Please help me to understand how 4-2-3-1 works

[steveyspan]

Hi, I am a new FM player only started playing since FM2013. I used to play with 'super tactics' posted by tactic genius in the forum and enjoyed the game.

Realising that playing that way was like only playing a small portion of the game, I started to read and learn from the forums about how to set up a basic tactic.

And then that's when FM14 comes out and when I look at the new tactic interface, I was like "wow", this is very user friendly, and actually allows me to implement my own ideas in a very easy, straight forward way without the need to learn how to use the sliders which I had absolutely no idea with. I'v gotta say I am really loving FM2014 and enjoy the process of learning about tactics and more importantly, learning about soccer!!!

I started to mess around with the instructions since Beta and having some success with a tactic on Arsenal:

I mainly use this tactic to play home games and weaker opponents, trying to 'overpower' them with a high pressing, higher tempo game.

I have learnt that there is a lot of flaws in this tactics and I would appreciate anyone who could point them out and help me to understand them.

In particular, I would like to ask:

1. the 2 CM's roles and duties?

Like the heat map above shows, I have read other threads saying that having a DLP in CM would actually run into the space in front, which squeeze the space of the IF and AP?

Also, does having 2 playmakers roles, AP and DLP means they will share the amount of balls being feed by teammates? as having 2 pivots?

Also deploying the other CM as BWM means he would be charging around in the midfield trying to close down ppl, which means I have no actual CM in a holding position?

If so, how would you implement your CM and their roles?

I would also like to know that since I have Arteta, Wilshere and Ramsey which all has decent creativity, what instructions would you put to better utilize their creative strength?

2. the 2 CB's duties and roles

The reason I put them both in cover roles is I noticed that they have been constantly beaten only by the 2 of the opponent's player in counter attacks. Usually the AMC and ST, one of my CB would always try to charge forward and close down the opponent player who has the ball(usually the AMC who sits in the hole), which creates space for the other opponent player to run onto, the player with the ball will then pass a through ball, and then they have just beaten my defence line in a 2 vs 2 situation, and it seems like my fullbacks doesn't even care enough try to cover up, even if they are in position.

3. Hassle opponent

The reason I put them on is because I think Arsenal player has better pace then most average EPL teams, this allow pressing to be effective on weaker opponents with slower pace. But I am not sure this is also the reason that cause my defence line to be constantly out of position and opening up gaps?

Any feedback would be appreciated!

[bababooey]

A great place to start would be here: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/362894-Pairs-amp-Combinations-Part-1-Central-Midfielders

llama3 also has guides on widemen, strikers, and central defenders - check them out. they've helped me immensely.

Finally, another good guide to help you with the 4-2-3-1: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/364745-FM14-Arsenal-Thread-quot-Remember-who-you-are-what-you-are-and-who-you-represent!-quot

[r.midt]

Have a similar project going so gonna subscribe to this thread.

wwfan gave me an advice in my thread:

"You also have the tendency to keep your FBs back and your wingers high. You should try to play one winger deeper (Support Duty) with his FB having an Attack Duty to encourage movement between the lines. Likewise, one of your MCs needs to have an Attack Duty to encourage him to break into attacking positions. "

I have a almost the same setup as you and that worked well for me, not tested enough yet tough but the winger instantly made more assists and the full back aswell.

[max787]

For a 4-2-3-1 you want both CMs to sit, shielding the back four. You don't want a BWM as he won't stay in position.

Changing the BWM to a CM defend would be better.

[etcetera]

In terms of 4-2-3-1 in FM there is one thing that makes or breaks your strategy, and that's the AMC ST partnership. This is less so in a real life 4-2-3-1 as your wide players combine well with the AMC ST but that's much harder to accomplish in FM. Obviously what type of partnership you go for depends on your players, but I'd recommend you work on the classic playmaker AMC with an old fashioned striker as that's much easier to get right.

The CM partnership is basically having one player holding the midfield and the other having the license to get forward. Many players associate 'holding midfielder' with defensive play and 'getting forward' with attacking play, and of course end up with an AP/BMW partnership which doesn't work very well. The idea being the BMW closes the opposing ball carrier intensely and gives up space behind him.

On your question regarding playmakers. A creative player doesn't need to be assigned a playmaker role for you to utilize his skills. I think people tend to associate playmaker as the player that plays the fancy through balls and racks up assists, but its probably better to think of the playmaker as the 'tempo setter' or 'ball distributor'. IRL this would be saying Xavi is a better 'playmaker' while Iniesta probably makes more assists. For your Arsenal team, this might mean setting Arteta as a DLP as he's a calmer passer of the ball than Ramsey and Wilshere.

[Seule]

and... thats a lot of instructions. Not saying it won't work, but i like to stick to the KISS principle, if i start hitting 5-6 instructions I start to worry that I've got fundamental issues All said tho, actually looking at the instructions, you seem to have reasonably paired some of the, ie the hassle opponents, push up higher, shorter passing, play out of defence all point to a short passing possession based approach looking to win the ball while it's still in your opponents half and keep pressure on your opponents. You have the players there to pull it off, but be careful against the big teams, Man City/Chelsea/Man U will have players that can take advantage of some of those and possibly rip you to shreds.

[imabearlol]

I wrote something similar on a 4-2-3-1 in another thread so this post is based on that.

Difference Between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3

Other people have gone through the evolution of a 4-2-3-1 in modern football citing Spain/Germany World Cup teams as examples. The way I got to grips with it presonally was by comparing it against a 4-3-3, which is the formation I was most interested in and studied extensively when Pep was Barca's head coach.

First of all, a 4-2-3-1 is inherently more defensive than a 4-3-3 utilising 4 attackers as opposed to 5 in the 4-3-3:

4-2-3-1

Front 4: AML, AMC, AMR, CF

Back 6: DL, DC, DC, DR, DM, DM

4-3-3

Front 5: CM, CM, AML, AMR, CF

Back 5: DL, DC, DC, DR, DM

In a 4-3-3 with a DM acting as a single pivot, he is tasked with building the attack from deep and staying available for passes to recycle possession should the attack break down. This lets the 2 CMs push forward into the vacant space between the opposition's defence and midfield and dictate play in this area. In a 4-2-3-1 the AM occupies this space full-time and is given more freedom to roam or push forward with the security of having 2 DMs behind him sharing the task of the single pivot between them.

The benefit of this is it's much easier to retain possession as the two DMs have the option of passing laterally to the other pivot in order to keep possession, while in a 4-3-3 the single DM is encouraged to pass vertically. In addition, when the team is in possession of the ball in wide positions each half of the double pivot can control their half of the pitch and be available as an option to receive an outlet pass, while a single DM has to do this alone.

The 4-2-3-1 is therefore more suited to retain possession in deeper areas while being more stable defensively. A 4-3-3 trades this stability to control the ball further up the pitch which in turn allows the AML/AMR to push further forward and act more as forwards. In a 4-2-3-1, the AML/AMR/CF must stay closer to the AM to help or one opposition DM tight marking him will ruin the team's main attacking outlet.

Bear in mind though, that at the end of the day formations don't really mean anything as it is the system that is important. Teams in real life often change shape during a match - if you watch Bayern for example they are sometimes in a 4-1-4-1, sometimes in a 4-3-3, sometimes in a 4-2-3-1. You can have a more attacking 4-2-3-1 just as much as you can have a more defensive 4-3-3, or you can even switch between both.

How a 4-2-3-1 Attacks

I found this post which explains it perfectly http://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comme...double/c7rqr13

The basic way that two teams attack each other in modern football is a 4 vs 6 pattern. The 'Front 4' of a team means the wingers, the striker(s) and /or the attacking midfielder. These are the players that move ahead of the ball and try to open up holes in the opposition area. The 'Back 6' are the fullbacks, centerbacks, and central midfielders. These are the players who move behind the ball and look to make passes or crosses in to one of the 'Front 4' to get them into a better shooting/crossing position.

In general, attacking 4 v 6 doesn't achieve too much on its own.

The way you break down the 4 v 6 pattern, and create chances, is by overloading certain zones and creating numerical advantages in one are of the pitch (right, left, or center). There are numerous ways to achieve this:

To achieve an overload on the wing, and create space for an attacking player to get in behind the defense, you need two things to happen: You need a central player from the front 4 (Striker or attacking midfielder) to move to the wing and occupy a defensive player, assuring your winger is not double marked. Then, you need a fullback to make a run, become the 3rd attacking player in a zone defended by only two players, and quickly exploit the space created before the defense has a chance to reorganize themselves.

The way that you create an overload in the center is by taking a 'Back 6' player out of a defensive position, and to provide a similar run to a fullback in the previous example. A striker will often be occupying both centerbacks (one to make a tackle or interception, moving towards the ball, and one to react and collect the ball once it is won for the defending team), and your attacking midfielder or second striker will be occupied by one of the opposition central midfielders (the other of whom is likely to be pressing the ball further up the pitch). To create an overload in this area, you need whichever central midfielder is unoccupied at any given time to make a run forward, just like a fullback would outside, to pull defenders out of shape, and to create space for an attacker to receive a ball behind the defense.

The basic concept of having one striker, one attacking midfielder, and two defensive midfielders often leads to a situation like this, where one central midfielder of the team in possession will be let unoccupied, simply due to numerical limits on how many people can be marked at once without abandoning the shape of the team. The Double Pivot is the term for these two central midfielders who need to intelligently run past the opposition midfield to create space, and chances, against a packed defense. And, more crucially, one of them needs to stay back to collect opposition clearances and attempted passes to their own strikers.

This means that you need two players who are comfortable in their reading of the game, and can both perform the above listed duties - because if the defense knows which midfielder will run forward every time, they can simply mark him out of the game as easily as any other statically positioned player on the attacking side. Two players, two jobs whilst in possession, and both must be able to complete both jobs at a moments notice.

How I setup my 4-2-3-1

This is my current setup in progress:

Mentality:

Counter/Control - I change this according to where I want the ball to be kept when in possession and the tempo/defensive line I want without the ball. I usually watch the first 20/30 min of a match in full to decide on the better approach. I'll have two tactics training each of these for maximum fluidity.

Balanced/Very Fluid - I usually play with Very Fluid as I prefer high creative freedom on my players while playing compact. The mentalities are similar on all players meaning the distance between defence and attack is narrower. This means I may sometimes opt to drop the defensive line (either via shouts or strategy) to open up space. I may switch to Balanced or Rigid if I want to impose more instructions on my players during the game, such as setting one of the CMs to a BWM to win the ball back or setting up another playmaker to control where the majority of play occurs.

After much experimentation I've settled on the following shape:

----------T(a)

IF(s)-----AP(a)-----W(a)

-----CM(d)-CM(s)

WB(a)-CB(d)-CB(d)-WB(s)

You can't copy this blindly as I've set this up according to my team's strengths and weaknesses - with different players I may set up differently. I do tend to keep some things in mind though:

WB and AML/R

If one is (s) I set the other to (a), because with the same mentality on Very Fluid they tend to get into the same area and bump into each other. This is detrimental to possession play as it gives one less option to pass to. Also I like the interplay between both combos:

WB(s) + AML/R(a) - While AML/R attacks, WB stays back and offers a passing option should the more advanced player run into a cul-de-sac. He can then cross from deep or recycle possession.

WB(a) + AML/R(s) - WB can overlap the AML/R overloading an area of the pitch. With this combo I tend to make the advanced player Sit Narrower and the WB Run Wide With Ball. If I get the right players I may flip this around and have a WB cutting inside.

CM(d) and CM(s)

I prefer this combo as it's hard to setup a proper double pivot where each CM takes turns in getting forward. I use CMs as I play Very Fluid, but you can set these roles differently if you want to specialise them with a more rigid mentality. The key thing to make sure though is that they are deeper than your attack and they are providing you with a stable platform from which to both launch and absorb attacks. You can't have them running all over the place, so don't set them to roam.

As for the rest of the roles I start with the front and change these according to who I have playing, while trying to maintain a balance of supporting and attacking roles. I start building around the AMC as that's what I feel is the most important position in a 4-2-3-1. For example, instead of Ozil I could have a forward destroyer here but then I'd need a more creative flank. I could have a more dynamic and less creative player but then I'd need to create more space for him and use a more advanced forward.

SK(s): I prefer a Sweeper Keeper as with possession football you tend to hold a higher line.

WB(a): Attacking mentality with Run Wide With Ball shout. Supports the IF while play is building up and gets further forward eventually, whipping in crosses from wide positions or laying it back to the IF who is usually roaming on the edge of the box.

CD(d): I use two CB(d)s as I play with an offside trap to protect my high line. You can play a Stopper/Cover combo if you rather play without an offside trap.

WB(s): Supports attacks on the right flank and provides a wide passing option for the W(a), AP(a) and CM(s). Plays the role of the IF(s) while in advanced possession by providing a cut back option for the W(a) who runs wide.

CM(d)/CM(s) : As described above.

IF(s): This role suits Santi Cazorla and that's why I set it. When I play Vela or Podolski in this position I set them to (a) mentalities as Vela has low teamwork/work rate and Podolski is more suited at running onto balls than dribbling around people, though if I do this I need to change the WB on this side to (s).

AP(a): Again, this role suits Ozil and that's the only reason I set it. I use AP as apposed to a Treq as I still want him to contribute to defence. If I'm playing an attacking role on the left though I either set the AMC or AMR to (s).

W(a): This role suits Walcott/Ox.

T(a): This is a hard position to get right. I have Lewandowski who I see as a Complete Forward, but it looked wrong when I played him in that role. The Treq contributes much more to build up play and links up well with the AP(a) and as he plays deeper he plays in the W(a) quite a lot, who will then run on to score. However, if I play Giroud I would play him more of a roaming AF(a) and have IF(s) or AP(s) with Dirbble More with players who can run at the defense.

So that's some general info on the 4-2-3-1 and in the next post I'll try and relate this to your setup.

[Mattp1980]

For me looking at your heat maps I would changed your RFB to Attack rather than support and get him closer to the Winger and change the AP-A to an AP-S to bring him closer to the midfielder and get him behind the players who you want to attack, think of the sort of pass he needs to make in the position he is in (sideways).

I might also turn off play Wider as shorter passing works better when you're narrow, I would "personally" also turn off pass into space as you're playing attacking and are already pushing the oppo back towards their own goal, for this reason I would also lose run with ball as to me thats about hitting teams quickly on the break which would work better if your where sitting deep. Other than that it all looks ok.

[imabearlol]

So a couple of points from the OP:

Your FB roles

You have automatic instructions and are playing with an Attacking Mentality so these would both be set as (a). If you want to base your tactic around this I would suggest a 4-3-3. If not, then I would personally set Monreal to attack as Santi ahead of him is on support, and set Sagna to support Walcott ahead of him. Move Flamini to MCL and set him to a CM(d) as space is more likely to open up when Monreal moves forward and you have a good IF(s) - CM(d) - AP(a) triangle on the left side.

TM(s) on Giroud

As you have Giroud set to Target Man I assume you want to focus passing to him, where he would then hold up the ball and lay passes to Walcott/Ozil who you have set to (a). In this case, I would set set Walcott as a W(a) so you are attacking two channels (middle and right) instead of one. I'd also consider giving Giroud a Treq role if this is the behaviour you are looking for. You could also experiment with Ozil as a SS so he runs from deep without the ball rather than with it. If you want Ozil to run with the ball instead then I would want Giroud higher up as an AF or even a P to force the opposing defensive line deeper giving him more space to run.

Attacking Mentality and Higher Tempo

Attacking Mentality naturally sets a Higher Tempo - so I wouldn't also set it here unless you really feel you need it.

Play Wider and Short Passing

These instructions contradict as you are creating space by stretching wide but you are not maximising it. Attacking mentality also already sets your shape wider - so I would turn it off by default and only set it if you notice you need it in-game.

Run at Defence

I would set this off by default and only activate it if you notice the opponents standing off.

[steveyspan]

A great place to start would be here: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/362894-Pairs-amp-Combinations-Part-1-Central-Midfielders

llama3 also has guides on widemen, strikers, and central defenders - check them out. they've helped me immensely.

Finally, another good guide to help you with the 4-2-3-1: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/364745-FM14-Arsenal-Thread-quot-Remember-who-you-are-what-you-are-and-who-you-represent!-quot

These are really great guides and that's exactly what I have been looking for, Thank You!

Its gonna take me some time to digest all those

[steveyspan]

Have a similar project going so gonna subscribe to this thread.

wwfan gave me an advice in my thread:

"You also have the tendency to keep your FBs back and your wingers high. You should try to play one winger deeper (Support Duty) with his FB having an Attack Duty to encourage movement between the lines. Likewise, one of your MCs needs to have an Attack Duty to encourage him to break into attacking positions. "

I have a almost the same setup as you and that worked well for me, not tested enough yet tough but the winger instantly made more assists and the full back aswell.

Was gonna ask the FB duties/roles and you have already spotted that , I have also been browsing other threads about fullback/winger partnership, and that's exactly as you said. So this just cleared my doubts, thank you for the tip!

[steveyspan]

For a 4-2-3-1 you want both CMs to sit, shielding the back four. You don't want a BWM as he won't stay in position.

Changing the BWM to a CM defend would be better.

It seems this is the most important thing I need to change as many of you have pointed it out. Thanks for the feedback!

[steveyspan]

In terms of 4-2-3-1 in FM there is one thing that makes or breaks your strategy, and that's the AMC ST partnership. This is less so in a real life 4-2-3-1 as your wide players combine well with the AMC ST but that's much harder to accomplish in FM. Obviously what type of partnership you go for depends on your players, but I'd recommend you work on the classic playmaker AMC with an old fashioned striker as that's much easier to get right.

The CM partnership is basically having one player holding the midfield and the other having the license to get forward. Many players associate 'holding midfielder' with defensive play and 'getting forward' with attacking play, and of course end up with an AP/BMW partnership which doesn't work very well. The idea being the BMW closes the opposing ball carrier intensely and gives up space behind him.

On your question regarding playmakers. A creative player doesn't need to be assigned a playmaker role for you to utilize his skills. I think people tend to associate playmaker as the player that plays the fancy through balls and racks up assists, but its probably better to think of the playmaker as the 'tempo setter' or 'ball distributor'. IRL this would be saying Xavi is a better 'playmaker' while Iniesta probably makes more assists. For your Arsenal team, this might mean setting Arteta as a DLP as he's a calmer passer of the ball than Ramsey and Wilshere.

Hi, this is very insightful and there is a lot things that I have learnt here. Thank you for the feedback! The Xavi/Iniesta is a great example, and I would definitely have my CM to play as the 'tempo setter/distributor'. One more questions regarding this: You said you would set Arteta as a DLP, would having a DLP in a CM position means his forward run would squeeze the space of the 3 AM players, if I set them to be IF-AP-IF?

And btw, what do you mean by a classic AMC/old fashioned striker partnership? AP(s) + AF(a)? This is also the next thing I would like some help with.

[steveyspan]

and... thats a lot of instructions. Not saying it won't work, but i like to stick to the KISS principle, if i start hitting 5-6 instructions I start to worry that I've got fundamental issues All said tho, actually looking at the instructions, you seem to have reasonably paired some of the, ie the hassle opponents, push up higher, shorter passing, play out of defence all point to a short passing possession based approach looking to win the ball while it's still in your opponents half and keep pressure on your opponents. You have the players there to pull it off, but be careful against the big teams, Man City/Chelsea/Man U will have players that can take advantage of some of those and possibly rip you to shreds.

Hi! tbh I have had a lot more instructions set when I first made the tactic lol:p I gradually remove them as I learn more about them and I think I am about the do the same again after I read these feedbacks from you guys. Can't agree more with the KISS principle you mentioned, I can tell by experiences that having a lot of those instructions set made my team play very one dimensional. And you are absolutely right about the big teams, I have already been ripped apart using this tactic as I was playing in Beta that's why I set this as my home tactic and only against weak opponents

[DreamsDefined]

So a couple of points from the OP:

Your FB roles

You have automatic instructions and are playing with an Attacking Mentality so these would both be set as (a). If you want to base your tactic around this I would suggest a 4-3-3. If not, then I would personally set Monreal to attack as Santi ahead of him is on support, and set Sagna to support Walcott ahead of him. Move Flamini to MCL and set him to a CM(d) as space is more likely to open up when Monreal moves forward and you have a good IF(s) - CM(d) - AP(a) triangle on the left side.

TM(s) on Giroud

As you have Giroud set to Target Man I assume you want to focus passing to him, where he would then hold up the ball and lay passes to Walcott/Ozil who you have set to (a). In this case, I would set set Walcott as a W(a) so you are attacking two channels (middle and right) instead of one. I'd also consider giving Giroud a Treq role if this is the behaviour you are looking for. You could also experiment with Ozil as a SS so he runs from deep without the ball rather than with it. If you want Ozil to run with the ball instead then I would want Giroud higher up as an AF or even a P to force the opposing defensive line deeper giving him more space to run.

Attacking Mentality and Higher Tempo

Attacking Mentality naturally sets a Higher Tempo - so I wouldn't also set it here unless you really feel you need it.

Play Wider and Short Passing

These instructions contradict as you are creating space by stretching wide but you are not maximising it. Attacking mentality also already sets your shape wider - so I would turn it off by default and only set it if you notice you need it in-game.

Run at Defence

I would set this off by default and only activate it if you notice the opponents standing off.

Absolutely cracking posts imabearlol. The larger one explaining all about how the formations attack etc., is fantastic and something I hadn't really considered. Off to research...

[steveyspan]

So a couple of points from the OP:

Your FB roles

You have automatic instructions and are playing with an Attacking Mentality so these would both be set as (a). If you want to base your tactic around this I would suggest a 4-3-3. If not, then I would personally set Monreal to attack as Santi ahead of him is on support, and set Sagna to support Walcott ahead of him. Move Flamini to MCL and set him to a CM(d) as space is more likely to open up when Monreal moves forward and you have a good IF(s) - CM(d) - AP(a) triangle on the left side.

TM(s) on Giroud

As you have Giroud set to Target Man I assume you want to focus passing to him, where he would then hold up the ball and lay passes to Walcott/Ozil who you have set to (a). In this case, I would set set Walcott as a W(a) so you are attacking two channels (middle and right) instead of one. I'd also consider giving Giroud a Treq role if this is the behaviour you are looking for. You could also experiment with Ozil as a SS so he runs from deep without the ball rather than with it. If you want Ozil to run with the ball instead then I would want Giroud higher up as an AF or even a P to force the opposing defensive line deeper giving him more space to run.

Attacking Mentality and Higher Tempo

Attacking Mentality naturally sets a Higher Tempo - so I wouldn't also set it here unless you really feel you need it.

Play Wider and Short Passing

These instructions contradict as you are creating space by stretching wide but you are not maximising it. Attacking mentality also already sets your shape wider - so I would turn it off by default and only set it if you notice you need it in-game.

Run at Defence

I would set this off by default and only activate it if you notice the opponents standing off.

Hi imabearlol, that's some amazing stuff you have there! Very much appreciated your replies!

And yes, you are absolutely right about setting Giroud on TM, I was trying to make him flick the ball to Ozil/Walcott who joins the attack. I will follow your advice on the Winger role and also the Treq role and experiment with it!

Regarding Play Wider, I think I understand it contradicts with playing a higher D-line, short passing, should I be considering Play Narrow then? On the other hand, in what situation would you say I would need to play wider when attacking with a high D-line?

Also, in the longer post, I appreciate all the information you had on the 4-2-3-1 system. That is a lot I could learn from there

I would like to ask how would you be able to accomplish "drop the defensive line (either via shouts or strategy) to open up space"? Would be able to tell me more about the team instructions as well as mentality? And the idea of opening up space?

When you say playing Very Fluid allows you players to play compact, would that mean you would also be able to achieve a better defence as it would bring the defenders closer to the mid field players?

Thanks in advance!

[etcetera]

Hi, this is very insightful and there is a lot things that I have learnt here. Thank you for the feedback! The Xavi/Iniesta is a great example, and I would definitely have my CM to play as the 'tempo setter/distributor'. One more questions regarding this: You said you would set Arteta as a DLP, would having a DLP in a CM position means his forward run would squeeze the space of the 3 AM players, if I set them to be IF-AP-IF?

And btw, what do you mean by a classic AMC/old fashioned striker partnership? AP(s) + AF(a)? This is also the next thing I would like some help with.

If I recall correctly a DLP in the CM position doesn't have any forward runs, but the support version has run with ball set to sometimes. If that's going to be a problem you can put him on defend instead.

By classic AMC/old fashioned partnership I mean a creator in the AMC and scorer in the ST. Eg ozil/higuain at Real Madrid, Gerrard/Torres at Liverpool. IRL, this sort of setup is easier to achieve and quicker to achieve and you'll see it a lot in international football where there isn't much time to build cohesion. Even Argentina who has the world's best F9 resorts to playing that way. It doesn't have to be a AP/AF combo at all. I wouldn't be considering Gerrard as an AP because if his impressive scoring record and he isn't particularly smart. Your AMC doesn't even have to be a playmaker either, since you might not want him to have the ball all the time.

I had a Schurrle/Kiessling partnership earlier in my save which I considered a creator/finisher partnership. Neither were smart or creative but Kiessling as a TMa pushed the D line back which allowed Schurrle to run at the D with pace. The defense couldn't handle Schurrle on the ball and collapsed which left him with a clear shot or an easy pass to Kiessling.

Arsenal's a bit different since you've got a wealth of midfield talent and Giroud who's neither clinical or quick. But he's got good team work and workrate to set up his team. Of course this is going to be harder to achieve since you got to get 4-5 players on a string instead of 2-3.