Tactic question : What makes Walcott so good?

[Simsejensen77]

Hello.

Im managing Arsenal, comfortable on first place in the league - same points as Man UTD. Theyre also playing really well at the moment!

A question for you tacticians out there -

What makes Walcott so good for me ?

Should i bring in a similar player like him for the AML position?

Here's a few screenshots so you can see my gameplan and Mr Walcott :

[Typhoon]

Walcott does really well for me as well in that sort of setup. The thing is that his pace allows him to do well, but is more often than not let off by his weak finishing (I've been screaming at the amount of sitters that he has missed). You also have Sagna and Ramsey providing support as well. With Walcott, the pace is the only key difference than Oxlade-Chamberlain in that position, and seems to be why Walcott does better in that position since I rotate the pair.

I personally wouldn't get another AML similar to Walcott (for a free option, you could develop Miyaichi from the U21), because I feel that too many attack options leaves me vulnerable to a team playing the counter. In your current lineup, I would switch things up a little. I would put Ozil in LW with the AP(S) role, instead of Cazorla, put on Wilshere at the CM role as a AP(A). He does have weaker finishing but he is a good option at that role, and you can put Cazorla on as cover (yes, I hate it that such a player is acting as cover rather than starting). Also, it's making do with the current amount of playmakers in the team (otherwise I will have Wilshere, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Arteta fighting over the AP roles).

Curiosity question, how's Podolski working in your lineup? Even as AP(A), I can't get the best out of him due to his weak stats, but he somehow provides valuable goals and a decent penalty taker (even when Arteta is on).

[Bittah Dreamer]

How is your team doing defensively?

You have a lot of playmakers in there, and very attack minded full bavks, but little defensive steel. None of Flamini's "dark side" so to speak.

I would have thought a half back, anchor man or ball winning midfielder would have been needed to play in DM to add about if defensive stability.

What are your teams instructions?

And how does Ozil play at CM? I thought you would have needed him further forward to get the most out of him.

I'm also arsenal and tinkering with formation still so curious to see how yours is working.

[Bittah Dreamer]

And on Walcott, much as in real life I think his big asset is his pace. He's been injured on mine for the start of the season but really looking forward to getting him back. We've looked really dangerous in the break - especially the AM in my 4-2-3-1 formation. Wilshire broke free for at least three 1 v 1 or 2 v 1 situations against Chelsea for me.

I can't wait to have Walcott on there to be able to get up and give him an option on the counter, or at least draw a defender out wide to cover him.

[RTHerringbone]

I wouldn't necessarily try to find a similar player for the left flank, unless you're just treating this Beta phase as a bit of fun.

Lots of wide defensive issues are logged in the pre-Release bugs forum, and it looks like SI were already aware of them all.

As a result, lots of them should be fixed fairly soon, so any new lethal wide man might end up being a bit less lethal on or shortly after release.

If you're planning to carry the Beta save into the release version, I'd probably hold your horses!

However, that goal return in particular is impressive, and not what I'd expect of a Winger.

Have you set a few Player Instructions?