34 players, all of whom I trust to come in and do a job for the first team, Pereira and Vertonghen look good additions, Wilshere is back, Ramsey should be ready to grow in to Hamsik's replacement. Most pleasing of all though is two clean sheets to start the season, exactly what I wanted, to stop leaking cheap goals. Long may it continue.

[JEinchy]

August Update (13/14)

Transfers

Ins:

Alexander Manninger - Free.

Michael Santos - £1.5mil from Benfica.

Jordan Top - Free (Joins 1/1/2014).

A veteran and two kids. Manninger was signed to be backup for Szczesny and then eventually make way for Martinez, who will have developed to a satisfactory standard by that time. The two kids I thought looked really good so I signed them.

Outs:

Gervinho - £9mil to Werder Bremen.

Park Chu-Young - £7mil to Genoa.

Marouane Chamakh - £6.25mil to Lyon.

Nicklas Bendtner - £4.5mil to Frankfurt.

Ryo Miyaichi - £3.5mil to Frankfurt.

Denilson - £3mil to Villareal.

Joel Campbell - £3mil to Sampdoria.

Luckasz Fabiasnki - £2.5mil to Fulham.

Craig Dawson - £2mil to Wolves.

Neal Eardley - Loan to Birmingham (Fee: £1.3mil).

Oguzhan Ozyakup - Free to Piacenza.

Kyle Ebecillio - Loan to Leyton Orient.

Benik Afobe - Loan to Preston.

Lots and players of left, and the vast majority wanted to leave for more first team football. I'm pleased I got good money for some of them, but a bit disappointed I couldn't get more money for Gervinho.

Community Shield

Manchester City 2 - 3 Arsenal (Vincent Kompany 35', Laurent Koscielny OG 60'; Kieran Gibbs 66', Pablo Zabaleta OG 80', Alex Song 90+4')

Well, what a way to start the season. We were by far the better side but failed to take the opportunities that came our way. City grabbed one from a set-piece, and then added another when Koscielny turned in Di Maria's goal. The team kept going and eventually got the goal that was long overdue through an unlikely source. Our equaliser was a touch fortunate when Zabaleta tackled the ball into his own goal. I was all prepared for penalties, but Alex Song just took a pot shot from 30 yards and the City keeper, Pantillmon, spilled it. It was a great comeback and a result we deserved.

Premier League

QPR 2 - 1 Arsenal (Wellington Paulista pen 16', 41'; Marco Reus 13')

We lost a game at last, and not surprisingly we should not have lost it. We were comfortable in the opening exchanges and got a well deserved goal, but QPR were awarded a ******** penalty and managed to nick another later on. We should've scored more, but our finishing was woeful.

Arsenal 2 - 0 Newcastle (Laurent Koscielny 31', Robin van Persie 62')

A goal from a corner and a free-kick. We were dominant, but our finishing really needs a lot of work.

European Super Cup

Arsenal 3 - 1 Bayern Munich (Dusan Tadic 15', 28', Marco Reus 22'; Milan Badelj 33')

Manuel Neuer had a nightmare game as he flapped at two free-kicks that resulted in two Tadic tap-ins. Tadic also set-up Reus with a beautiful cross. Badelj pulled one back with a curling long-ranger, but we were always comfortable.

[Carmi88]

So other then Mr Invincible JEinchy Anybody else a few seasons in and seeing one of the other big teams being a step above the rest? City have done well so far in my season, jsut about to enter January.

P W D L Pts

1st Man City 16 15 1 0 46

2nd Chelsea 16 10 5 1 35

3rd Man Utd 15 8 5 2 29

4th Aston Villa 16 8 5 3 29

5th Liverpool 15 8 4 3 28

6th Arsenal 14 8 3 2 27

Even with both games won I'll be 13 points behind City

Also Messi is about to be 6 months away from an expiring contract, anybody ever signed him on FM11 or 12 before?

[error]

Carmi88 I'm in my third season and City are walking away with it, just entered Feb and they are unbeaten with only 4 conceded.

Interesting to see Chelsea up there, on my save they are around 9th and on their third manager.

[Carmi88]

28 year old Messi is coming to Arsenal for absolutely nothing except 230k a week hope I can get him to shine

And error, City have slipped up in mine! Man Utd beat them I beat them, I still have my 2 games in hand and they are 10 points ahead of me, a glimmer of hope!

[sulky]

1st January 2013 and I am first by three points from Man Utd, who have two games in hand and a better goal difference. My performances have been a mixed bag, with the team (and my tactical brain) struggling to cope with high quality teams and also the 4-4-2 wide diamond of Sporting. I think the ultra defensive tactics suggested higher in the thread might be the answer against the top teams.

Using RvP as a Trequartista is working better that as a complete forward (thanks for the advice JEinchy) and having finally got Gotze for silly money his average rating suggests he is doing well, even if it seem he has the ppm “curls ball round far post when shooting”.

The main problem I have is with injury distribution, with my forwards having very few injuries, but I have lots elsewhere. This means rotating the forwards off my own back (my Bendtner preference is inevitably going to lead to Chamakh leaving in the end), but struggling to field a full midfield or playing people out of position at full back.

Ramsey is doing excellently, but I don’t feel I am getting the most out of Wilshere or Muniain.

Gervinho is now performing despite no changes to his role or the tactics (AMR, Winger), so that’s good.

Fabianski has decided that (despite the only run of games he has had in two years - due to a Szczesny injury) that he wants to leave for first team football.

Vrsaljko’s agent asks for a new contract whenever he does anything internationally and Miyiachi is either complaining or underperforming.

I feel I’m at a point where I shouldn’t need significant signings for the squad, just to start investing in high quality youth and getting rid of the wastage (Park, Denilson, Diaby, etc).

[error]

This game is annoying when you are almost there but not quite, another season and nothing won

[ichi666]

Has anyone had Park Chu-Young go on a stormer? I'm asking this because I am now in my second season in charge of the club and the player has become something of a phenomenon. In his first season he made 32 total appearances, scored 9 and had 11 assists playing on the wing. First season I primarily ran with RVP as a sole striker up front. This season I'm employing a more traditional 4-4-2 with Park partnering RVP and he's been unstoppable. An overall 13 appearances with 14 goals, 5 assists and an average rating of 8.05. In the last 8 games he's netted in 7 of them and had a match rating of 9.1 or higher in 4. He was solid in the first season, and I'm by no means complaining, but I cannot fathom where Super Park has come from.

[error]

I had to post this, just beat barca 10-3 on agg in the quarters. 4-3 at camp nou after being 3-0 down then 6-0 at home. My most random match so far as I am not doing great!

[exorcisto]

Update: September 2012

I'm happy to say I carried my August form through into September with some very good results, and only one minor blip

PL Tottenham H 6 - 2 Robin van Persie(2), Nicolás Gaitán, Gervinho, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey.

We absolutely demolished Sp*rs at the Emirates. This was a really pleasing game, we were 4-0 up at half time and the result was never, ever in doubt. The fans loved it too.

PL Reading A 3 - 1 Theo Walcott(2), Gervinho.

I rotated Walcott in for Gaitan on the right for this game, and his new PPM to break the offside trap gave Reading all sorts of trouble. My wide players really got their scoring boots on this month.

CL Athletic H 4 - 0 Robin van Persie(3), Mikel Arteta.

A good Athletic side didn't stand a chance after Muniain was sent off for a horror tackle on Sagna. van Persie scored some crackers.

PL West Ham H 1 - 1 Robin van Persie.

This was a poor display, complacent after recent wins no doubt. We conceded after a silly flap from Szczesny rebounded in off Vertonghen, and then really struggled to get back into the game against a typical Allardyce performance. Robin to the rescue.

CC Derby H 3 - 0 Alex Chamberlain, Andrey Arshavin(2).

All change for the Carling cup, and Derby held us for most of the first half before Chamberlain scored a header. In the second half Arshavin came alive and scored two wonderful solo goals.

PL Fulham A 2 - 0 Theo Walcott, Gervinho.

Another tough one which turned on a sending off when Hangeland chopped down Chamakh who was through on goal. van Persie was injured early on (damaged hip, he's out for 2 months), but the wide men came though for me again. Walcott this time scored an unlikely header, from a looping Sagna cross, and Gervinho rifled one in the top corner.

I'm sitting top of the league currently, W5 D1 L0, Liverpool are 2nd, 4 behind me with a game in hand, Sp*rs 4 behind too in 3rd. Chelsea are 7th, City 8th (game in hand) and United, after early defeats to me and City are 11th, but they have a game in hand too.

Players

van Persie - Apps 7; Goals 6; Assists 2; Avg Rating 7.64

Gervinho - Apps 7; Goals 5; Assists 4; Avg Rating 7.87

Walcott - Apps 4; Goals 3; Assists 3; Avg Rating 8.10

Arteta - Apps 6; Goals 2; Assissts 2; Avg Rating 7.47

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Quite a quiet day in the Arsenal thread; thought today's result would've ignited more people's interest in their saves - it has for me

Anyway, just popping in to say that you should expect a Monthly Update from myself sooner rather than later. Want to get it up before the Dortmund-München match & MOTD. I should get it up within the hour.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Hello and Welcome to another monthly update of mine; this time I will scrutinize the month of August - A month which could shape our Premier League and Champions League campaigns; a good start to the season was vital.

August;

Barclays Premier League;

Arsenal - 4 (Walcott '20, '87, Gervinho '44, Koscielny '74)

Stoke - 3 (Jones '52, Song OG '62, Crouch '75)

By no means was it a bad performance as a team; but, once you split the team into different areas, you could consider it a good and bad performance. Our defensive unit didn't perform well at all, Vermaelen and Koscielny started as my 'Cover/Stopper' centre-half partnership and it looked like they were still getting used to it. Although, our attacking performance was great. Theo scored some magnificent goals and, on his debut, Gervinho bagged a back-post finish. Good start offensively, defensively not so much.

UEFA Champions League Best Placed Playoff - 1st leg;

FC Twente - 0

Arsenal - 2 (Arteta pen '31, Walcott '44)

A routine win, in all honesty. Retained possession of the ball well, defended well and managed to bag a 2-0 aggregate lead to take home with the flight back to London and to The Emirates. One downside to this result, Aaron Ramsey limped off with a calf strain which would keep him out until the beginning of September.

Barclays Premier League;

Manchester City - 2 (Nasri '32, Kompany '84)

Arsenal - 2 (Walcott '26, Gervinho '70)

Very promising result; displayed character, precision and defensive qualities, until I changed things. We were played out-of-the-park early on but, slowly played our way back into the game. Walcott did give us the lead but, surprise surprise, Judas came back and bagged his first Manchester City goal against his old team. Gervinho then went on to score the goal to regain our lead - this instigated the defensive outlook which ultimately cost us. We sat too deep and allowed the midfield of City too much time and space when on the ball. Kompany capitalized from a good corner and clinched them a draw. Impressive from us.

UEFA Champions League Bets placed Playoff - 2nd leg;

Arsenal - 2 (Chamakh '4, Song '15)

FC Twente - 0

Dominant victory. Came back from Holland with a 2-0 aggregate lead, that was quickly transformed into a 4-0 aggregate lead within the first 20 minutes of the mid-week game. Chamakh got a start and a goal for his efforts while an unlikely scorer, Alex Song, put the tie to bed with a deftly executed finish. Loved this performance; best one of the season so far. Our attacking game was brilliant at times.

Barclays Premier League;

Arsenal - 2 (Walcott '4, van Persie '84)

Bolton - 0

Comfortable win. Walcott continued his flying form with another early goal which reassured our stance towards the game and gave us a foot-hold to progress throughout the meeting. Van Persie then doubled our lead with a fine strike from the edge of the area after a slick, counter-attacking move. Happy with it.

General summary of August;

All in all, I'm happy. Very happy. My goal was to get out of the blocks well and, despite what some might call 'lower opposition', we certainly did that. For this season to be a success, we must beat teams like Stoke and Bolton on a regular basis and, as we saw from the recent performances, things look promising. The likes of Gervinho and Walcott also impressed myself, the fans and pundits alike too; hopefully, they'll both carry this form into the new year and beyond. May have to start looking for a temporary replacement for Gervinho while he's plying his trade for the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations in January, 2012.

My 'Gunner' of the Month;

▲▲▲ Theo Walcott - It had to be him, didn't it? He's began the season with a certain sense of class, which has deserted him in past seasons, which has benefited him and his goal tally. 4 goals in 4 Premier League appearances; that's the type of form that propelled him to clinching the 'Barclays Premier League Player of the Month' accolade. If he carries this tremendous, unexpected form throughout the season, he will definitely be a key player. Well Done Theo.

A few final words...

The style of play... It's been very good; just as I want it to be like. Our mdifield trio of Alex Song, Mikel Arteta and, due to Ramsey's injury, Tomas Rosicky have controlled games well while providing cover for the defensive unit aswell as been a creative force offensively. Alex Song likes to push further forward, to equal the positions of Arteta and Rosicky, when in possession of the ball but, without it, he drops deeper, hassles opponents and intercepts the ball very, very well. Arteta has been a consistent passing threat from deep while Tomas Rosicky pushes forward well to support the front three. Impressive possession statistics too. Happy with it.

The policy of youth - how's it going? Very well, to be fair. Our youth and reserve teams are performing well in their respective competition's and players like Jon Toral, Kyle Ebecilio, Serge Gnabry and Zak Ansah have impressed our coaching staff. As for the development aspect of youth players, Oguzhan Özyakup has impressed me. I am looking to develop him into a creative, deep-lying playmaker and he's shown good signs of improvement. Also, I'm actively looking for a club to take Chuks Aneke on a loan deal; he's another player I'm looking to involve in my first-team plans sooner rather than later.

My long-term plans; As always, I'm actively looking towards improving various aspects of the club, whether it be the squad, youth facilities of backroom staffing. But, in recent weeks, I have been searching for the next 'marquee' signing that would add a different level and/or dimension to this wonderful club; many of you will know him but, it won't deter me from showing you;

Finally, that concludes my long-awaited monthly update - Hope you lads liked it and it provided a good read for yourselves. Good Luck with your saves!

FORZA ARSENAL

[exorcisto]

Looking good Llew. Would love to see someone bring Gotze to Arsenal and find out how he does. Dortmund signed him to a long term contract on my game, so it probably won't be me unfortunately.

Saying that, I've got a £33m transfer budget left this year, and no intention of spending it in January, so maybe I should splash out for someone like him in the summer of 2013.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Looking good Llew. Would love to see someone bring Gotze to Arsenal and find out how he does. Dortmund signed him to a long term contract on my game, so it probably won't be me unfortunately.

Saying that, I've got a £33m transfer budget left this year, and no intention of spending it in January, so maybe I should splash out for someone like him in the summer of 2013.

Cheers mate

I'd love to buy Mario Götze, he is one of my long-term targets but, if a deal doesn't materialise, I have back-up options who, in my opinion, are almost at a similar level to Mario Götze - the likes of Marco Reus, André Ayew and Dries Mertens have been interesting me as I've monitored them for the majority of the season

[JEinchy]

Good luck signing Mario Götze. I've seen people having to spend as much £70mil to pry him away from Dortmund.

For £15.8mil, Marco Reus is a much better option.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Good luck signing Mario Götze. I've seen people having to spend as much £70mil to pry him away from Dortmund.

For £15.8mil, Marco Reus is a much better option.

If the figure would be £70 million, I'm going to rule myself out now; I've had Steve Rowley monitoring the progress of Marco Reus and André Ayew in particular. Both have been praised highly by Rowley in weeks gone by. I'd love to bring in either one - Marseille would command a fee of £10 million for André Ayew, according to Rowley, and Gladbach would want £15 million for Reus.

Just played Q.P.R and our second-half substitute, Tomas Rosicky, will miss a considerable amount of the season due to this;

With the lack of creative central midfielders, I may need to strengthen in January. Marvin Martin would be a very good signing; for the time being, this may be the break that Oguzhan Özyakup has been waiting for.

[JEinchy]

Gladbach wanted £15.8mil when I brought Reus in the first window, and they wouldn't stray from that figure. He's well worth it, though, as he quite easily scores 15+ goals a season.

[malikoi]

Llew, just a quick one.. Did you change the competition names by yourself, or did you download an update kind of thing? If so, a link would be very nice.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Gladbach wanted £15.8mil when I brought Reus in the first window, and they wouldn't stray from that figure. He's well worth it, though, as he quite easily scores 15+ goals a season.

He would be a very good investment, no doubt; I'll evaluate what I've got and what I need once December arrives

Llew, just a quick one.. Did you change the competition names by yourself, or did you download an update kind of thing? If so, a link would be very nice.

I did use a edit pack but, annoyingly, I can't remember where I got it from. Blue_magic PM'd me with the link but, since then, I've deleted all my messages. Sorry; maybe you could PM Blue_magic and ask him about the 'Real Competition Names' pack he uses?

[Lone Gooner]

Anyone got any reccomendations on a decent left back and striker of good quality as backup for RvP?

Cheers

[Suggy33]

Cissokho, Schennikov, Tremoulinas?

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Just as I thought things couldn't get any worse for my creative midfielders, look who's got injured again;

That's Rosicky gone with a leg fracture, now Ramsey with a broken metatarsal - I would love to bring in Marvin Martin in January but, things remain undecided. Advice would be welcomed.