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

[Balthazars]

Originally posted by Frazza Pee:

i just sold Diaby to Chelsea for 40 million over 24 months.

Good price; no one seems interested in Diaby for me unfortunately, and he sucks too much for me to want to play him...

Anyway, I realized I hadn't done any updates here for a while, so here's my first-team squad in March of season 3.

Carlos Eduardo is a January signing, and the four injuries - Taylor, Hleb, Van Persie and Eduardo, are all at least 1 month, a couple of them more.

This team is solid as a rock at the back, a bit light on goals up front this season, but undefeated in the League and in the quarters of the Champions League.

[Frazza Pee]

West Ham injured Hleb, Eboué and eduardo in 1 match. Mind you it was West Ham.

[Balthazars]

Originally posted by Frazza Pee:

West Ham injured Hleb, Eboué and eduardo in 1 match. Mind you it was West Ham.

It just happens sometimes. The amount of injuries I get from players getting crunched during games is mind-boggling sometimes. Barcelona broke Hleb's ribs and Van Persie's arm in my recent Champions League match. Not even a single booking for the Spaniards either...

Van Persie in season 2 had his leg broken by a tackle from behind by Jenas against Tottenham. At least Jenas got a straight red-card!

I've also had several players recieve broken wrists, gashes to the head, and other less serious injuries due to tackles from opposition players.

[Frazza Pee]

It's annoying isn't it. Good thing I had backup.....

[dexta200]

Hulk sorry took so long to reply. was out.

i dont use anything but imageshack because i have a toolbar and its jus easy lol so ill type my team out.

GK - Frey/Costil/Edwards

DR - Sagna/Richards

DL - Clichy/Guilherme

DC - Richards/Fazio

DC - Barzagli/Albiol

MR - Messi/Rosina

ML - Silva/Fernandez

MC - Fabregas/VDV

MC - Lucho Gonzalez/Veloso

FC - Adebayor/Pazzini

FC - Villa/Kalou

then all usual kids will prob bring them through next season Sakho, Vela, Merida,Saivet, Sankhare,Nordtveit,Ayew, Kenia, Le tallec and Pjanic all coming along nicely Vela, Saivet, Sakho, Sankhare maybe bring in first team. not sure yet. what do you recommend season 4? i know vela is ready just didnt want him being unhappy at not playing so loaned him out this season and will play him next.

so who should i spend my money on?

some of the backup hardly used like Kalou who is currently transfer listed.

[Wilson123]

Ok, well I figured I should give an update. I am currently in season 1 with Arsenal having never played with them before. I am just in late January on the last day of the winter transfer window.

I am still in all competitions - League Cup Final (vs. Liverpool), FA Cup 5th Round (vs. Newcastle), 1st Round EURO (vs. Rangers). But the best of all - something I have not ever done before - is that I am still completely unbeaten in all competitions

Quaresma capture on deadline day is a particular pleasing one for me The fans love all the signings except Moutinho who has admittedly being a let down. I was after David Villa but they wouldn't part with him even for £50m.

My formation (an adaptation on the B1GD) provides me with some brilliant football to watch. Short, controlled, quick passing - documented in our near dominance of the pass completion table in the premier. The DR/DL overlap the midfield to provide ample crossing opportunities - Adebayor is more than obliging to score them with 21 in all competitions in 16 (12). Eduardo who I regularly swap with Ade has 18 in 17 (13).

Bendtner was lost unfortunately due to the board stepping in, he was nothing short of outstanding for me though when he played - scoring 10 in 3 (4).

Rhys Murphy is looking to be a wonder, he has 5 in 2 (5) and has been attracting some big attention.

I was happy for a league title at the start of the season, but as we have progressed I am starting to expect more and more. Have played Chelsea 3 times and beat them - to the enjoyment of the fans/board - 3 times

I will update at the end of the season how we got on...

[Candre168]

Originally posted by SkeeterP:

This result won me the Premiership (2015)

Don't need to say much else, I don't think.

Hey man, could you please tell me how good James Vaughan turns out to be? I can get him for DIRT cheap in 2012 and he looks pretty good to me.

[theincrediblehulk]

dexta200

Shouldnt really need anyone with the squad you have tbh. Maybe get another MC and sell VDV. He's quality but not at MC. He's an AMC and a very good one at that two. Just offload any players 29 or older and bring through the youngsters you have. And yeah, sell Kalou in Jan or something and bring Vela through.

[dexta200]

okaymate. well ill just keep my money and unless a good offer comes along for someone ill replace or bring in the top top players. but still wanting over 100m! for torres i find this weird as in my chelsea game i got him for 62m in the 3rd season but im there now and they wanted 135m! never mind ill keep trying. i wish they were spanish and sign silly releases lol.

hmm not sure i will be selling VDV when i need to score i usually go to 3 at the back and put VDV in the AMc role and he usually scores or sets up villa.

if i was going to sell him who should i get to replace him then?

[theincrediblehulk]

Well, if you want an MC, try Joao Moutinho. Awesome player. But heading into season 4, Sankhare should be more than ready to rotate in that position. If you want an AMC, Lansbury or Wilshere should be ready. So try them. Else, just get Matias Fernandez. Atleast he's younger than VDV. Gets just as many goals and assists and is far less injury prone. Might be very expensive though. Also, Toni Kroos should be looking awesome as well. Try him too.

[dexta200]

got Matias alreay mate. yeah i looking at Kroos they want 10m atm should i pay that?

i put in a bid.

Moutinho every time i sign just is useless will need to replace Gonzalez soon though so im going to have a loookat him. Lansbury and Wilshere both got PA's of only 153 and 157 will they still become good enough?

okay moutinho only has a 13m release clause at Sevilla so will get him i think too.

[theincrediblehulk]

Whoops! Sorry I didnt quite realise what I was talking about. Actually, after looking at your squad again, you dont really need anyone to replace VDV. Since Fernandez and Rosina are NOT your first choice on the wings, have them on rotation as AMC's. All the 4 wingers you have can play AMC VERY well. So you really dont have a problem.

Kroos - worth it I think. He becomes quality if his PA is 180+.

Lansbury & Wilshere - nope, not good enough with that PA.

Moutinho - bargian for that price. He's a great player and a great tutor as well. A better player than Lucho imo and thats not easy to do.

[dexta200]

i enjoyed that! not quite as good as skeeters but almost lol!

haha no worries hulk.

okay cheers well ill look to get some money for lansbury and wilshere when i can then. Matias Fernandez is unhappy about the amount of competition. should i sell him instead of VDV or what should i do with him i said hes in the first team plans but hes still unhappy after a few months.

Kroos PA is 187 so will go for him.

kroos wont accept a rotation contract so how long until he ends up geting unhappy? might pass on him not sure.

i can never make decisions about stuff like this!

[theincrediblehulk]

Kroos - forget him if he wont even accept a rotation contract.

Matias - sell VDV and give Matias some consecutive games at AMC. He'll be happy soon enough. When you tell a player he's in your first team plans, you need to play him a little for him to be happy.

[dexta200]

thatsthe thing though iv played him quite a bit. more than last season anyways. ill give him a run in the team for the end of the season, just he hasnt been that amazing recently. but i think thats because hes unhappy.

still so glad i paid 62m for silva and 42m on messi because with average ratings of 7.83 and 7.81 they have been pretty god damn amazing!! i cancelled the Kroos deal and got Moutinho for 13m his mental stats are mental!

how about any of these players would you buy any of these?

Ben arfa 20.5m?

Metzelder 2.9m?

Higuain 10m?

Quagliarella 11.5m?

Kompany 17.75m?

Yaya Toure - 5.75m?

James Vaughan 12.5m?

Stefan Radu - 6.75m?

Habib Bellaid - 10m?

Lloris 21m? frey is 29 now and will need replacing sometime.

obviously some of those arent needed but i just looked through a bit list of players on miniscout and found some quite good price for those players. should i buy any of them?

[dexta200]

also should i buy aguero from Madrid 47m? not sure he will want to come but i can try

[Frazza Pee]

Originally posted by dexta200:

thatsthe thing though iv played him quite a bit. more than last season anyways. ill give him a run in the team for the end of the season, just he hasnt been that amazing recently. but i think thats because hes unhappy.

still so glad i paid 62m for silva and 42m on messi because with average ratings of 7.83 and 7.81 they have been pretty god damn amazing!! i cancelled the Kroos deal and got Moutinho for 13m his mental stats are mental!

how about any of these players would you buy any of these?

Ben arfa 20.5m?

Metzelder 2.9m?

Higuain 10m?

Quagliarella 11.5m?

Kompany 17.75m?

Yaya Toure - 5.75m?

James Vaughan 12.5m?

Stefan Radu - 6.75m?

Habib Bellaid - 10m?

Lloris 21m? frey is 29 now and will need replacing sometime.

obviously some of those arent needed but i just looked through a bit list of players on miniscout and found some quite good price for those players. should i buy any of them?

Ben Arfa is immense. I would get Lloris. and Metzelder as a tutor.

[dexta200]

okay mate well i just spent 70m on ronaldo

will need to adjust my tactic i think though! going to sell VDV and matias Fernandez. might bring in ben arfa and will get Lloris in summer. and metzelder now

[theincrediblehulk]

Ben Arfa - definitely.

Metzelder - tutor.

Higuain - no.

Quagliarella - no.

Kompany - HELL NO!

Toure - Would be handy since you dont have any DM's.

Vaughan - Best young English ST. If you want English, then definitely.

Radu - Nope.

Bellaid - Nope.

Lloris - No. Too expensive. GK's last till 35 before their stats start going down. So Frey has a long time to go. In that time, you will find plenty of regens who'll become quality. So dont need to spend that much on Lloris.

Aguero - If you sell Villa, then yes. Else, no.

[dexta200]

okay well i sold VDV 24m but its too united so i hope that doesnt backfire on me. so really i paid 46m plus VDV for ronaldo!

fernandez not sure how much im going to get though.

Ben Arfa been accepted at 18.75m which is a great price!

yeah hulk i agree with you about Lloris if he become available for around 15m i will buy but not any more. metzelder wanted48k and first team so i didnt bother with him. i might get vaughan next season unless i can get rooney. Aguero wants to much and i have no intention of selling villa until end of next season.

toure i might get at end of seaosn maybe.

im getting Araujo on a free at end of the season with a PA of 178. so thought why not and also Benedikt Howedes with a 174 PA.

next season im also hoping for Chiellini and Ramos, and Torres if i can.

then ill stop lol. would you still buy bojan with a PA 177?

[dexta200]

Ben Arfa is mine at 18.75m

Silva, Messi, Ronaldo, Ben Arfa, Rosina.

not a bad set of wingers to have tbh

cheers for the help guys i apprciate it im terrible at making decisions.

[SkeeterP]

Candre168 here you go mate

[Candre168]

Originally posted by SkeeterP:

Candre168 here you go mate

Thanks alot mate. This is much appreciated.

I can get him for dirt cheap as I said so I may make a bid for him.

[SkeeterP]

I highly reccommend him. He's awesome as both a Target Man and a Fast Striker, and his high stamina and work rate will always mean he'll get bags of chances.

[merridius]

3 questions:

who do you set as your first choice FK taker?? ive tried RvP but not really getting much success.

anyone got individual player instructions to get the best out of RvP in a CF position? ive had much success previously using the default AM player instructions but they dont seem to be working now.

is it even possible to get a second WP feeder club without canceling your salamanca link? i must've reloaded at least 30 times already and still no WP club. closest ive come is lokomotiv(sofia) as on option to gain "a firm foothold in bulgaria"

[tornmean9]

looking to improve my team but dont know where to improve and with who and though the screen shots show me 1st i have now actualy dropped bit and getting to many draws

is my squad im in january 2009

i did a treble and just missed out on europe success

to give you a idea of sort of players willing and not willing to join

budget is just shy of 100 mil and i know i have alot of wbl but i cant seem to get rid of them

[theincrediblehulk]

merridius

Its always Van Persie for me from the right. Does a great job usually. You can try Armand Traore as well from the right. He's scored a few for me. IIRC, he's got some nice PPM's for long range shooting/free kicks.

From the right, if I buy Matias, its usually him. If I dont buy a specialist FK taker, I give the responsibility to Rosicky mostly. Not that he's very successful though.

For Van Perise, give me a little creative freedom (first notch of "much"). Also, rwb and fr often and the rest all mixed. You can also give him a free role if you wish and see how he gets on. Used to do great for me with a free role.

You can get a second WP feeder club with canceling the link with Salamanca. But you might have to wait a while. Try the reloading trick the next time you ask for a feeder club.

[theincrediblehulk]

tornmean9

Get some of the older players and rubbish players out. Lehmann, Gallas, Senderos, Hoyte are all prime candidates to leave. Also Barazite who never develops into anything special. Sell Abidal too.

Get yourself two new CB's to replace Gallas and Senderos. I wont bother with names as there are plenty around. You could look to sell Eboue as well if you wish and get a younger RB in to back Sagna up. Where are Bendtner and Vela?? They are both quality strikers and if you sold them, then big mistake. If you still have them, then sell Eduardo and get the two of them into your first team squad. And also buy a young GK to back Buffon up.

[tornmean9]

Originally posted by theincrediblehulk:

tornmean9

Get some of the older players and rubbish players out. Lehmann, Gallas, Senderos, Hoyte are all prime candidates to leave. Also Barazite who never develops into anything special. Sell Abidal too.

Get yourself two new CB's to replace Gallas and Senderos. I wont bother with names as there are plenty around. You could look to sell Eboue as well if you wish and get a younger RB in to back Sagna up. Where are Bendtner and Vela?? They are both quality strikers and if you sold them, then big mistake. If you still have them, then sell Eduardo and get the two of them into your first team squad. And also buy a young GK to back Buffon up.

i did sell bendtner with only playing one up front adebayor does wonders and when ive played persie upfront when adebayor is injured he does a good job

and also did sell vela though im guessing now i shouldnt have but will get to selling the older ones and bring in younger ones now

[tornmean9]

ive signed breno and daniel alves and currently undergoing process of selling off the other players and found a keeper in reserves who is good for 23 so got him in 1st team as sub

[theincrediblehulk]

Alves is a waste of money. He's quality no doubt but you dont need him if you have Sagna around. Now that you bought him, recommend you sell Sagna and get someone younger in.

[Frazza Pee]

What the most everyone has got Adebayor to score? So far with me he has 30 in 26

[theincrediblehulk]

Dont remember the exact numbers but in one season he played about 30-33 games and scored a just a little shy of 2 goals a game. When I say little, I mean about 3-4 goals shy. Was going mental that time. Had he played all 68 games the club played, I have no doubts he would have broken all records.

[Frazza Pee]

January 1st 2008 and Adebayor won footballer of the year followed by Barzagli. Fabregas won midfielder of the year. Barzagli won defender of the year.

[Frazza Pee]

I can get Nani for 28 million. Is it worth it?

[dexta200]

nah spend a bit more and get silva, ronaldo or messi. Giovinco, Dos Santos, Ben Arfa, Rosina and Menez will all come for that much aswell so if you cant get the top 3 then i would get one of those instead.

[dexta200]

also if man u sign a few wingers like they sometimes do then they leave out nani and you can usually get him around 10m

[dexta200]

should i sign bojan with PA 177?

[Frazza Pee]

I have Menez and these are the prices for the players you have named:

Silva: £62m

Ronaldo: £82m

Messi: £100m

Giovinco: £22m

Dos Santos: £20.5m

Ben Arfa: £27m

Rosina: 22.5m

[merridius]

Hulk

what about veloso? his stats seem good enough.

[merridius]

Frazza Pee

nani is quality from what ive seen though i would recommend rosina over him. and for 5mil less its probably a better deal.

[Frazza Pee]

I can get Di Natale for 13.5 million should I go for it?

[tomtuck01]

After trying (and failing) many times to get into an English game on FM, I have finally decided to try it out with Arsenal. I have taken the plunge as the Arsenal Team Thread seems to be a great one for user input, and like with a long standing Lyon game I have, the input from the forum seems to make a game better for me!

So despite not being an Arsenal fan, (actually thoroughly disliking them), here goes........................

Brief Intro

I am playing under the name Tomasz Lekovic, a former Croatian international, and will turn 38 when my next birthday rolls around. I am playing with latest patch, (that 8.0.2 for those of you dont know!!), but the database has been reguarly updated since the end of the English season with all top flight transfers around Europe put into the game. Certain players in the database have also being tweaked to make them better/worse. For example; Aaron Ramsey has been given a better PA, David Silva's CA being downgraded so he is not a world beater at the start of the game, and FC Twente's Orlando Engelaar given his correct position!! (Rubbish FM research there!) And numerous other changes, though nothing too drastic - although I have put Samir Nasri at Arsenal. He hasn't joined the club yet, but everyone knows he is going too. Apologies to anyone who doesn't approve of me doing this! European Qualifiers for the coming season have also being altered.

I have not loaded up many leagues, just the Premiership and Championship from England, and Italys Serie A and Serie B, but I am playing on a large database. I have played up to the date of my first Champions League group game, which is the 19th September. Board and fan expectation isn't huge, with me only expected to qualify for the Champions League through the Premier League this season. However I am expected to guide my side to both finals of the domestic cups, and the semi final stage of the Champions League. When asked of my expectations, I was cautious and put "continental qualification through the league," meaning that I was given £45million to spend on building my squad.

Transfer Activity

Despite vowing not to be taken in by the millions on offer to me, I did end up shelling out over £30million on 11 new players, but I did however bring in more money than I spent. I did also go a different way than what many people do with Arsenal with my buys/sales, as anyone who has read my posts in the Lyon Thread they will know I dont like to go for the conventional players too much.

Players Out

Aliaksandr Hleb - £16million - Manchester City

Tomas Rosicky - £10million - Fiorentina

Philippe Senderos - £6.75million(plus 30% sell-on fee) - Manchester City

Gilberto Silva - £6million - Newcastle

Alexandre Song - £5.5million(plus 40% sell-on fee) - West Ham

Justin Hoyte - £2.5million(plus 30% sell-on fee) - West Brom

Total; £46.75million

Despite not wanting to sell Hleb, when Manchester City made an enquiry I asked for a fee which I was happy to accept if they came back with the offer. They offered the £16million asking price, which I was very happy with.

I turned down a £12million bid from Chelsea for Tomas Rosicky in the first couple of days incharge, he got angry and ended up handing in a transfer request, so I got rid. £10million was the best offer I got from a foreign club.

Philippe Senderos is simply not quick enough in my opinion, and this wasn't a bad fee to get.

Gilberto Silva is 30 year old and not getting any younger. Getting in £6million was a cracking deal.

The offer from West Ham for Alexandre Song was simply too good to resist in my opinion. He has decent stats, but not quite good enough. The same can be said for Justin Hoyte aswell.

Players In

Riccardo Quaresma - £12million(plus 20% sell-on fee) - Porto

Jimmy Briand - £8.5million - Rennes

Raul Meireles - £6million - Porto

Tomas Zapotocny - £2.5million - Udinese

Andre Ayew - £1.1million - Marseille

Younousse Sankhare - £925k - Paris SG

Victor Moses - £775k - Crystal Palace

Sean Scannell - £700k - Crystal Palace

Henri Saivet - £550k - Bordeaux

Benoit Costil - £500k - Caen

Total; £33.55million

The price I managed to get Quaresma for was very good in my opinion. He will offer me great width down the right wing, and so far he has been repaying his fee with some good performances.

Everybody keeps saying that Jimmy Briand isn't as good on the original patches. But from personal experience of having him in my Lyon game, I know that after a couple of seasons he starts banging in the goals. The fee paid will prove to be worth it.

Raul Meireles is a bit of an FM favourite of mine. He isn't expensive, and performs very well in the middle of midfield. He will a great foil for Fabregas.

Centre back Tomas Zapotocny has failry decent stats, and will a sound back up for my other central defenders. He was cheap so I cant complain.

All the other signings are of course just youngsters for the future, although both Sankhare and Costil will be in my first team squad this season.

First Team Squad

Golakeepers;

1.Manuel Almunia

13.Benoit Costil

21.Lukasz Fabianski

Defenders;

3.Bakary Sagna

5.Kolo Toure

6.Tomas Zapotocny

10.William Gallas

20.Johan Djourou

22.Gael Clichy

27.Emmanuel Eboue

30.Armand Traore

Midfielders;

2.Abou Diaby

4.Francesc Fabregas

8.Samir Nasri

15.Denilson

18.Riccardo Quaresma

19.Raul Meireles

29.Younousse Sankhare

Attacking Midfielders/Forwards;

11.Robin van Persie

12.Carlos Vela

14.Theo Walcott

Strikers;

9.Eduardo da Silva

17.Jimmy Briand

25.Emmanuel Adebayor

26.Nicklas Bendtner

15 youth team players have also being assigned squad numbers.

I have appointed Kolo Toure as my captain, with Cesc Fabregas my vice-captain. And the avergae age of my squad is just 22.

So far I have been uing a traditional 4-4-2 formation with these team instructions. Adebayor is of course used as my target man, and when I use Eduardo upfront with van Persie on the wing I have them swapping positions with one another.

The Season So Far

The league campaign has started off outstandingly, winning six out of six so far. Despite this we sit second to Liverpool on goal difference. We have scored 14 goals in our six league games, and have conceded four. And one major result so far was defeating Manchester United 3-1 at home. But on a bad note, Cesc Fabrgas got injured on the opening day of the season and is ruled out for 4 months!

Aston Villa (H) 1-0 (Fabregas)

Fulham (A) 3-1 (van Persie; Adebayor 2)

Stoke (A) 3-0 (Toure 2; Adebayor)

Everton (A) 2-1 (Nasri; Eduardo)

Middlesbrough (H) 2-1 (Adebayor; Eduardo)

Man United (H) 3-1 (Eduardo 2; Own Goal)

League Table So Far

We came through our Champions League qualifier with ease, thumping Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia 5-0 (Walcott; Diaby; Adebayor 3) at home, and 2-0 (Gallas; Adebayor) away, to give us a 7-0 aggregate win. We were seeded first for the group draws.

Arsenal

Benfica

Marseille

Atletico Madrid

The group isn't simple, but also shouldn't prove too difficult to win. a couple of tricky away games could be in store for us.

And in the Carling Cup 3rd round we have been drawn against Manchester United at home. I was planning on using my young players in the Carling Cup, but for this game I might send out a strong side!

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

Thanks for taking the time to read, and any comments/suggestions are more than welcome.

[Purefun]

As usual some very surprising buys Tomtuck! Good luck with the game mate.

[Frazza Pee]

No!!!!!!!! Eboue and Toure are at the african cup of nations. Good thing I have Garay....

[theincrediblehulk]

merridius

Never personally has Veloso take my free kicks mate so cant say anything for sure. But yes, he does have all the stats required. Give him a go. If he does well, then great. Else, revert back to Van Persie I guess.

tomtuck01

Good to see you give Arsenal a go mate.

Off to a good start with transfers. All players went for good prices. Rosicky was a huge loss though (not to mention, went very cheap). Usually after 1 season, he gets "worldwide" reputation and his on-screen value goes up to 18M or so. So yeah, huge loss.

The signings you've made for the team are mostly very Wenger like believe it or not. All unexpected and cheap players but players who'll bring something to the squad none-the-less. Not to mention, very Wenger-like to actually make a profit from player ins and outs in a season!! Quaresma is hit and miss but since he's started off well, he could well turn out to be a hit for you. Briand is definitely not required at Arsenal with the amount of quality forwards you have. You'll have a problem on your hands next season when Vela comes back too.

Here are a few suggestions though:

- Meireles is good but give Denilson a go ahead of him. The lad is quality and for some reason, gels brilliantly with Fabregas. Will also give you strength in the middle, a defensive option but will also contribute greatly on the offensive end.

- If you're after width, stick Van Persie on the left wing. Him and Quaresma will be able to whip crosses in for Adebayor and Eduardo/Bendtner all day long. Also, Walcott doesnt have the stats for it, but he does will with getting crosses in from the right wing. Bring him on after about 60/70 minutes and he will provide you atleast with a good chance or two.

HUGGGGEEEE loss with Cesc out for 4 months. Wait until he comes back and watch the difference he makes to your side.

[Frazza Pee]

Into the final of the League Cup, and I'm playing Chelsea. Adebayor hat-trick anyone?

[tomtuck01]

Thanks for the input Incrediblehulk.

I didn't want to sell Rosicky, but I didn't want an unhappy player disrupting my squad. Already having Nasri in my squad means the loss of the player isn't that big, though yes on the financial side it is poor.

Having updated the database I have given Carlos Vela Spanish nationality and terminated his loan so he is already in my squad. He is only 18 but is of course part of my first team squad. For some perculiar reason Jimmy Briand signed a contract as "back-up", so I dont need to rush him into my first team just yet.

Since Fabregas got injured Denilson has been playing quite a bit with either Meireles or Nasri. But Meireles has broken his arm and is out for 2 months anyway so Denilson is getting a great run in the side at the minute. As is Diaby who has been performing excellently.

Once again, thanks for the input.

[Frazza Pee]

I beat Norwich 7-4 with them being 3-1 up. I don't know if I should be happy with my players or be really annoyed with them.

[Balthazars]

Welcome to an Arsenal game, tomtuck01!

Nothing much else to add to what some of the others have said, seems like you're an old pro at the game anyway, so I'm sure you'll handle a club like Arsenal fine.

About Denilson... an alternative to playing him as the partner for Fabregas in the middle, I actually use him these days as an alternative to him. I find that in my second-string squad, Denilson scores usually at least as many goals as Fabregas, and tends to out-assist him due to his ability to take a decent corner. Very versitle player and he will benefit greatly by playing 15-20 games in your first season.

Not sure how Vela will perform at 18, but it might be worth playing him on the wing instead of Van Persie, so that you can use the latter as a striker. I did the same as you and played him on the left a lot in the first season, but I think he really is wasted out there sometimes. He has a better all-round game than Eduardo, and I don't like playing Adebayor & Bendtner together as they are too similar. Van Persie is the best natural match for Adebayor in the team, so either using Vela on the left or finding another left-sided midfielder (Traore works well there, I find) could help you out there.

Annnd... as for me right now, I am mighty annoyed with Jose Mouriniho... his #$@% Porto side defeated me away from home for the second time in the same season (lost away from home in the group stages...where ironically it was an actual 'champions' group, with the current domestic champions from Spain, Germany and Portugal!) in the Champions League to knock me out in the quarters (1-0 at home, but 0-2 loss away... they scored in the 90th minute... >.&gt

My treble-dream just became a back-to-back Premier League title...(still to be confirmed, but highly likely). At least I can still go for the undefeated season...