FM14: Arsenal Thread - "Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent!"

[imageekdk]

@Tot

Looks brilliant mate. Well done I like the fact that you havent bought a completely new squad to go with the Arsenal name

What kindda tactic/formation do you use?

[Tot]

@Tot

Looks brilliant mate. Well done I like the fact that you havent bought a completely new squad to go with the Arsenal name

What kindda tactic/formation do you use?

Thanks mate .

I use 5-2-1-2, 2 wing backs set to be complete wing backs (Gibbs and Sagna), 2 midfielders are a deep lying play maker (Wilshire) and a box to box midfielder (Ramsey), Attacking Midfielder is Trequartista (Ozil) and the two strikers are Complete Forward (Lewandowski) and Target Man (Giroud).

Worked really really well this season. Wilshire and Ramsey both had great seasons and Lewandowski and Giroud together were pretty lethal.

[Anxiietyyy]

Well that went well

[llama3]

I see that alot of you are having some success with Arsenal. Unfortunately I can not get my favourite team going. I aim to make as few changes to the squad as possible meaning that I am hoping to play well with the players that are already within the club's walls.

If you look at the players that are available within the club, how would you approach the lineup/tactical formation?

I was thinking of something like this:

Playing with these roles/duties:

Szczesny: Goalkeeper-Defend

Monreal: Fullback-Attack

Koscielny: Central Defender-Defend

Mertesacker: Central Defender-Defend

Sagna: Fullback-Attack

Arteta: Deep-Lying Playmaker-Defend

Flamini: Anchorman-Defend

Carzola: Inside Forward-Support

Özil: Advanced Playmaker-Support

Walcott: Winger-Support

Giroud: Deep-Lying Forward-Attack

What do you think? Am I way off here?

Are there any individual settings that I should consider? What are you guys thoughts?

Lack of movement in the final third, 3 support duties and a DLF(A) does not equal movement. Lack of runs from deep and real movement between the lines. No real support from DM positions too, both are too static. Good defensively, but poor offensively. Not too far off. More duties than roles that are the problem.

[RossoneriGunner]

For me at the moment Mesut Özil is priceless. So far his stats are......

League - Apps 11, Goals 10, Assts 4, MoM 2

Europe - Apps 7, Goals 5, Assts 5, MoM 1

Cup - Apps 3, Goals 1, Assts 1

Total - Apps 21, Goals 16, Assts 10, MoM 3

[llama3]

Superb, Ozil a legend.

[RossoneriGunner]

Its the best I've ever had him play.

[RossoneriGunner]

W-M Career - Season 2013 - 2014

December 2013

Premier League

Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal - Giroud

Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham - Walcott, Cazorla

Chelsea 1-3 Arsenal - Giroud (2), Walcott

UEFA Champions League - Group Stage

Arsenal 3-0 Galatasaray - Oxlade-Chamberlain, Heintz, Vietto

Premier League

Man City 1-1 Arsenal - Wilshere (pen)

Capital One Cup - Qtr Final

Arsenal 5-1 W.B.A - Vietto (2), Özil, Arteta, Giroud

Premier League

Arsenal 2-0 W.B.A - Wilshere, Özil

Arsenal 5-1 Swansea - Cazorla, Özil, S.Bender (2), Podolski

Hull C 1-2 Arsenal - Rosicky (2)

C. Palace 2-4 Arsenal - Wilshere, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain (2)

Premier League

Top 5

1. Arsenal - 20 / 56

2. Chelsea - 19 / 37

3. Everton - 20 / 37

4. Man Utd - 18 / 36

5. Southampton 19 / 35

Bottom 5

16. Sunderland - 19 / 18

17. A. Villa - 19 / 18

18. Fulham - 20 / 18

19. C .Palace - 20 / 14

20. Hull C - 20 / 8

FA CUP

3rd Rnd - Arsenal v Millwall

Capital One Cup

Semi-Final - Southampton (1st leg away)

UEFA Champions League

1st K/O Rnd - Paris Saint-Germain (1st leg away)

Manager of the Month

1st - Martin Dixon (Arsenal)​

World Golden Ball

1st - L. Messi, 2nd - Mesut Özil, 3rd - C. Ronaldo

World Player of the Year

1st - Mesut Özil, 2nd - L. Messi, 3rd - E.Hazard

European Golden Boy

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

[james_wilko]

Good run of results there RG, that W-M formation sounds like it`s very effective.

Gutted to see my save game has corrupted, laptop crashed last night as I saved so starting over. Thinking this time I won`t sign established stars like Martinez and Bender and focus mainly on youth with some good, if unspectacular, senior players coming in.

[RossoneriGunner]

Thanks James, a group of us were trying out the W-M in 2009 with FM10, but it is something that you have to persevere with.

I started a W-M thread in Tactics and Training but not many people were interested so I have let it go.

[Anxiietyyy]

Champions League final against Juventus coming up... let's do this.

[james_wilko]

Thanks James, a group of us were trying out the W-M in 2009 with FM10, but it is something that you have to persevere with.

I started a W-M thread in Tactics and Training but not many people were interested so I have let it go.

I reckon it`s the one CB that puts people off. Just sounds like you`d be too open, but clearly you`ve got it working.

Start of July in game now, played three friendlies so far against the Under 21s and two local teams, scored 14 goals and conceeded once. Decent start.

Made a few signings, bringing in future defensive stars Kurt Zouma (9mil) Balanta (7mil) and Daniele Rugani (950k) so there`s some depth in defence this time, and three players who will hopefully go on to be world beaters. Also brought in Diame from West Ham for 3.5mil.

Lining up like this:

GK: Szczesny

RCB: Fabianski/Rugani

CB: Mertesacker/Zouma

LCB: Balanta/Vermaelen (not sure which of these two will be first choice).

RCDM: Diame/Flamini - BWM support

LCDM: Ramsey/Arteta - DLP defend

RM: Cazorla/Oxlade-Chamberlain - Wide Midfielder attack

LM: Wilshere/Gibbs - Wide Midfielder attack

CAM: Ozil/Rosicky - Enganche

RCF: Walcott/Gnarby - DLF attack

LCF: Giroud/Podolski - DLF attack

Looking to sign a few more youngsters, thinking of Allione the RW from Velez, and going after Gabriel Barbosa from Santos too. Also looking to sell Sagna, Park, Nacho and Bendtner when he`s fit again.

[RossoneriGunner]

I reckon it`s the one CB that puts people off. Just sounds like you`d be too open, but clearly you`ve got it working.

If people read up on the W-M they will see that you have 2 banks of 5, 5 defenders and 5 forwards and when you push up your D-line your back 3 are usually around the halfway line and when you have to defend both your HB's (DMC) come back, so in effect you have 5 players in your back line.

[Anxiietyyy]

Lost on penalties after drawing 2-2 in Extra Time. Heartbreak

[arsenalthebest]

If people read up on the W-M they will see that you have 2 banks of 5, 5 defenders and 5 forwards and when you push up your D-line your back 3 are usually around the halfway line and when you have to defend both your HB's (DMC) come back, so in effect you have 5 players in your back line.

ross have you thought of trying the wm in reverse so a 2-3-3-2? could allow bit more flexibility you could have the R/LWB on support with the AML/R as Inside Fowards or R/LWB on defend with the AML/R as wingers

[llama3]

Juventus got the best of you then, shame.

[Mark.]

RG, giving your WM a go mate.

Usually I like to try have a crack at building my own tactic, but time constraints are stopping that right now so thought it would be an interesting challenge.

Going to be fun with the player movements. I dont want to make too many changes but think I will need to bring in another DM. I also suspect that the sole CD needs to be pretty quick due to the tactic pushing up a lot. Also guessing the FBs are ideally more defensively skilled ie Sagna.

Could you go over the choice to have your wide forwards as APa? Is this to get them a bit more narrow once the ball is around the box or something?

[Tot]

For anyone looking for a DM i've found Diame to be a steal. £3.5 mill release clause in his contract, was fantastic for me as a backup DM second half of my season after i signed him in Jan and was perfect to bring on when looking to hold on to a slim lead.

[RossoneriGunner]

ross have you thought of trying the wm in reverse so a 2-3-3-2? could allow bit more flexibility you could have the R/LWB on support with the AML/R as Inside Fowards or R/LWB on defend with the AML/R as wingers

This is probably my best team at the moment. I started off with Chamberlain and Walcott as IF but seemed very ineffective so I changed them to W/a and they are playing better especially Chamberlain, he's scored 14 goals in 21 appearances with 14 assists and 3 MoM whereas Walcott has scored 9 in 22 games with 8 assists and 1 MoM.

The positions that Chamberlain and Walcott occupy are actually striker positions and if I play a AMC/L/R in those positions they don't play as well as when I play a striker there.

Even though my FB's are set to FB/d they still get forward but they don't have far to go because when we are attacking my back line are up around the halfway line so in effect I have my 5 forwards plus my 2 HB's making 7 attackers and then if either or both my FB's go forward then I've got 9 players in attacking positions.

When we have to defend then all five defenders come back together along with my forwards with only Giroud/Vietto staying forward. I know we have conceded a few goals but we are conceding the same as all the other top teams in the Premier and also down to me being lazy and not dropping back my D-line when I should. Also there are games where we have been 3-0 or 4-0 in front and in the second half have conceded goals to end up winning 3-2, 4-3 and this has nothing to do with my teams performance but down to the ME as my players can't pass to team mates, lose all 50/50 balls and just stand there waiting to be tackled.

At the moment we are going well and I am happy with the way things are going.

[RossoneriGunner]

RG, giving your WM a go mate.

Usually I like to try have a crack at building my own tactic, but time constraints are stopping that right now so thought it would be an interesting challenge.

Going to be fun with the player movements. I dont want to make too many changes but think I will need to bring in another DM. I also suspect that the sole CD needs to be pretty quick due to the tactic pushing up a lot. Also guessing the FBs are ideally more defensively skilled ie Sagna.

Could you go over the choice to have your wide forwards as APa? Is this to get them a bit more narrow once the ball is around the box or something?

Hi Mark, I did set my wide forwards to AP/a with 'Play Wider' set in team instructions and they started well but didn't seem to be playing very well. I now the them set to W/a and removed the Play Wider option and they are playing really well especially Chamberlain who I have on the left and he is awesome.

[Mark.]

RG

Thanks for the rundown mate.

So Wa for the wide players then? You went away from APa? EDIT just saw your post of ignore that haha!

Also I see you have Lars, was just looking at him, looks perfect as one of the two HBs... except... I see he has the PPM 'does not try through balls'. Do you find this limits how effective he is? I would have thought it is important for these two players to be able to play solid passes (although I can see how keeping simple would also help).

Also I have just been looking at both Peruzzi and Sandro. So you decided to go with FB/WB type as opposed to a more DRC and DLC type player?

[RossoneriGunner]

If anyone wants to have a look at my W-M tactic then PM me your email address and I will email the tactic to you and then you can see all my settings and set up a test game and try out the tactic.

I am going out now but will answer any PM's when I get back. Cheers lads.

[RossoneriGunner]

RG

Thanks for the rundown mate.

So Wa for the wide players then? You went away from APa? EDIT just saw your post of ignore that haha!

Also I see you have Lars, was just looking at him, looks perfect as one of the two HBs... except... I see he has the PPM 'does not try through balls'. Do you find this limits how effective he is? I would have thought it is important for these two players to be able to play solid passes (although I can see how keeping simple would also help).

Also I have just been looking at both Peruzzi and Sandro. So you decided to go with FB/WB type as opposed to a more DRC and DLC type player?

Yes I have stuck with FB's, I did read somewhere that someone had set their FB's as DC/L+R but it didn't work out and I can't remember why....

As for Lars when your attacking there are so many team mates around he doesn't really need to use throe balls and as this is a counter attacking tactic you will find that they really get forward quickly.

My familiarity is now at Fluid but, it does take a while for it to get there when you first start. If I remember I was into the season proper before it went fully Fluid.

When I start pre-season I play around 12 friendlies and I find my fitness levels and Morale are nice and high.

Don't forget when you change a setting it take a few games for it to take effect.

[KingLara]

Fm14 season 2 update

January

FA Cup 3rd Round - WEST HAM 1-1 ARSENAL– Dyer 60 – Schurrle 19

My one blip last season competition wise was losing in the semi finals of the fa cup to stoke and missing out on the quadruple. I was determined to make amends this year although would’ve preferred an easier start. I still named a strong team despite playing Chelsea three days after. In a feisty first half we took the lead through Schurrle. West Ham were back in it with an hour gone. A poor kick from Zieler found riveros and he slid the ball to Dyer to place home. An unwanted replay.

4th round draw – West Ham or Arsenal vs Ipswich

Man City were dumped out after losing 1-0 at Middlesbrough. A couple of tasty fourth round ties. Sunderland vs Newcastle and Middlesbrough vs Tottenham.

League Cup semi-Final 1st Leg – CHELSEA 2-2 ARSENAL – Willian 22 Lampard 54 – Wilshere 69 Sagna 88

East London to West London as we headed to Stamford Bridge for the first leg of the league cup. After his brace earlier in the season Insigne started. Chelsea controlled the opening stages and took the lead through Willian with their only shot on target of the half. Lampard then doubled the lead with their second and last shot. A change in tactic brought us more forward and from that point on it was only going to go one way. Wilshere pulled one back before Sagna got us level with two minutes to go. Ozil should’ve completed the win in stoppage time but shot over. Chelsea shots 4 Arsenal 24.

Premier League – MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 ARSENAL – Hernandez 49 – Giroud 34

Still failing to impress Lewandowski was dropped in favour of Giroud. The frenchmans header opened the scoring as we controlled the first half. Hernandez got United level from a corner and there were very few chances to get the winner. Happy with a point. United made 27 fouls in the match causing minor injuries and Walcott and Insigne to come off. Referee Swarbrick only booked one player though. Insigne is ok, Walcott will miss the West Ham game.

FA Cup 3rd Round Replay – ARSENAL 3-1aet WEST HAM Giroud 73 Ramsey 94 Balanta 107 – Crouch 54

After three away draws in a row we were back at home for the replay against West Ham, I made 8 changes with only Giroud, Insigne and Mertersacker keeping their place. The first half whisteled by as neither side created a great deal. Second half didn’t start well with Crouch losing his two man markers and heading home. Giroud equalised and we started to push on but couldn’t get the winner. Giroud nearly scored again after just 16 seconds of extra time but headed wide. Three minutes later though Ramsey smashed home a corner. Balanta then headed in a third to ease the nerves and send us into the fourth round against Ipswich.

Premier League – ARSENAL 2-0 NOTTINGHAM FORREST – Insigne 60 83

Yellow shirts at home?? 18 shots in the first half, 17 shots in the second half. Just two goals.

League Cup semi Final 2ndLeg – ARSENAL 3-1 CHELSEA – Gomez 6 Lewandowski 82 87 – Mertersacker o.g 80

Arsenal through 5-3 on Aggregate

Back in out famous red and white after the yellow travesty We made it through to the final of the league cup in back to back seasons with a very professional and impressive display. Gomez gave us a perfect start after just six minutes and from then on we controlled the game making the chances but Courtois was equal to them. It all changed though when Mertersacker headed into his own net under pressure form a corner. I immediately hooked Giroud and brought on Lewandowski. His impact was immediate as he struck his first goals for the club since early November.

League Cup Final draw – Stoke City vs Arsenal

We would play Stoke again in the final for the second year running after they won a dramatic shootout. It wasn’t the best of games but Kenwyne Jones bringing the tie level and then Robert Huth converting the winning penalty after Rodwell had missed.

FA Cup 4th Round – ARSENAL 2-1 IPSWICH – Gomez 66 Balanta 90 – Robinson 16

Playing Ipswich meant I could rest a few players and bring in some youngsters. Andy Saunders was on the bench. Ipswich had a single shot in the first half. We had 16. Scott Loach again in fantastic form. Very little changed in the second half. We were still very poor but Gomez equalised and then Balanta headed in an injury time corner. Very uninspiring. Saunders unused.

Round by round they fall. This time it was Liverpool following Man City through the exit door. They lost 1-0 to Sheffield United. Newcastle won the Tyne Wear derby while Boro held Spurs to a goalless draw at the Riverside.

5th Round draw – Arsenal vs Sheffield United

Manchester United vs Chelsea. Enough said.

Premier League – WEST BROM 0-2 ARSENAL – Lewandowski 41 Balanta 88

We enjoyed a comfortable win at West Brom. Lewandowski opened the scoring but we couldn’t beat ben foster before eventually Balanta headed home a late header from a corner to settle it.

League Table top 5

1 point clear having played four games less.

1. Arsenal Played 20 points 50

2. Man United Played 24 Points 49

3. Man City Played 23 points 45

4. Stoke Played 24 points 42

5. Tottenham played 24 points 40

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

6. Liverpool Played 23 Points 39

8. Chelsea Played 22 Points 36

Goalscorers

A blank month for Walcott on both goals and assists.

Walcott 14

Insigne 10

Lewandowski 10

Giroud 6

Cazorla 6

Assists

Ozil 12

Scurrle 7

Cazorla 7

Gomez 6

Walcott 6

Average rating – minimum 5 games

Same five as last month. A jump of .28 for Balanta.

Balanta 7.45

Vermaelen 7.34

Mertersacker 7.32

Walcott 7.21

Koscielny 7.18

Player of the month – Eder Balanta

On the verge of a loan move to Dortmund he started getting chances to play and grabbed it with both hands. Didn’t even play in the first three games. Staying put.

FA - West Ham – Unused Sub

LC - Chelsea – Unused sub

PL - Man United – Not Selected

FA - West Ham – 7.4(1) – on95

PL – Nottingham Forrest – Not Selected

LC – Chelsea – 7.7

FA – Ipswich – 7.9(1)

PL – West Brom – 8.8(1)

Game of the month

Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United – Willian 72 Lampard 77 – Vidic 26

Chelsea did us a favour by beating United with a couple of late goals. They’ve picked up their form of late but still may miss out on the top 4.

Stat of the month – big clashes

I didn’t do my race for the title feature this season but here are the results from those teams against the other top 3 of last season including Man City. Liverpool and Everton left out.

Arsenal – Man Utd (h) 0-0 Cheslea (a) 3-2 Man City (a) 2-0 Tottenham (h) 1-0 Man Utd (a) 1-1

Man United – Arsenal (a) 0-0 Chelsea (h) 1-0 Man City (h) 1-1 Tottenham (a) 0-1 Arsenal (h) 1-1 Chelsea (a) 1-2

Chelsea – Arsenal (h) 2-3 Man United (a) 0-1 Man City (h) 1-0 Tottenham (a) 0-1 Man Utd (h) 2-1

Man City – Tottenham (a) 2-1 Man Utd (a) 1-1 Arsenal (h) 0-2 Chelsea (a) 0-1 Tottenham (h) 3-1

Tottenham – Man City (h) 1-2 Man Utd (h) 1-0 Arsenal (a) 0-1 Chelsea (h) 1-0 Man City (a) 1-3

And

Stoke – Chelsea (h) 1-0 Man City (h) 1-1 Tottenham (a) 0-0 Man Utd (h) 0-1 Arsenal (a) 0-1 Chelsea (a) 1-1

Table

Arsenal Played 5 Points 11

Man City Played 5 Points 7

Chelsea Played 5 Points 6

Tottenham Played 5 Points 6

Man Utd Played 6 Points 6

Still to play

February – Arsenal vs Chelsea

March – Man City vs Man Utd Arsenal vs Man City Man Utd vs Tottenham Tottenham vs Arsenal

April – Man City vs Chelsea Chelsea vs Tottenham

Other News.

Still a day to go in the transfer market. Man City brought in Lovern and let Negredo go.

Matt Lowton won player of the month. Cornelius won the younger player award while 10 points from 4 games saw Villas-boas named manager of the month. Still no Arsenal players in the top three this season.

Jordan Rhodes and Shane Long move onto 14. Mark Noble still tops assists with 8. Scott Parker is the surprise leader of average rating with 7.46.

PSG lead Ligue 1 by 14 points. Bayern lead in Germany but Hannover have played two games less and are four points behind. Vitesse lead the eredivisie by five points Ajax played a game less. Barcelona lead Madrid by three points and and Roma lead Seria A again by one point from Juventus having played a game more.

In the Youth Cup. The under 21’s beat Cardiff 4-0 in wales. A hattrick for Saunders. They play Fulham in the semi finals and Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The African Nations started. Not paying it much attention but have a scout there. Go into more depth in stat of the month next month.

February Preview

Another very busy month. Champions League starts against Bayern. In the league we play Chelsea at the Emirates.

[RossoneriGunner]

I've just had an offer accepted for Luke Shaw of Southampton.

[lpcinder]

I can't get my team to win anymore. Won premier league last season and was in the semis of the championsleague and now they're constantly drawing or even losing. Always the same procedure as well, one through ball to which my world class defenders don't seem to react and bang. Very very frustrating. My striker also seems to miss all one on ones or fails to score easy goals. I'm getting very frustrated with this years edition and the latest patch.

[RossoneriGunner]

W-M Career - Season 2013 - 2014

January 2014

FA CUP - 3rd Rnd

Arsenal 3-1 Millwall - Giroud (2), Walcott

Capital One Cup - Semi-Final 1st leg

Southampton 1-3 Arsenal - Podolski (pen), S.Bender, Vietto

Premier League

Arsenal 5-3 Liverpool - Giroud, Heintz, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Agger o.g

Newcastle 1-1 Arsenal - Oxlade-Chamberlain

Capital One Cup - Semi-Final 2nd leg

Arsenal 4-2 Southampton - Balanta, Vietto, Podolski, Rosicky

----.----(7-3)

FA CUP - 4th Rnd

Arsenal 3-0 Nottm Forest - Giroud, Vietto, Heintz

Premier League

Arsenal 1-0 Stoke - Özil (pen)

Premier League

Top 5

1. Arsenal - 23 / 63

2. Man Utd - 22 / 48

3. Chelsea - 23 / 44

4. Tottenham - 22 / 44

5. Man City - 23 / 42

Bottom 5

16. West Ham - 23 / 20

17. Sunderland - 23 / 19

18. Fulham - 23 / 19

19. C. Palace - 23 / 18

20. Hull C - 23 / 14

FA CUP

5th Round - Arsenal v C Palace

Capital One Cup

Final - Man Utd v Arsenal

Manager of the Month

3rd - Martin Dixon (Arsenal)

Player of the Month

3rd - Mesut Özil

Young Player of the Month

3rd - Dominique Heintz

[arsenalthebest]

got my laptop back all fixed

[RossoneriGunner]

Great news ATB, so your ready to kick some ass.

[RossoneriGunner]

W-M Career - Season 2013 - 2014

February 2014

Premier League

Arsenal 2-2 Fulham - Walcott, Vietto

Arsenal 0-0 Man Utd - Perizzi s/o, Özil (missed pen) | Vidic s/o

A. Villa 2-1 Arsenal - Vietto

FA CUP - 5th Rnd

Arsenal 3-2 C. Palace - Walcott (2), Oxlade-Chamberlain

UEFA Champions League - 1st K/O Rnd - 1st leg

PSG 1-1 Arsenal - Podolski

Premier League

West Ham 1-1 Arsenal - Cazorla

Arsenal 5-1 Cardiff - Oxlade-Chamberlain, Vietto (2), Özil, Diaby

Premier League

Top 5

1. Arsenal - 28 | 69

2. Man Utd - 26 | 56

3. Chelsea - 27 | 52

4. Everton - 27 | 50

5. Tottenham - 26 | 49

Bottom 5

16. Fulham - 27 | 24

17. West Ham - 27 | 24

18. Sunderland - 27 | 22

19. C. Palace - 27 | 18

20. Hull C - 27 | 15

FA CUP

6th Rnd - Arsenal v Man Utd

Player of the Month

1st - Luciano Vietto

Young Player of the Month

1st - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Manuel Pellegrini has been sacked by the Man City board and it looks like André Villas-Boas could be set to take over.

[llama3]

Another superb run KingLara, you always seem bang in form.

[arsenalthebest]

Great news ATB, so your ready to kick some ass.

repeatedly

[SilentBob09]

Starting a new Arsenal save after my last one seemed to die. Wanna get a young defender to train up and challenge Kos, Per and Tommy. Two names I've seen thrown around a lot are Balanta and Doria. Which would be best? Also, would you recommend selling one of the three already there (I'm thinking Vermaelen) or is there enough room to keep all 4 happy?

[james_wilko]

Just played game number 19 in the league in the first season, everything is going to plan so far.

Won 16 times, 3 draws and no losses so far. I thought I was about to have my first loss of the season away to Man Utd. We were 2-1 down from the 27th minute and nothing was happening for us. 75 minutes I go to bring off Wilshere, Cazorla and Giroud for Tom Ince, Oxlade- Chamberlain and Podolski respectively and then Giroud scores (but it`s been given as a Jones OG) and then the subs come on. Disappointed it`s gone against Giroud as if he`d scored I`d have kept him on.

Thankfully I didn`t, as within 1 minute of being on the pitch Tom Ince is set free by Ozil to make it 3-2 to us, before Podolski wraps up all three points at Old Trafford by scoring in the 89th minute. Poor Moyes, even in game he can`t get any breaks.

December (for once) was a great month for my team. Usually I struggle, but our results went:

4-0 win away to Swansea

1-1 draw away to Liverpool

0-0 at home to Schalke (played all the back up players)

7-0 win at home to Sunderland. Doubly good since I`m a Newcastle fan.

2-0 win at home to Cardiff in the C1C quarter finals (again, B team).

2-1 win at home against Spurs.

2-2 away to Chelsea.

4-2 win away at Man Utd.

So, top of the league with 51 points, Chelsea are second with 46 and Man City 3rd with 41. Spurs are 7th with 33 points and Man Utd struggling back in 8th with 32 points.

Capital One Cup has been a training exercise for the youngsters like Rugani, Ox, Gnabry who is training as a striker as well as others. Matches have went; Away win on penalties at Doncaster, 4-1 win away to Crystal Palace and then the 2-0 win at home to Cardiff.

Champions League we finished top of the group with 5 wins and 1 draw. We beat Galatasaray 2-1 at home, then 3-2 away, Legia 2-0 away then 1-0 at home and Schalke 2-1 away then the 0-0 draw at home.

As you can imagine, been getting some great performances from my players to keep this form up. Walcott and Giroud are brilliant together, with Walcott having 19 goals in 26(2) games, and Giroud having 13 in 25. Walcott also has 11 assists and Giroud 9. Ozil has been my best player I`d say, chipping in 11 goals and 20 assists in his 24(2) games so far. He also has the highest average rating in my team with 7.65.

Jack Wilshere has been playing pretty well as a LM, getting 5 goals and 4 assists in his 20(3) games, problem for him is in 10(2) Tom Ince has 5 goals and 3 assists. I expect Wilshere to get better over the remainder of the season when he really develops his ability to play LM.

Debating whether or not to make any transfers in January. Having brought in Zouma, Balanta and Rugani in the summer my defence is set, I also brought in Allione and Ince meaning I`m set for my wide positions too. The only position I`m thinking I need to strengthen in CAM as Rosicky is too injury prone to really provide back up to Ozil. Anyone got any recommendations for a back up Enganche?

EDIT: Ozil won world player of the year, beating Messi and Hazard who came second and third. Giroud won French player of the year, beating Ribery and Benzema. Walcott also won December Player of the Month award, having scored 6 goals in 6 games. Very proud of my players, especially when I didn`t expect Ozil or Giroud to win those awards.

[KingLara]

FM14 season 2 update

February

Premier League – SWANSEA 2-2 ARSENAL – Guidetti 35 54 – Ozil 41 Balanta 45

We travelled to Swansea for the first game of February with still an eye on the transfer window as it hit deadline day. After a quiet first half hour Swansea scored through Italian Guidetti. It didn’t take long to get a response though. Ozil and then Balanta turning it around. Guidetti though scored gain in the second half and despite throwing on Gomez and Giroud were unable to get the equaliser. Swansea unsurprisingly only had two shots on target. We had eight.

Trasfer deadline day

Not much to report. Loaned Carvalho for a month just to cover the centre backs. He wasn’t fit enough to face his old club though. Oliveri is a defensive midfielder.

IN

Oliveri – 1.1m

Carvalho – Loan 1 month

OUT

Just loans.

Premier League – ARSENAL 3-3 CHELSEA – Insigne 14 39 Terry o.g 81 – Hazard 6 Martinez 24 65

For the third game in a row I named an unchanged team. We suffered a bit physically. Hazard gave Chelsea a dream start when he seized upon a poor Wilshere back pass and Sagna couldn’t catch him. Insigne got us level when he cut inside ivanovic. Martinez got Chelsea back infront before Insigne again pulled us level. Martinez then scored again after the break. Pouncing off a rebound that hit the post. A terry own goal(always a joy) pulled us back for a third time in a very attacking second half. Walcott hit the bar in the last minute but happy with a point as United also drew. Not happy with conceding goals though with Bayern on the horizon.

Premier League – ARSENAL 3-2 WIGAN – Giroud 45 Baines 75 Lewandowski 90 – Keogh 46 Mclean 51

Carvalho made his debut as Mertersacker needed a rest. We huffed and puffed but just it took until stoppage time of the first half to score. A corner to Wigan saw us counter and Giroud score. The second half got off to a horrible start. First Keogh scored and then Mclean sent Wigan into the lead. They looked the more likely to even get a third until I threw on Walcott Lewandowski and Ozil. A superb Baines free kick got us level and then Lewandowski climbed highest to head in a fabulous Walcott cross. Not sure what has happened to the defence. Wigan actually nearly matched us for shots. 17/16.

Premier League – CARDIFF 1-2 ARSENAL – Sagna o.g 67 – Lewandowski 7 Walcott 60

Ozil nearly put us ahead inside thirty seconds but was denied by a brilliant save from Marshall. We did take the lead though not long after as Lewandowski headed home. Walcott then doubled the lead after halftime for his first goal in 2016. AN inexplicable own goal by Sagna ruined the clean sheet but the three points were safely ours. A late goal by Reading’s Akpan saw them defeat Man United 1-0 and leave us five points clear with three games in hand.

FA Cup 5th Round – ARSENAL 6-1 SHEFFIELD UNITED – Ramsey 18 Giroud 34 39 Barry 46 Gomez 50 Cazorla 69 – Murphy 44

Four days before Bayern I rested almost all of the first eleven. It was a welcome boost to see Vermaelen back and he parterned carvalho in what would probably be his last appearance. We demolished Sheffield United. Every player scored at least an 8 rating apart from Schurrle who got a worringly low 6.8. Ramsey got the ball rolling before a giroud brace made it 3-0. United pulled one back as we went pushing for a fourth. We got it as well as five and six in the second half. 36 shots 18 in each half. United to their credit had 8. 3 on target.

United’s run was ended at Chelsea. 4-2 to the blues.

FA Cup Quarter Final draw – Leicester City vs Arsenal

Chelsea take on Spurs in the pick of the ties. Watford host Newcastle and Wigan play Southampton.

Champions League first knockout round 1 leg – ARSENAL 1-0 BAYERN MUNICH – Martinez o.g 80

I had a big decision to make before the game. With all four centre backs fit I had to decide between the inform Balanta and Mertersacker. I went for Per. He produced a man of the match display as we shaded a tight game. Bayern came looking for a goalless draw and were ten minutes away having created very little all game. Yet again when we need a clean sheet we get one. Still in the balance though.

Premier League – ARSENAL 4-1 READING – Ozil 18 24 50 Gomez 80 – Koscielny o.g 74 Williams s/o 28

A nice comfortable stroll after the Bayern exertions in mid-week. Ozil settling nicely into his new role as shadow striker behind Walcott bagging a hattrick. Gomez also impressing on the right flank with a goal to add to his two assists.

Premier League – ARSENAL 3-1 WEST HAM – Koscielny 20 Giroud 69 Gomez 88 Wilshere s/o 32 – Collison 41

Although comfortable on paper the result was anything but. Having kept Koscielny in the side (more by mistake than anything, poor Per.) he gave us the lead and we were on course for a similarly easy stroll we had against Reading. Then from the 33rd minute onwards the game completely changed. Wilshere was sent off for two yellows and Collison equalised. It was back to the wall from then on but two corners saw firstly Giroud volley in and then head in from a yard. Much tougher than it looked though. West Ham can count themselves unlucky despite the ref favouring them. Wilsdhere misses the League Cup final as does Koscielny who picked up an monor injury when I had made three subs and I couldn’t take him off.

League Table top 5

Not a perfect month but others helping us. Stoke out of top 5 for first time this season.

1. Arsenal Played 26 Points 64

2. Man United Played 28 Points 53

3. Chelsea Played 28 Points 48

4. Man City Played 28 Points 48

5. Newcastle Played 28 Points 47

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

7. Liverpool Played 29 Points 47

8. Tottenham played 29 points 47

Goalscorers

4 for Giroud.

Walcott 15

Insigne 12

Lewandowski 12

Giroud 10

Ozil 9

Assists

Ozil 13

Gomez 8

Cazorla 8

Walcott 8

Scurrle 7

Average rating – minimum 5 games

Balanta 7.31

Mertersacker 7.30

Vermaelen 7.30

Giroud 7.22

Gomez 7.22

Player of the month – Olivier Giroud

Four goals for Giroud.

PL – Swansea – 6.7 – on75

PL – Chelsea – no rating – on77

PL – Wigan – 8.3(1)

PL – Cardiff –Unused Sub

FA - Sheffild United – 9.4(2)

CL – Bayern Munich – Unused Sub

PL – Reading – 6.7 – on68

PL - West Ham – 7.6(1) – off85

Game of the month

Manchester United 1–3 Southamton – Fellaini 51 Vidic s/o 71 – Cork 28 Huddlestone 32 Osvaldo 64

United kissed their title hopes goodbye after losing at home to Southamton. Vidic sent off.

Stat of the month – Time for Africa

The African Cup of nations was almost ignored until after the tournament. Here’s what happned in Morroco.

Group A – Algeria Cammeroon Gabon Togo

Group B – South Africa Ivory Coast Angola Tunisia

Group C – Senegal Ghana Nigeria Zambia

Group D – Morroco Egypt Mali Zimbabwe

Quarter Finals – Algeria 3-2 Ivory Coat Camerron 0-1 South Africa Senegal 1-3 Egypt Ghana 1-3 Morroco

Semi Finals – Algeria 1-2 Morroco Southa Africa 4-3 Egypt

3rd Play off – Egypt 1-1 Algeria - Egypt win 4-2 on penalties

Final –Morroco 5-1 South Africa

Top Scorer – Rantie(South Africa) 7 Belhanda(Morroco) 6 Arabi(Morroco) 5

Top Rating – Tshabalala(South Africa) 8.07 Pietersen(South Africa) 7.98 Poko(Gabon) 7.77

Top Assists – Feghouli (Angola) 4 Boko(Ivopry Coast) 3 Hamdaoui(Morroco) 3

Other News

Yet again none of our players were in the top three for the monthly awards. I however won the manager award despite drawing two of the six games and failing to keep a clean sheet. Hazard won player of the month while Chamberlain was voted young player.

A blank month for Shane long sees Rhodes mobve ahead with 16 goals. Scott Parker tops the average rating with 7.51. Vermalen now in second. Suarez had come out of nowhere to lead assists with 10.

PSG lost their unbeaten record in astonishing fashion. They lost 4-0 at home to Lorient. They still lead Ligue 1 by 13 points though. Bayern lead in Germany. Vitesse and PSV now neck and neck in Holland. Ajax two points adrift. Juventius lead in Seria A while Barca and Madrid are level in La Liga.

The under 21’s produced a fantastic display to thump real Madrid 5-1 in the under19’s champions league. Andy Saunders hitting a hattrick and siefkes with the other two. They play Ploush side Lech Poznan next.

In the cup they made it through to the semi-final beating Fulham 2-0. Goals from Ndah and a bigic penalty. They also hit the bar four times and should’ve won by more. They will play Man United in the final.

The under 18’s continue to struggle. They are 7th in their League.

All the other English sides were in good positions to qalufy after the first legs. Chelsea berat Valancia 3-0. United drew 1-1 in Shahktar and Spurs drew 3-3 at Benfica. Elsewhere PSG beat Atletico 3-0. There were away wins for Barcelona and Marseille at Lyon and Galatasaray but Readl Madrid lost 1-0 in Moscow.

March Preview

March starts with the League Cup final against Stoke. We also have the return game against Bayern and the Fa Cup game at Leicester. In the League we host City and Travel to Spurs

As always the youth intake come in. Who will be the next Nelson and Saunders?

[james_wilko]

Brought in Marvin Martin from Lille to provide cover for Ozil. Looks like he could play DM and provide another option in place of Ramsey/Arteta as my DLP(D) as well. Came in for 9.75mil up front.

Walcott broke his foot meaning 4 months out so had to look for another striker to see us through his absence. Went for Eduardo Vargas from Napoli. Looks like he has room to develop and seems a solid player already. Only cost 2.1mil so not too bad, hopefully he can provide some quality from the bench while Podolski steps up to first choice striker.

[raeburn]

January 2014: Half-way there and we're top of the league!

It's taken a while, but I've finally been able to get in to my annual Arsenal save, and now that I've figured out my tactics, I'm loving it.

I turned off transfer budgets for the September window, so I played the first half with the original squad and managed to finish first-half-top thanks mostly to Santi Cazorla who has 7 goals and 15 assists through January. Ozil hasn't really lit the league on fire, but he's been solid with 6 goals and 6 assists. The highlights of my tenure so far have been a perfect December, complete with a 3-2 victory over Spurs and a 5-1 demolition of second-place Manchester United, and my youth development.

One of my goals for this save is to develop Gnabry, Bellerin, Akpom, Zelalem and Crowley to be solid first team players, if not starters, and they've all made impressive progress so far. Zelalem has made the biggest attribute gains while Gnabry has put in the best performances (6 goals, 1 assist, and 3 Player of the Match Awards in 8 starts and 14 sub appearances). Anyway, here is Zelalem. I'm hoping to turn him into a box-to-box midfielder to take full advantage of his long-shots.

Gedion Zelalem

And now, last but not least, transfers! I re-signed Yossi Benayoun as a tutor, got Éder Álvarez Balanta from River for 8.25m, and signed Otávio from Internacional who I hope will develop into a good successor to Santi Cazorla in the IF(S) role at AML. Everybody knows Balanta, so here is Otávio.

Otávio

[arsenalthebest]

just beat Southampton 10-0 away they had 7 first team players out and had to play some pants 1y/o regen keeper, my shoot on sight instruction worked a treat

[RossoneriGunner]

just beat Southampton 10-0 away they had 7 first team players out and had to play some pants 1y/o regen keeper, my shoot on sight instruction worked a treat

Great result, where did you get your laptop fixed....

[arsenalthebest]

Great result, where did you get your laptop fixed....

friend fixed it and the keeper was 17 not 1

[arsenalthebest]

WOW on one of my fm13 save games Ive got a 1Bn transfer budget

[KingLara]

Fm14 season 2 Arsenal

March

LEAGUE CUP FINAL – ARSENAL 1-0aet STOKE CITY – Insigne 99

Lorenzo Insigne came off the bench to make it back to back League Cups after beating Stoke 1-0. The man who he replaced Schurrle should’ve given us the lead after just seven minutes when he raced through on goal but was denied by Begovic. We stepped it up in the second half and should have had the game won but it went to extra time. After Walcott’s cross bobbled around in the area it was left to Insigne to smash it home and win us the cup.

Arsenal - Zieler Baines Vermaelen Mertersacker (Balanta 105) Sagna Alonso Ramsey Schurrle (Insigne 76) Gomez (Walcott 76) Cazorla Giroud

Subs not used: Valdes Jenkinson Ozil Lewandowski

Stoke – Begovic Muniesta Astori Huth Solly Whealen Edu Adam (Arnautovic 90) Shea (Wilson 45) Yarmolenko Rhodes (Jones 73)

Subs not used: Butland Burn Parr Pieters

Match Stats – Shots 24/5 Target 13/2 Possession 61/39 Fouls 7/26 Corners 10/2 CCC 3/0 WW 1/0 YC 1/5 RC 0/0

Man of the Match – Leighton Baines (7.7)

Premier League –ARSENAL 3-1 EVERTON – Lewandowski 43 Baines 63pen Ozil 90 – Jelavic 17

Vermalen was unfit to play and the bad timing of carvalho’s loan finishing meant I was forced to play Sagna at Centre Back. It also meant two 16 year olds on the bench as I had no other defensive options. Everton took the lead and it seemed certain there and then that we would lose the unbeaten record. But a long Sagna ball was finished superbly by Lewandowski to get us level. In the second half a handball in the area gave Baines the chance to score against his old side which he took. Everton pushed for the equaliser but it never came and in the end we hit them on the counter in stoppage time. Ozil chipping over the onrushing Howard. Sagna man of the match.

FA Cup Quarter Final – LEICESTER CITY 0-1 ARSENAL– Gomez 16

The FA were doing us no favours as the game was held on a Sunday with the Bayern game on a Tuesday. With that the case I named the classic weak team-strong bench policy and hoped it would be enough to at worst get a replay. 16 year old Mick Flynn started as did Andi Ibrahim. Valdes who started made two fine saves but other than that Vietto’s through ball to Gomez to slide home was the difference. A very good win in the circumstances.

Watford caused an upset by beating Newcastle 2-1. Goals from Ba and Cahill saw Chelsea beat Spurs. Wigan beat Southampton 2-0.

Semi Final draw – Arsenal vs Watford Chelsea vs Wigan

Champions League second Round 2nd Leg – BAYERN MUNICH 1-0aet ARSENAL – Muller 60

Bayern win 4-2 on Penalties

We headed to the Allianz for the second leg having taken the lead at the emirates. In the build up before the game Kosicelny and Mertersacker both had chances to be fit for the game but neither made the trip. Bayern started well as we were on the back foot for most of the half. But just as half time approached it was us that should’ve taken the lead. Lewandowski feeding ozil but he placed his shot wide with only Neuer to beat. The tie turned in the second half when a free kick from Lahm bounced onto the bar and came down for muller to tap in from a yard. Bayern couldn’t get the winner though and the game went into extra time. Both Wilshere and Muller had half chances to win it but both curled wide. In the end the only outcome was penalties. Alonso missed the first kick and it always seemed like curtains from there.

Alonso Baines Barry Ozil

Alaba Badstuber Kroos Lahm

Premier League – ARSENAL 4-1 MANCHESTER CITY– Walcott 19 62 Baines 74 Hart o.g 85 – Jovetic 41

After the shootout heartache at Bayern we hosted Man City in the league. We responded brilliantly with a powerful and commanding display that City got nowhere near matching. I instructed the players to shoot on sight rather than the usual tika taka round the box. It seemed to work. Walcott hitting a brace and Baines a superb volley after a knockdown from Mertersacker. City barely had a sniff.

Premier League – SOUTHAMTON 0-1 ARSENAL – Cazorla 9

A very comfortable 1-0 win. Cazorla replacing Ozil as the shadow striker and immediately paying dividends. The rest of the game was us against Ospina. He won the battle but we won the war. 19 points ahead with 9 games left.

Premier League – TOTTENHAM 1-2 ARSENAL – Eriksen 39 – Giroud 27 Walcott 69pen

We headed to White Hart Lane just shy of winning the title. Spurs started well and Valdes had to be alert early on to make a couple of saves. Giroud gave us the lead totally against the run of play by thundering in a Insigne cross off the post. Eriksen who was Spurs best player got them level before halftime. Walcott converted a penalty for what proved to be the winner in the second half. Spurs just couldn’t get the equaliser in truth they deserved.

League Table top 5

A draw against Liverpool will win us the title with 7 games to spare.

1. Arsenal Played 30 points 76

2. Chelsea Played 31 Points 55

3. Man Utd Played 31 Points 54

4. Newcastle Played 30 points 53

5. Stoke Played 31 Points 53

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

6. Man City Played 19 points 52

7. Liverpool Played 19 Points 51

8. Tottenham played 19 points 50

Goalscorers

Walcott 18

Insigne 13

Lewandowski 13

Giroud 11

Ozil 10

Assists

Ozil 13

Walcott 10

Insigne 8

Ramsey 8

Gomez 8

Average rating – minimum 5 games

Top four now all centre backs.

Balanta 7.34

Mertersacker 7.31

Vermaelen 7.29

Koscielny 7.21

Giroud 7.19

Player of the month – Bacary Sagna

Fantastic month for the right back.

PL – Stoke– 7.4

PL – Everon – 8.2

FA – Leicester – Not Selected

CL – Bayern – 7.2

PL – Man City – 7.9

PL – Southamton – 7.3

PL – Tottenham – 7.0 – off69

Game of the month

Southamton 2-6 West Brom - Rodriguez 46 48 – Graham 3 Long 6 42 Morrison 45 Mulumbo 75 Berahino 82

Could’ve been another defeat for United but I will give it to West Brom. Having grinded out a 1-0 defeat at St Mary’s to us only a few days before the Saints replaced Ospina with Boruc in goal. The result was a six goal hammering.

Stat of the month - Messi vs Ronaldo (Round 2)

Same as last year Messi vs Ronaldo

Messi vs Ronaldo

LAST YEAR at this stage

MESSI - Played 42(1) Goals 24 Assists 11 MoM 17 Average Rating 8.13

RONALDO – Played 47 Goals 28 Assits 5 MoM 6 Average Rating 7.47

End of season

MESSI – Played 51(1) Goals 27 Assists 13 MoM 18 Average Rating 8.03

RONALDO - Played 59 Goals 39 Assists 7 MoM 8 Average Rating 7.51

This season

LA LIGA

Messi – Played 29 Goals 19 Assists 4 MoM 9 Average Rating 8.24

Ronaldo – Played 29 Goals 20 Assists 4 MoM 5 Average Rating 7.79

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Messi – Played 8 Goals 7 Assists 0 MoM 0 Average Rating 7.61

Ronaldo– Played 8 Goals 6 Assists 1 MoM 2 Average Rating 7.56

CUP

Messi – Played 6 Goals 4 Assists 2 MoM 1 Average Rating 7.57

Ronaldo– Played 9(1) Goals 6 Assists 3 MoM 1 Average Rating 7.63

INTERNATIONAL

Messi – Played 2 Goals 2 Assists 0 MoM 1 Average Rating 8.20

Ronaldo – Played 2 Goals 2 Assists 0 MoM 0 Average Rating 7.20

OVERALL

MESSI – Played 43 Goals 30 Assists 6 MoM 10 Average Rating 8.03

RONALDO – Played 46(1) Goals 32 Assists 8 MoM 8 Average Rating 7.71

HEAD TO HEAD

Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona – Messi(1) 8.0 Ronaldo 6.4

Other game is next fixture.

Other News

I was named manager of the month after four wins. Shane Long won player of the month for his four goals. While Everton youngster Josh Stones won the young player prize.

Shane Long leads the way with 18. Parker still on top of average rating by 0.07 from Mertersacker. Suarez also still leading assists although Chris Brunt also has 10.

PSG lead Ligue 1 by 16 points. Bayern now 7 clear in Germany. Vitesse lead Ajax by a point in Holland. Barcelona and Madrid still level and play each other next. Top four separated by 3 points in Italy. Milan leading the way.

In the Champions League all the other three English sides made it. Moscow beat Real on away goals while PSG, Barcelona and Marseille went through with Bayern. United play Chelsea in the quarters. Spurs host Bayern

England beat Argentina 3-1 at Wembley. I was in the stands to see Walcott open the scoring. Welbeck scored the second. Aguero had a penalty saved by Hart before Lamela pulled one back before Gerrard completed the scoring. In their qualifying group they currently are top unbeaten after four games. Turkey and Hungary in second and third

The usual waft of youth players came in. Some good, some bad and one real gem. Central Midfielder Ian Doyle. Expect more from him in the next few seasons.

April Preview

We should wrap up the title and then it will be a case of trying to go through unbeaten. Won’t be easy through with Liverpool first up and then trips to Newcastle Villa and West Ham.

We also have the FA Cup semi-final against Watford. Sadly no Champions League.

[Carmi88]

right, jumped back into FM14 after a wee break, done my first season in which we did pretty poorly, but it was a season full of injuries! Loads of them, scuppered all of my plans, so im currently in the summer transfer window improving the team

Was knocked out of the Champions League by Madrid in the semi finals , 2-2 on aggregate, having beat Barcelona in the quarter finals, and having beat Lyon and Real Sociedad before that. Madrid went on to beat United 2-0.

Chelsea won the Capital One cup, eliminating me in the 4th round, they also won the FA Cup, i got knocked out by Reading in a 3-2 defeat, was like last seasons real fixture, except we went 3-0 down and were lucky to pull 2 back

And England just lost in the final of the World Cup on penalties to Spain =/ However i just beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Community shield! 90th minute winner from Koscielny

League table

Transfers in and out first season

Second season

[KingLara]

Another superb run KingLara, you always seem bang in form.

Cheers Llama.

Not as great as last season or even years gone by but I'll still take it.

I think my form is based on having the best staff i can (my rule is they must be minimum 18 in their coaching section) and team selection which means every player gets a game and no player under 89% fitness can play. Other than that I don't really know.

[arsenalthebest]

right I've started another save and got two rb to agree contracts(not yet confirmed the transfer)

they are M.Montoya(from Madrid)

fee 10m

Squad Stat rotation wage: 59k , loy bonus: 1.5m , agent fee: 1.6m , app fee 8k , clean sheet bonus: 7k ,unused-sub fee: 4k exp 2017

Coke(from Sevilla)

fee: 9m

wage: 20 k Loy bonus: 450k , Agent fee: 750k App fee: 4.4k , Unused sub & clean sheet fee 3k(each) , 26k after 1 Int game, exp 2016

who should I go for?

[james_wilko]

Evening lads,

Just finished my first season with Arsenal and it went pretty damn well. League and Capital one Cup winners, and finalists in the FA Cup.

We won the league, winning 31 games, drawing 6 and losing only once. We scored 98 times and conceeding only 33 giving us the best offence and defence (alongside Man City) in the league. Giroud was top goal scorer in the league with 19, tying him with Rickie Lambert but Giroud was award top goalscorer having played less games. Ozil was joint top of the assist charts alongside Eden Hazard with 20. Ozil also won English Footballer of the Year and Wilshere won Young Players of the Year.

We also won the Capital One Cup, getting an easy run for the youngsters up to the Final where we played Manchester United. I decided to take this game seriously, despite the job the youngsters and reserves had done because I wanted a trophy. We smashed Man U 4-0 in the final, being 3-0 up in half an hour from a Giroud brace and a Cazorla freekick. Podolski rubbed salt in their wounds in the 89th minute to give us a very comfortable win in the end.

FA Cup ended a bit disappointingly. We lost to Man Utd in the final 4-2, we went for it a bit too much at 3-2 and got caught on the counter for their 4th. A little bit of pay back for them, but I`d rather be league champions and beaten finalists rather than FA Cup winners and a mediocre 6th place in the league. I`m not bitter, I promise

We got knocked out of the Champions League in the first knock out round, losing away to Dortmund 2-1, and then only able to draw 1-1 when we brought them back to the Emirates. Dortmund went on to smash Barcelona 5-2 over two legs and have set up a repeat on last year`s final against Bayern. Unfortunately for Dortmund they lost to Bayern again, this time 1-0 but I`m sure winning their domestic cup and league will make up for that.

Transfers:

This season, I brought in Zouma, Balanta, Rugani, Diame, Barbosa, Allione and Ince in the summer, Barbosa will be joining the club in August 2014 when he turns 18. In January we also signed Eduardo Vargas and Marvin Martin to add some depth and in Vargas` case to replace the injured Walcott.

Of the lot, I`d say Vargas was my best signing. 2.1 million and in 15(3) games he managed 11 goals to comfortably fill the void left by Walcott`s broken foot. A close second would be Balanta who was a constant in my defence and even chipped in with 5 assists and 1 goal.

This summer I want to sign a big name striker, I`m thinking Luis Suarez after Liverpool struggled in the league and only finished 8th. Already announced my interest in him and I`m hoping to get him unsettled so he can be brought in for less than 40mil. Another option is Benteke, with Villa being relegated he should be quite cheap. Will be looking to move on Podolski and maybe take advantage of the interest in Giroud who despite scoring 27 goals in 44(4) to make him my top scorer, multiple times he`d go several games without a goal which was really annoying and it was partly his inability to maintain consistency in front of goal that led to Dortmund knocking us out.

Players:

My stars in the team were Ozil, Wilshere and Mertesacker. These three were consistent throughout, and were the main reason I won the title so comfortably. Wilshere`s wide left role has finally became natural, and I`ve taught him to develop his weaker foot so now he is either footed. Ozil, 45(4) games, 29 assists and 14 goals so nearly a goal scored/assisted in every game started. A deserved winner of the English Footballer of the Year and World Player of the Year. Mertesacker was a rock at the back, and was basically captain since both Vermaelen and Arteta were left on the bench in favour of Balanta/Ramsey respectively. He also chipped in with 6 goals which is always a bonus.

Anticipating interest in Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla, Giroud and Ozil this Summer. Madrid were looking at Giroud in January, and Man City were doing the same to Ramsey and Cazorla.

[james_wilko]

Suarez was a no go, Liverpool wanted 60mil! But I can bring in Benzema for 25mil and 180k p/w in wages. Is he worth it?

[Anxiietyyy]

Both Dan Crowley and Serge Gnabry are developing really nicely half way through the third season. I've just began to bed Gnabry into the first team, and he's hit the ground running with 4 goals and 3 assists in his 9 appearances. Crowley is out on loan at West Brom and not putting in the best of performances, so I'm thinking of recalling him in January and maybe giving him a few games myself, keeping him in the reserves or sending him out elsewhere.

Crowley:

Gnabry:

In other news, big Ö is in damn fine form, with 8 goals and 13 assists in 18 appearances in 2015/16 (along with 10 goals and 26 assists in 2014/15) making him one of the leading candidates for the 2015 Ballon d'Or!

[lomekian]

right I've started another save and got two rb to agree contracts(not yet confirmed the transfer)

they are M.Montoya(from Madrid)

fee 10m

Squad Stat rotation wage: 59k , loy bonus: 1.5m , agent fee: 1.6m , app fee 8k , clean sheet bonus: 7k ,unused-sub fee: 4k exp 2017

Coke(from Sevilla)

fee: 9m

wage: 20 k Loy bonus: 450k , Agent fee: 750k App fee: 4.4k , Unused sub & clean sheet fee 3k(each) , 26k after 1 Int game, exp 2016

who should I go for?

Neither....get Revellier (sp?) on a free to back up Sagna season 1, and then pick up either Corchia/Richards/Kelly season two for 4m (or even better get one on a free in the summer).

[llama3]

Love Serge Gnabry, always find he develops very well.