FM12 Arsenal Thread - Life after Cesc

[JEinchy]

Hey guys, I just found something interesting on one of my saves. I'm not playing as Arsenal at the moment, but have been keeping up with them in game and encountered a youth player that has turned out to be surprisingly good.

The year is 2016, and Isacc Hayden is now an England international...

[zaaachhh]

Recently taken over at Arsenal (was at Blackburn but couldn't resist a bigger club coming in for me) and this regen has popped up:

Tempting.

[Hyperlogic]

September Update Season 2

Wigan 1 - 4 Arsenal (Koscielny, Hulk(2), Ramsey) 3/9/12 EPL

Arsenal 3 - 1 Liverpool (R.V.P(3)) 15/9/12 EPL

Lazio 1 - 2 Arsenal (Wilshere(2)) 19/9/12 CL Group stages

Man City 2 - 2 Arsenal (Kompany o.g, R.V.P) 23/9/12 EPL

Liverpool 0 - 2 Arsenal (Hulk, Mangane o.g) 26/9/12 League Cup 3rd Round

Arsenal 3 - 0 Burnley (Hulk(2), R.V.P) 29/9/12 EPL

Manager Of The Month : Sir Alex

Player Of The Month : R.V.P with 5 in 4 appearances and average 8.45

Young Player Of The Month : Hazard with some nice assists and 7.18 average.

Pleased with how the month went, as you can see we had a tough 4 game run there beating Liverpool twice. I was happy with the away win in Manchester, its one of the hardest games of the season.

The players are playing well in particular Hulk and R.V.P. Very good link up play between the two, long may it continue

Home draw against Man City in the League Cup 4th round next month

[Hyperlogic]

October Update Season 2

Arsenal 4 - 0 Zenit (Vermaelen(2), Wilshere, Hulk) 2/10/12 CL Group Stage

Newcastle 1 - 5 Arsenal (Hulk(3), R.V.P, Wilshere) 6/10/12 EPL

Arsenal 4 - 0 Norwich (R.V.P(3), Koscielny) 20/10/12 EPL

Arsenal 5 - 0 Shakhtar (R.V.P(4), Wilshere) 23/10/12 CL Group Stage

Arsenal 3 - 2 Tottenham (R.V.P, Wilshere, Hulk) 27/10/12 EPL

Arsenal 3 - 0 Man City (Wilshere(2), R.V.P) 31/10/12 League Cup 4th Round

Manager of the month : Me

Player of the month : Hulk with 4 in 3 8.77

Young player of the month : Wilshere 2 in 3 and 7.9

Bolton away from home in the League Cup Qtr Final

Hazard recovered at the end of this month from a 5 week injury, Gervinho still out from a broken leg he recived during international duty in September. Walcott also returns from a 4 week injury in time for next months games.

Very pleased with the results this month, Manchester clubs are keeping up the pressure scoring almost as much and equal on points. Chelsea are in an awful state with no real strength coming into the squad during the summer they look on the decline.

[Kieran87]

lol @ that .. does he have a dual nationality. I would go for it just to see the name on a shirt. doesn't look too bad and from the looks of it , bar tackling could hold still as well lol! good find.

@ JEinchy : wow @ that screenie - he wass dire on my save and I mean blue square north dire on my save , hence selling him to luton 2nd year. How on earth he looks like that I don't know but I will now go and check him. ( im 5 years in )

[llama3]

Hey guys, I just found something interesting on one of my saves. I'm not playing as Arsenal at the moment, but have been keeping up with them in game and encountered a youth player that has turned out to be surprisingly good.

The year is 2016, and Isacc Hayden is now an England international...

yeah he is totally random PA - a few of them in the squad actually, worth keeping a close eye on the youth to see who has a little bit of potential about them

[FintryFintry]

cavani - 24 goals in 12 games, beast!!!

[Carmi88]

I'm on course for winning the League Cup for the 6th year In a row as I'm 3-0 up against blackburn In the final, If only I was this consistent In Europe :[

[Hyperlogic]

November Update Season 2

Swansea 1 - 6 Arsenal (R.V.P(3), Walcott(2), Vermaelen) 3/11/12 EPL

Shakhtar 0 - 2 Arsenal (R.V.P, Hulk) 7/11/12 CL Group Stages

Birmingham 1 - 2 Arsenal (Pable o.g, Hazard) 10/11/12 EPL

Arsenal 4 - 0 Chelsea (Wilshere, Chamberlain, Bertrand o.g, Ramsey) 13/11/12 Great result here smashing Chelsea and as a result A.V.B was sacked! EPL

Bolton 2 - 7 Arsenal (Fierro(2), Hummels, Hulk(2), Vermaelen, Hazard) 24/11/12 EPL

Arsenal 2 - 1 Lazio (M'Vila, R.V.P) 27/11/12 CL Group Stages

Manager Of The Month : Me

Player Of The Month : Rooney with 7 in 4, incredible!

Young Player Of The Month : Vrsajiko with an average rating of 7.85 in 4 games. Very good from a defensive set RB.

Sitting pretty at the top of the table still, in very good form. 5/5 in the group stages so far and we play Bolton in the Qrt finals of the league cup in December. We were the exact same this time last year so hopefully we can manage to reclaim the domestic treble again while managing to do better in Europe!

[Hyperlogic]

I can't recommend Hulk enough, so far he has been a revelation out on the right wing for me. He has a great ability to cross a ball or cut inside and score like he just did as i was typing this sentence haha.

He also seems to play very very well with R.V.P. With those two in the squad I see the message "No keeper in the world would have saved that shot" As they both like to power them home.

[llama3]

I'm on course for winning the League Cup for the 6th year In a row as I'm 3-0 up against blackburn In the final, If only I was this consistent In Europe :[

maybe your approach is wrong - too attacking? games last 180 minutes in europe, i always think of it that way and play to retain the ball

[Carmi88]

Will give that a shot if I can overturn my 2-1 deficit against porto

[Carmi88]

well er... that certainly worked, put 8 past Porto and conceded 1. cheers llama!

[llama3]

well er... that certainly worked, put 8 past Porto and conceded 1. cheers llama!

no worries mate - i treat the game in such a way as to aim to win 1-0 on aggregate - traditionally worked well for me

[KingLara]

Season 13/14 November/December update

Premier League – READING 1-4 ARSENAL – Leigertwood 90 – Ghidini 15 Cavani 32 Koscielny 58 Ward o.g 65

There are worst times to play a team that has just lost 10-0. Reading to their credit gave us a good game but the win was never in question. Ghidini capped his first league start with a fine goal. Still can’t keep a clean sheet. Leigertwood scored right with the last kick.

Champions League Group Stages MD4 – PSG 1-3 ARSENAL – Gameiro 45 – Cavani 21 Van Persie 45 67

An outstanding display in Paris which put us 3 points clear at the top of the group. Van Persie capped a captains display with two wonderfully taken goals while Cavani in an unfamiliar role on the right wing added to his tally.

Premier League – ARSENAL 6-0 STOKE CITY – Cavani 1 83 Ghidini 10 40 75 Van Persie 72

After two good starting performances I decided to keep faith with Ghidini and he repaid me by hitting a wonderful hattrick. A freekick from Van Persie and a brace by Cavani capped a great performance. Also very welcoming to keep a clean sheet although Stoke being unable to muster a single attempt on target helped.

Premier League – MANCHESTER CITY 2-2 ARSENAL – Dzeko 25 Aguero 74 – Schurrle 16 Cavani 63

It wasn’t ideal to play after an international break having picked up injuries and Walcott and Ramsey (the latter keeping him out for two months). Also both Schurrle and Van Persie were struggling with fitness. United had kept up their terrific form in the league so I knew it was crucial not to lose. I set out to hit City on the break as I felt they would be pushing forward to get a win. It worked beautifully but wayward finishing let us down. Time after time we found ourselves 2 on 2 but couldn’t find the right pass. In the end City twice picked their way through to equalise shortly after we had taken the lead. Certainly a good point but could easily have been 3. One blessing was Spurs beating United 1-0 at White Hart Lane meaning it was a point gained. Just one behind now with the same goal difference.

Champions League Group Stages MD5 – BATE 0-4 ARSENAL – Korchevskiy s/o 67 -

Chamberlain 3 20 Ghidini 54 Park 70

Another very good Champions League victory. I left Van Persie, Vermaelan and Schurrle at home but the boys still put in an excellent performance. Park notchin g his 50th goal for the club with a rare header.

Premier League – ARSENAL 4-1 WIGAN – Wilshere 3 Ghidini 23 56 Van Persie 29 – Stracqualursi 55

I kept faith with Ghidini and Chamberlain meaning Cavani had to settle for a place on the bench. A solid first half saw us score 3 times although still not at our best. Second saw a host of chances Chamberlain should have added to his two in Bate but hit the post while Ghidini could’ve had another hattrick but will settle for a brace.

Premier League – TOTTENHAM 0-1 ARSENAL – Parker s/o 45 Koscielny 82

I was wondering when Koscielny would start producing the goals he did the previous season. He got a massive one here. A lot of credit to Spurs who played a full half with ten men and could count themselves very unlucky to lose. They had also just been taken to extra time by Southampton in the league cup so were already jaded. We weren’t at our best and it was a blow to be missing Van Persie who was suspended but I’ll gladly take the win and look for the performance another day.

Champions League Group Stages MD6 – ARSENAL 2-0 SHALKE - Gibbs 32 56 – J Jones s/o 32

We finished the Champions League group stages with a good win over second place Shalke courtesy of a rare brace by Kieren Gibbs. He went on a mazy wun from his own half before poking past Hadanovic for the first before a tap in from a corner gave him his second. Pretty easy win and many key players rested.

Final Group Table

ARSENAL – Played 6 Won 5 Drawn 1 Lost 0 Points 16

SHALKE - Played 6 Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 2 Points 10

PSG - Played 6 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 3 Points 9

BATE - Played 6 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 6 Points 0

FA Cup 3rd Round Draw

ARSENAL vs PORTHSMOUTH

A decent draw should see us safely through in one take. It seemed to be a dull draw until City drew Chelsea at Eastlands. Spurs host Cardiff.

Premier League – ARSENAL 6-2 BIRMINGHAM CITY – Cavani 17 Wilshere 45 Song 53 Walcott 56 68 Van Persie 78 – Zigic 9 48

The result suggests another Emirates stroll but the truth was less. For 50 minutes Birmingham really should’ve been ahead. The had the same amount of chances and controlled the game just couldn’t score. Once we got the fourth we finally looked comfortable.

Champions League 2nd Round

RUBIN KAZAN vs ARSENAL

Inter will host Real Madrid. United face a trip to Galatasaray City play Marseille while Spurs have Shalke.

Premier League – WOLVES 1-2 ARSENAL – Johnnson 41 – Cavani 31 64

One of those games where people say “Champions win when they’re playing badly” Wasn’t a great performance but Cavani was on hand to grab the win.

Premier League – ARSENAL 2-1 CHELSEA – Cavani 17 30 – Lukaku 37

An awful run of 4 games in 7 days first saw Chelsea visit the Emirates. Again it was a brace by Cavani that got us the win although Chelsea never really looked like threatening as we kept the dangerous Neymar and Mata quiet. Liverpool, Sunderland and Blackburn to go.

Premier League – LIVERPOOL 1-1 ARSENAL – Song o.g 3 – Cavani 48

It’s a really tough ask travelling to Anfield with just a day’s rest from the Chelsea game so I have to give full credit to the boys for giving it a real go. We dominated miuch of the game and were just let down by very poor finishing. Suarez and Schurrle missed glaring chances to win it for either side but I’ll take a point.

Premier League – ARSENAL 3-0 SUNDERLAND – Cavani 15 51 Schurrle 44

The year ended with Sunderland visiting the Emirates. After two tough games I rested most of the starting eleven. I had managed to keep Cavani and Van Persie over 90% so both started. Lee Guest a young highly rated regen made his league debut in central midfield. It was a pretty comfortable win and the two plus schurrle should all be available for Blackburn.

Finally started to hit a good run of form and was delighted with the amount of points picked up over Christmas

A timeline of league form for November and December

WWDWWWWWDW

TOP SCORERS (all comps)

God knows what he will finish on if he stays fit!

Cavani - 27

Van Persie – 12

Schurrle - 10

Ghidini - 7

Walcott – 6

Park – 3

Wilshere - 2

Gibbs - 2

Chamberlain -2

Koscielny - 2

Song - 2

Ramsey – 1

Tevez - 1

AVERAGE RATINGS (all comps minimum 5 games)

Edison Cavani – 7.71

Kieren Gibbs – 7.62

Robin Van Persie – 7.62

Andre Schurrle – 7.59

Bacary Sagna – 7.39

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

Theo Walcott - 7.35

Laurent Koscielny – 7.26

Thomas Vermaelen – 7.23

LEAGUE TABLE

An excellent couple of months and a couple of slips by our rivals saw us top of the table come the end of the year. Goal difference is also +8 ahead. If we get double the points from the last 19 games, we should win the league comfortably.

1. Arsenal played 19 points 46

2. Man United played 19 points 43

3. Man City played 17 points 40

4. Tottenham played 19 points 39

5. Chelsea played 19 points 38

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

6. Liverpool played 19 points 36

GAME OF THE MONTH

Were quite a few candidates. A 9-goal thriller at Reading saw them lose 3-6 to Man City having been 2-0 up. Fulham had better luck at home beating Coty 2-0 with a magnificent performance. But I’ll go for the big rival clash at Eastlands.

MAN CITY 2-2 MAN UTD

Y Toure 18 Silva 88 /-/ Rooney 62 Berbatov 86

Shots 15 - 10

On Ta 4 - 6

Poss 52 - 48

PLAYER OF THE MONTH– Edison Cavani

I was going to give it to Schurrle again having scored 10 and assisted 12, but having scored braces in 4 games I’ll give it to Cavani. 27 goals in his first season. He’s been an absolute revelation.Ghidini would’ve got it for November alone to add to his Premier League player of the month, but unfortunately for him it’s over two.

79(1)

80(1)

95(2)

74(1)

65[on68]

62

69

80(1) [off79]

88(2) [off85]

88(2) [off76]

73(1)

88(2) [off74]

STAT OF THE MONTH

As we head into 2014 a few high profile players are now available for free having less than 6 months on their contracts.

Would make a hell of a team!!

Buffon

A Cole

Zambrotta

R Ferdinand

Lucio

J Cole

Lampard

Van Bommel

Benayoun

Ibrahmovic

Villa

Bench

Valdes

Navarro

Carvalho

Ballack

Maxi

Adebayor

Robinho

Any Tips?

January/February preview

The FA Cup starts with a home tie against Portsmouth.

The transfer window opens and I’m looking for one more attacking midfielder. Again I tried to get Robben for free but he signed a new 2 year deal.

Fixtures wise we should be able to pull away. United at the Emirates is the only team of note we play.

[Carmi88]

of those players expiring personally I'd have a look at Robinho, Villa and A Cole

And with my lovely new stadium comes a lovely new owner. Instantly upgraded all facilities

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/523780343987958383/3A0FC2EAFED5A1927735833083A666E7618BE1BB/

Also asked for a feeder club, and got the list of every team, so being the highest rep team I decided to see how much rep matters and picked Barcelona, will be funny If they accept! xD

[KingLara]

The only problem with Robinho and Villa is that i already have so many strikers. All the youth players are so highly rated that I don't really want anymore. I keep having to turn down new strikers that my scouts offer. Robinho could be an option as he can play on the flanks but I would have to train him into a new position.

[Sapačko]

Im starting save with Arsenal now, very promising team with a lot of potential, and with big challenge to win trophy after a long period

I will bring some new players if i want to challenge for a title, but as always i will buy players that are not older than 25 years old.

[Carmi88]

Tycoon gives me 272 million transfer budget

[Kieran87]

He also sent you a letter (You better sign Messi then) I think it says. It came through my door by mistake = P

[Carmi88]

I already had Messi The modern day equivalent in my game would be a 31 year old german midfielder called Dieter Bergman, who single handedly got Real Madrid 2 Champions League titles In a row, and has been the scorn of my side every time we meet

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/523780344002575157/5B481D2F56413691D1770DBC92976D706AA5597D/ - My all time best 11, still featuring Szczesny, Wilshere and subs Di

Maria, Song, Tevez, Koscielny and Vermaelen

[Ron_Burgundy]

I already had Messi The modern day equivalent in my game would be a 31 year old german midfielder called Dieter Bergman, who single handedly got Real Madrid 2 Champions League titles In a row, and has been the scorn of my side every time we meet

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/523780344002575157/5B481D2F56413691D1770DBC92976D706AA5597D/ - My all time best 11, still featuring Szczesny, Wilshere and subs Di MA

aria, Song, Tevez, Koscielny and Vermaelen

Just out of interest Carmi, how many trophies have you racked up until 2028?

[Carmi88]

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/524906675502335209/53EADA6D3A919995816271FA4689BF28BA5308C0/

27 cup wins, and 9 league titles. Just got spanked 4-0 by Man City In the Community shield due to buying a lot of new players

thinking about calling It a day on this save, has been extremely fun but I'm starting to lose Interest

[Hyperlogic]

December Update Season 2

Arsenal 3 - 1 Everton (R.V.P(2), Didtin o.g) 1/12/12 EPL

Bolton 0 - 4 Arsenal (Fierro(3), Hulk) 5/12/12 League Cup Qtr Final

Man Utd 2 - 3 Arsenal (Hulk(2), Wilshere) 8/12/12 EPL

Zenit 0 - 1 Arsenal (R.V.P) 12/12/12 Champions League Group Stages

Arsenal 5 - 0 West Brom (R.V.P, Olsson o.g, Hulk, Hazard(2) 17/12/12 EPL

Arsenal 6 - 1 Fulham (Hulk(2), R.V.P(3), Wilshere) 22/12/12 EPL

Stoke 0 - 2 Arsenal (R.V.P(2)) 26/12/12 EPL

West Ham 0 - 0 Arsenal 29/12/12 EPL

Arsenal 4 - 0 Aston Villa (Fierro, Wilshere(4)) 31/12/12 EPL

Manager Of The Month : Dalglish

Player Of The Month : Hulk with 5 in 7 and 8.1 rating. Wierd since R.V.P and Wilshere both had more goals and higher rating...

Young Player Of The Month : Eriksen with 1 in 7 and 6.93 rating. Wilshere in second with 6 in 6 and 8.25 rating, this doesn't make sense! lol

I will not be looking to bring anyone in over the winter transfer period, I am very happy with the squad although Arteta has been promised a move away. He hasn't really featured in my first team plans since taking over the club.

Managed to do slightly better in the CL Group stages this year with 6 wins outa 6. Last year I was hammered by Ajax 3 - 0 in the final game. The champions league has become my main aim this season as I am currently running away with the league anyway

I will face Sevilla in the next round of the Champions league and Tottenham in both the League Cup Semi Final and FA cup

[Hyperlogic]

January Update Season 2

Arsenal 4 - 1 West Ham (Hazard, Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott) 6/1/13 FA Cup 3rd Round

Q.P.R 1 - 3 Arsenal (Kenny o.g, Koch o.g, Ramsey) 12/1/13 EPL

Arsenal 2 - 1 Tottenham (Hummels, Wilshere) 15/1/13 League Cup Semi Final

Arsenal 6 - 1 Wigan (Vermaelen(2), Gourlay(Regen AM), R.V.P(2), Hulk) 21/1/13 EPL

Liverpool 0 - 3 Arsenal (Walcott, Hulk(2)) 27/1/13 EPL

Tottenham 2 - 3 Arsenal (Chamberlain, Walcott, Hazard) 30/1/13 League Cup Semi Final

Manager Of The Month : Me

Player Of The Month : Rooney with 4 in 3 and 8.37

Young Player Of The Month : Yannis Tafer from Birmingham with 4 in 3 and 7.77

I have Tottenham in the FA cup next, overall pleased with this month despite having an injury to both R.V.P and Ramsey. Both quite long but the team are managing fine. Happy with the two wins against Tottenham and glad the English regen "Gourlay" could slot in some good performances this month. I will post a screeny of him soon.

We play Man City at home next month along with an away trip to Sevilla. I'm confident we will progress into the next round of the Champions League, my team look like there playing better than last year although in certain games complacency and nervy performances are popping up.

[Hyperlogic]

February Update Season 2

Arsenal 2 - 0 Tottenham (Hummels, Chamberlain) 2/2/13 FA Cup 4th Round

Burnely 0 - 1 Arsenal (Hulk) 5/2/13 EPL

Arsenal 1 - Man City (Walcott) 10/2/13 EPL

Arsenal 9 - 2 Newcastle (Walcott, Hazard(3), Hulk(3), Hummels(2)) 16/2/13 EPL

Sevilla 1 - 3 Arsenal (Walcott, Hazard, Wilshere) 19/3/13 Champions League 1st Knockout Leg 1

Southampton 0 - 3 Arsenal (Vermaelen, Chamberlain, M'Vila) 23/2/13 FA Cup 5th Round

Norwich 0 - 3 Arsenal (Wilshere, Hazard, Hulk) 26/3/13 EPL

Manager Of The Month : Me

Player Manager Of The Month : Hazard with 4 in 4 and 8.48

Young Player Manager Of The Month : Wilshere with 1 in 4 and 7.72

Another good month, managed to get on without Ramsey and R.V.P. Gervinho is just coming back from his broken leg. Walcott seems to have stepped up nicely for me. Still unbeaten this season and scoring like mad long may it continue haha

[Hyperlogic]

March Update Season 2 Sorry for the 4th post in a row here guys, this keeps me entertained for now though lol :/

Arsenal 3 - 0 Swansea (Hulk, R.V.P, Wilshere) 3/3/13 League Cup Final

Arsenal 5 - 0 Swansea (R.V.P, Hulk(2), Wilshere, Gervinho) 6/3/13 EPL

Tottenham 2 - 3 Arsenal (Hummels(2), Wilshere) 9/3/13 EPL

Arsenal 2 - 0 Sevilla (Wilshere, Hulk) 13/3/13 Champions League 1st Knockout Leg 2

Arsenal 5 - 2 Liverpool (Song, Hazard, R.V.P(2), Gourlay) 17/3/13 FA Cup 6th Round

Arsenal 5 - 0 Birmingham (Wilshere(2), Walcott(2), Koscielny) 23/3/13 EPL

Manager Of The Month : Me

Player Of The Month : Wilshere with an incredible average rating of 9.13 and 4 in 3

Young Player Of The Month : Phil Jones

Delighted to have won the League Cup for the second year running, eliminating Man City and Tottenham on the way to the final. The board are never really bothered about this cup but its a good little opportunity to try out some young players and mix things up

FA Cup Semi Final puts me up against Leicester, which is very favourable The other semi final game includes Blackburn and Fulham, this cup also looks like it could be heading towards the Emirates.

Things are going very well in the League! I look certain to retain the trophy after 30 games:

Arsenal 86pts

Man Utd 65pts

Liverpool 65pts

Man City 64pts

Chelsea 57pts

I doubt anyone can catch me unless I have one crazy silly messed up run of form which currently doesn't look like happening.

This could also be my year in the Champions league as both Barcelona and Real Madrid were knockout out of the competition! All 4 English teams Remain in the running for it. The Qtr Finals pairs me up with games against Chelsea. The winner will play AC Milan or PSG. The current holders, OM, are also going strong in the competition and will play Tottenham. With the final two teams being Man Utd v FC Bayern

[Carmi88]

Well after many successful years my team have turned to poo :[ Morale Is down, too many new bodies has upset the unity at the club, and It has reignited my attention to the save!

Community shield - destroyed 4-0 by Man City leading to poor opening season

Carlin Cup - eliminated in 3rd round by Cardiff on penalties

Champions League - drawn Into a group of Juventus *italian champions* , FC Cluj and Zenit. Cluj beating me 3-2 and Juventus hammering me 4-0 being the low points, however I'm still 2nd going into the last game and It Is a must win against zenit!

Man Utd are the team to beat this season, destroyed me 6-0 and are unbeaten in the league in 12 games

[Kieran87]

hopes it brings the best out of you Carmi. Imagine if they sack you it would be like apocalypse now!

[Hyperlogic]

I hope I can stay as interested in my current Arsenal game as you have Carmi, good luck with the squad dude Out of interest, are you still playing at the Emirates?

[Carmi88]

nope, got a lovely new stadium built, another 5 months till It Is completely finished, although my games are already taking place In It so I don't know If thats a bug or what not xD

I posted a link a few pages back of a screenie going to it, however any one of them should lead to my steam screenshots and the info can be found there

actually ignore that last line, it doesn't lead to them, I'll pop It up now.

http://steamcommunity.com/id/Carmi88/screenshot/524906675514024833?tab=all

[Hyperlogic]

Oh 78k seater, very nice. I want it already and im not even done with season 2 yet! haha nice.

Was flicking through your screenie's there and noticed Wilshere's influence! Hope that goes up fast, I want him as my future captain! lol

[llama3]

keep at it Carmi - even if you do lose interest don't delete the save - come back to it

hyperlogic - very impressed at several wins over spurs - nothing better!

[Hyperlogic]

April Update Season 2

I'm finding this month extremely stressful how the **** do they do it IRL.... Oh yeah that's right there millionaires, I would literally eat a football player alive for the kind of wages top clubs players are paid haha. ANYWAY!

Chealsea 0 - 1 Arsenal (Wilshere) 1/4/13 This guy really has been insane for me this season. Very well struck goal too EPL

Arsenal 6 - 0 Bolton (R.V.P(2), Wilshere(2), Koscielny, Hulk) 6/4/13 What a way to win the league at home with 6 goals scored, great performance here and delighted with bringing the trophy home EPL

Arsenal 4 - 0 Chelsea (Gervinho, Hazard, Wilshere, R.V.P) 10/4/13 Couldn't have asked for a better result than this for our first leg, outstanding! Champions League Qrt Finals Leg 1

Everton 0 - 1 Arsenal (Hulk) 13/4/13 Close game even with a full strength squad, I should be prioritising the CL by now but I have never had an unbeaten season in the League before, I'm damn close EPL

Chelsea 3 - 1 Arsenal (R.V.P) 16/4/13 First defeat all season, It hurt but thankfully we done enough in the first leg to qualify for the next round Champions League Qrt Finals Leg 2

Leicester 0 - 7 Arsenal (Koscienly(2), Gervinho, Hazard(2), Fierro, Tunchev o.g) 21/4/13 Through to the final in style! Didn't field my strongest 11 FA Cup Semi Finals

Arsenal 2 - 1 Man Utd (R.V.P, Vermaelen) 24/4/13 My last big test in the league with a strong starting 11 we pulled it off EPL

West Brom 2 - 2 Arsenal (Fierro(2)) 27/4/13 Rested quite a few players for this game, things are getting nervy! EPL

Manager Of The Month : Me

Player Of The Month : Carlos Vela for Fulham who managed 5 in 4

Young Player Of The Month : Cauolker of Q.P.R with 1 in 5 and average of 7.14. Wilshere who came second with 3 in 4 and 7.95 rating... EH! lol

The Champions League Semi Finals pairs me up against last years group rivals AC Milan. The first leg will be played in Italy and I have jobbie in my pants. I fear our averaged age of 23 squad wont cut it this far into the competition and will bottle it away from home. If Chelsea can put 3 by us then I fear what AC might do, I am however, confident we can win at home. The other semi finals will be played between OM and FC Bayern.

I will play Fulham twice next month, once in the league and once in the FA Cup Final. We look set to reclaim the domestic treble this year along with the Community Shield. Good times for Arsenal in England haha

3 games left in the league to play I hope luck is on our side by avoiding injury's, Ramsey and Yan M'Villa have both been out for at least a month, players are needing rested from training quite often. This month is a big big test!

[Hyperlogic]

keep at it Carmi - even if you do lose interest don't delete the save - come back to it

hyperlogic - very impressed at several wins over spurs - nothing better!

Thanks llama, I was getting frustrated playing them so much. Same with Chelsea! haha

[Hyperlogic]

May Update Season 2

AC Milan 2 - 1 Arsenal (Hazard) 1/5/13 We were lucky to have only conceded 2 goals here. The defending was woeful at times and R.V.P was sent off meaning he would miss the next leg. doable though Champions League Semi Final Leg 1

Arsenal 3 - 0 Stoke (Gourlay(2), Chamberlain) 4/5/13 Nice stand in performance from the young English regen who looks alot like Wilshere and touted as the next Gazza! EPL

Arsenal 2 - 0 AC Milan (Hazard(2)) 7/5/13 We done it! Through to the final. What a game, Fellani was sent off early on for Milan and we stood up and took advantage. Roll on the final haha Champions League Semi Final Leg 2

Fulham 4 - 3 Arsenal (R.V.P, Hazard, Wilshere) 15/5/13 Terrible defending again away from home not to mention this is our first league defeat of the season on the second last game its disappointing. Oh well lets punish them in the final... EPL

Arsenal 5 - 1 Fulham (Hazard(2), Wilshere, Hulk, R.V.P) 18/5/13 HAH, **** you Fulham! Treble in the bag and what a cup final it was. Great result. FA Cup Final

Arsenal 8 - 0 West Ham (R.V.P(3), Wilshere(2), Hummels, Koscielny, Joe cole o.g) 26/5/13 Great way to end the league season. Looked like champions in this game EPL

English Footballer Of the year : Hulk, Wilshere then R.V.P

English player's player of the year : Hazard, Rooney and Leandro Damiao(Pool)

English top goalscorer : R.V.P(33), Hulk(29) and Rooney(22)

Players young player : Aguero, Chicharito then Hummels

Golden Glove : Reina, Szczesny and finaly De Gea

Manager Of the year : Me, Mancini then Laudrup(Villa)

Hummels, Hazard, Wilshere, Hulk and R.V.P all made it to the players team of the year.

One more game to go, the big one and my aim.... Champions League Final! It will be played against FC Bayern. Comon Arsenal ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

[llama3]

good luck against FC Bayern

[Hyperlogic]

Its done, I've won the Quadruple! haha

FC Bayern 1 - 3 Arsenal 1/6/13 Champions League Final

Arjen Robben opened up the scoring within 3 minutes of play, a superb effort from just outside the box and it was uphill from there.

Hulk pulled one back 12 minutes later with a magnificent run, cutting inside with the ball and letting loose a powerful shot from inside the Area.

Hazard then scored the following 2 goals in the second half to wrap up a very good game of football. He was crowned man of the match which is no surprise he always shows up in the big games. Delighted! haha

Plans for Season 3

I feel like I need a new striker. R.V.P still has boundless talent but he's getting slow and with my team scoring quite often from counter attacks he can't get to the ball before defenders do.

Walcott is not good enough to stand in full time and Fierro still has a large room for improvement.

Possible Tagrets :

Aguero : Fast, creative and a good finisher with high composure. Comes deep to get the ball which would work well with Hazard and Hulk cutting inside. Great of the ball movement.

Doumbia : Even faster with higher finishing, strong with a high work rate but lower technique and creativity then Aguero.

Cavani : Great finishing and physical stats. Great work rate and natural fitness which I love to have in my team. Composed and influential, helped Inter to the Serie A with 22 goals in 34 appearances but my scouts say he would be available to me for 22 million. Might test there theory haha

[Carmi88]

Anybody ever had a good striker go on a goalless streak? I'm waiting for the fa cup to come so I can get him an easy goal, however In the games he has played he has done virtually nothing wrong, the number of post hits, clearances off the line and just top draw saves from the keeper is soul destroying, I'd keep playing him but he is costing me games

edit: nevermind, my fa cup plan worked a treat

scratch that, got injured on 60 minutes and had 2 goals to his name, damn you charlton!!!

[llama3]

try putting them in the reserves if short of form...

[llama3]

btw updated a bit of OP - will update squad analysis after patch

[gooner4ever]

Hi all!

This is my first post in this thread and the second one overall. I'm glad to have come across this community!

I've been fiddling around with tactics recently, trying to find the 'perfect' one. My BIG aim is to make the current Arsenal team play as well as they possibly can without any non-urgent signings. Usually I just sign a brilliant future prospect Šime Vrsaljko in the first season to cover for Sagna and that's all! Like I said I've restarted the game numerous times and have had moderate success with the following general tactical approach (I'm not going into too much detail) which targets free-flowing attacking play:

TEAM

Fluid philosophy
Attacking strategy / Counter strategy in very difficult matches (away against top teams)
Press more
More aggressive tackling
Zonal marking
Offside enabled when playing the attacking strategy
Counter attacks enabled when playing the counter strategy

PLAYERS (a 4-2-4)

GK Goalkeeper Defend

DR Fullback Support
DL Fullback Support
DCL Ball-playing Defender Defend
DCR Central Defender Defend

MCL Ball-winning midfielder Defend
MCR Advanced Playmaker Support

AML Inside Forward Attack
AMR Inside Forward Attack
STL Complete Forward Support
STR Poacher Attack

There are not many tweaks to players instructions: just instructing some players not to shoot from distance, set pieces instructions, etc.

The idea of this would be to trade some of the control over the players and the opposition for being 'super' dangerous in attack and getting the whole squad play attacking football. In reality, this tactic does a decent job but I believe we could be doing better. My endeavours to crack other formations haven't been more promising:

• a 4-1-1-2-2 (the only difference if you consider the previous example is moving MCL just behind the only central midfielder and playing him as Defensive Midfielder Defend --> I gave up in width but it was maybe a little bit more stable in defence)
  
• surprisingly the 4-2-3-1 (wide) and the 4-5-1 worked even worse than my preferred two-striker tactics (probably I just haven't got them right)
  

Then I read that many of you (llama3 in particular) encourage a controlled possession-based football and it inspired me to try to set up things a little bit differently. Getting answers to the following questions would help me considerably:

1. What am I doing wrong with my 4-2-4 tactic described above? I don't think this tactic is a disaster but if you believe that some things are fundamentally flawed, please say so. I may not see everything. The things which I have considered are the following:

• Add more roaming + drill crosses, change back to default tackling --> reasons respectively: make use of my players' high creativity, flair and off the ball stats; I've noticed that possession is often lost as a result of playing high balls into the final third; less aggressive tackling means there will be less free kicks against my team.
  
• Playing my full backs as Wing Back Automatic in order to get some more width since the wingers (Inside Forward Attack) are both cutting inside.
  

2. Inside Forwards vs Wingers (both on Attack duty)? I've always believed that considering the players Arsenal have having both on Inside Forward Attack is the best way because you would virtually play with three strikers on one-striker formations and with four strikers in my case. For example in the OP llama3 seems to prefer wingers. What would you gain by that?

3. I'm considering dumping my currently described tactical framework and setting up a 4-2-3-1 (wide) as my main tactic and a 4-5-1 as a backup tactic when against top sides. I would be about ball retention as described many times by llama3 and others: playing most of the time with Balanced philosophy and Standard strategy, both CBs set up as Central Defender Defend, central midfield as Central Midfielder Support and Defend (for a 4-2-3-1), etc. And my question is: which role and duty would get my only striker scoring? Let's say that I would play either Robin van Persie, Chamakh or Park in that position and that setting needs to suit them all, especially RVP, of course. I'm not a big fan of changing player roles and duties, I see them as an integral part of any tactic.

Thanks for your help!

[llama3]

ok mate a few things for you:

1 - the tactic is set with players in very high positions and an attacking mentality - so it is not built to retain the ball at all - there is a constant attempt to drive at goal with the ball. so in that case you will lose the ball often by trying to drive at, or play through opponents. I have set my team to rely on good movement and can retain the ball instead. I recommend adding more roaming, and drilling crosses, and yes your team is not strong or aggressive - so only let people like frimpong and song have aggressive tackling (i.e. default for their roles). You are right to observe that fouls break up your possession - so default/easy tackling will work well. on the tactics forum cleon put it to me that arsenal don't have many creative players - he was right, very few players have high anticipations, creativity, flair, decisions & off the ball - so i use default freedom instead - this also makes the team adhere to your instructions. Good work on using wing backs to overlap the inside forwards - good movement.

2 - i actually use inside forwards - i have merely updated my screenshots and removed my own roles. i go with 1 inside forward on the left flank, and i alternate between winger/inside forward on the right flank depending on opposition, tactics, personnel etc. But the point being i play with 3 forwards (AMR, AML & STC) that are all in roles that roam and move into space.

3 - i always use a balanced philosophy, what is worth noting is that standard strategy is very good for ball retention as it allows attacking but your players are still sensible and patient. the described settings are pretty straightforward and will create a well-balanced system. Depending on the system a Trequartista or Complete Forward (Attack) works well up front with van Persie or Chamakh.

[gooner4ever]

Many thanks for the input, llama3! I'm shifting from constantly driving at goal with the ball to a more balanced and structured framework trying to play for good movement and possession. Before I make my new tactic, there is one last thing I don't get. Imagine this scenario: you need to score either against a top team or a team with eleven men on their half. Whatever the case, you need to take a little risk and go for a goal. Here I guess you have three main options: 1. change nothing in the tactic during the match, pray and wait for your dominance to materialize 2. change your strategy to something more attacking (control/attack/overload?) 3. use certain touchline instructions to help the cause. I've learnt that drastic changes are no good. So, what would you do? Is it a common scenario at all in your games?

I've read about the usefulness of these shouts:

Play out of defence, Push higher up, pass into space, play through defence, work ball into box and retain possession to dominate the game and try to break through the defence.

Drop deeper, play wider and stand-off opponents to invite a very defensive opposition team higher up the pitch and create space to try and get behind them.

[Kieran87]

Well it seems tonight is the night of near Miracles and I think i may of taken all the luck for myself!!!!

I finished my season off in style -

Great way to win the league especially after having Man City go top @ xmas and I had to go on a 19 match run to over take them coming to the end of April. They were so strong it was unreal. I dread to see who they sign this year. My highlights of the year could of been a few games. Playing my u18's vs Blackpool @ end of season and getting a 3 - 2 win, or the 6-1 then 5-0 vs. Wolves and Bolton within 3 days. In the end it has to go to this one!

http://i.imgur.com/wXiIY.png

Player of the year for me was Hazard http://i.imgur.com/2QCU7l.png who didn't even get in the premier 11 of the year or on the subs bench!

Walcott also got 23 goals in 19 games before breaking his leg in Decmeber. He would of got 40 odd if he was fit.

F.A Cup was a touch and go affair until the final. Came up against the side that have seemed to play more like upminster womens rather than the team of old.... Squeeky bum time for a lot of it but God I love my team on the break!

http://i.imgur.com/SC4Ggl.png

I was lucky with the UCL draw tbh. It pitted me against Ajax, then Porto and finally OM who beat Milan and then in the final I faced a big gun from the other ties. Man utd v Man City and Barca vs. Madrid was the Quarter the other side. How I didn't envy that! I cruised through my side and the final was an amazing game. http://i.imgur.com/hI8NRl.png

Quadruple Anyone? Why thank you!

http://i.imgur.com/SnoFEl.png

Heres to 2014-2015!!!!

[Carmi88]

congrats on the champions league win

[llama3]

congrats as well for UCL success!

[llama3]

Many thanks for the input, llama3! I'm shifting from constantly driving at goal with the ball to a more balanced and structured framework trying to play for good movement and possession. Before I make my new tactic, there is one last thing I don't get. Imagine this scenario: you need to score either against a top team or a team with eleven men on their half. Whatever the case, you need to take a little risk and go for a goal. Here I guess you have three main options: 1. change nothing in the tactic during the match, pray and wait for your dominance to materialize 2. change your strategy to something more attacking (control/attack/overload?) 3. use certain touchline instructions to help the cause. I've learnt that drastic changes are no good. So, what would you do? Is it a common scenario at all in your games?

I've read about the usefulness of these shouts:

Play out of defence, Push higher up, pass into space, play through defence, work ball into box and retain possession to dominate the game and try to break through the defence.

Drop deeper, play wider and stand-off opponents to invite a very defensive opposition team higher up the pitch and create space to try and get behind them.

There is no set way that you will get goals should you be needing them. It depends on opposition tactics, formation, personnel etc, so it is not straightforward. I often encouraging the team to push the defensive line up, or ask them to play out from defence.

I am going to tell you how I play now so that you can look at how I do it:

Balanced

Standard

Short Passing

Default Freedom

More Pressing

Default Tackling

Zonal Marking

Drill Crosses

More Roaming

GK - Goalkeeper - Defend

DR - Wing Back - Auto

DC - Central Defender - Defend

DC - Central Defender - Defend

DL - Wing Back - Auto

MC - Central Midfielder - Defend

MC - Central Midfielder - Support

AMR - Inside Forward - Attack

AMC - Advanced Playmaker - Attack

AML - Inside Forward - Attack

STC - Complete Forward - Attack

[Carmi88]

Well I certainly have turned my season around, currently 6 points behind Man Utd and 7 points ahead of city after 28 games. Hold a 2-0 home win over Bayern Munich In the 1st KO round and have the visit of Birmingham in the fa cup 6th round

[Bondyjnr]

Question guys,

Season 2. Recently bought Cavani. Do you think it would work if i set him as a poacher n had walcott on the right as a winger, with both of them changing over during the game? What would Cavani's best possie be