FM15: Arsenal FC

[Mark.]

Hi guys,

Apologise if this has been asked and covered before but what tactics and formations are you using? I've tried a few different ones now and nothing seems to really work well (and i'm not exactly a newbie at FM either but just can't seem to get things to work with Arsenal on 15 for some reason) so was wondering if anyone knows of any good tactics to download or tips re formations and team settings

Thanks in advance!

Pretty much what JEinchy said - It is hard to give advice without knowing how you want to play. Many formations and tactics can be successful with this squad. I personally am having a barn-storming time with a flat 4-5-1, a 4-4-2 and a striker-less 4-1-2-3.

[KingLara]

Arsenal FM15 Season 2 - September

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3

Walcott 18 Sanchez 56 66

WIGAN 0

A routine win after the international break

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

ARSENAL 4

Sanchez 11 Walcott 26 Ozil 29 Bernard 62(pen)

GALATASARAY 2

Sneijder 45 52

A good result and start to the defence of the champions League although our inability to properly mark sneijder nearly cost us. Doesn’t bode too well for the trip to City.

PREMIER LEAGUE

MAN CITY 1

Dzeko 47

ARSENAL 0

I took a risk by abandoning my trusted 4-3-3 and playing a 4-1-3-1-1 with all four central midfielders playing. It worked beautifully until Dzeko spun his marker and fired in the corner. Lesson learnt.

LEAGUE CUP 3rd ROUND

FULHAM 0

ARSENAL 2

Welbeck 25 32

A good response by the second string at Fulham. Welbeck who has been begging me constantly for game time got his wish and responded with a brace.

PREMIER LEAGUE

LIVERPOOL 0

ARSENAL 1

Ozil 86

A smash and grab but I don’t really care. Ozil curling in the free kick late on.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

DYNAMO KIEV 2

Mbokani 16 19

ARSENAL 3

Ozil 25 49 Chamberlain 57

A wonderful comeback in Kiev. 2-0 after 19 minutes we looked dead and buried but Ozil pulled one back to keep us in reach. I was very calm at half time and made sure the players knew they could turn it around. Ozil headed us level before Chamberlain sealed the win. No goals for Walcott but all three assists.

League Table

Spurs 7th Liverpool 13th with 6 points from the opening 5.

1. Man United Played 5 Points 13

2. Arsenal Played 5 Points 12

3. Southampton Played 5 Points 12

4. Chelsea Played 5 Points 11

5. Man City Played 5 Points 10

Other News

In the league cup we host Chelsea. Not ideal but could be good to knock them out early.

Dembele won player of the month. Young player went to Piazon at Stoke while Van Gaal won manager of the month.

October fixtures

League

QPR (H) West Brom (H) West Ham (A) Crystal Palace (A)

Champions League

Grasshoppers (A)

League Cup

Chelsea (H)

[arsenalthebest]

started a new save with Jan transfer update will be using this to experiment with some more unusual tactics may do a brief seasonal update

and this is the tactic I'm going to use worked well in pre-season though Osasuna were the toughest opponents I faced

[Sunstrikuuu]

Any advice for someone starting a Arsenal save

Buy Eder Balanta and one of Lucas Romero or Gil Romero If you can to cover your weaknesses in defense and defensive midfield. Remember to have covering players, don't get too attacking.

Use your whole squad; even if you don't think particular players will have a future with you, it's easy to sell them for serious profits if you manage them correctly.

[Sunstrikuuu]

Hi guys,

Apologise if this has been asked and covered before but what tactics and formations are you using? I've tried a few different ones now and nothing seems to really work well (and i'm not exactly a newbie at FM either but just can't seem to get things to work with Arsenal on 15 for some reason) so was wondering if anyone knows of any good tactics to download or tips re formations and team settings

Thanks in advance!

I'm playing a defensive structured 4-2-3-1. Goalkeeper defend, with a standard back four of FBs, CDd, CDd, FBs. I'm preferring to let the attributes, PPMs and PIs of the players dictate how they play rather than using other roles. I'd feel more comfortable using roles other than FBs if I had players in wide midfield rather than attacking midfield, though.

Central midfield is a partnership between a CMd and a CMa. The defensive midfielder holds position and tries to cut out passes. In attack, he sits deeper and offers a passing outlet to retain possession. The attacking CM in attack makes runs off the ball, plays give and goes and tries to get into the box, either to shoot or try a killer ball. In defense, this midfield player closes down and makes tackles.

Ahead of those two is an APs. In defense this player looks to make himself available to start counterattacks. If the opposition is playing a playmaker in defensive midfield I'll get this player to be more aggressive in closing down. In attack, does what it says on the tin.

On the left I use an inside forward on attack. Players cutting in and attacking is pretty strong. On the right I use a winger on support. He needs to be a little more defensive to cover for the runs of the midfielder on that side. He'll still get lots of goals.

Up front, I use an advanced forward mostly, but have also used F9, a deep lying forward on either attack or support and a complete forward on support. I tailor the role to the player here rather.

Team instructions are set up to encourage sitting deep, being compact and retaining possession as a defensive tool. I've led the league in goals conceded two of the last three years with this tactic with Koscielny, Mertesacker and Chambers all playing big roles into 2019.

[KingLara]

FM15 Season 2 Arsenal – October

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3

Ozil 15pen 48pen Chamberlain 19

QPR 2

Kalou 66 Arteta 70

Everything was rosy until QPR pulled it back to 3-2 out of nowhere. We were very wasteful but pleased with the win.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3

Walcott 20 51 Mertersacker 45

WEST BROM 0

A comfortable performance although should’ve scored more.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GS

GRASSHOPPERS 0

ARSENAL 3

Welbeck 22 34 90

A Danny Welbeck masterclass easily saw off Grasshoppers. Walcott was unfit so gave Welbeck a rare start over Munir. Good choice. 9 from 9 with the rest on 3 should see us top the group.

PREMIER LEAGUE

WEST HAM 0

ARSENAL 2

Walcott 34 Mertersacker 90

Unable to decide whether to pick Walcott or Welbeck I chose both. It worked in a very dominant display only spoiled slightly by the ridiculousness of the Hammers keeper Mucha.

LEAGUE CUP 4TH ROUND

ARSENAL 3

Sanchez 34 Ozil 40 Podolski 82

CHELSEA 1

Oscar 48 Fabregas s/o 57

I named almost a full strength team for the cup game against Chelsea. We were on the front food throughout and I was very pleased with the 3-1 win. Fabregas being sent off also bought a wry smile. After scoring 39 goals last season Podolski finally got off the mark for the season. To be fair it was only his 3rd start.

PREMIER LEAGUE

CRYSTAL PALACE 0

ARSENAL 2

Bernard 60 Walcott 90

Bernard registered his first league goal as we eased past Palace. Should’ve been many more. The win made sweeter by Chelsea losing 1-0 at home to Watford courtesy of a 89th minute Toszer penalty.

League Table

Only conceded 5 goals so far. Chelsea though have conceded just twice.

1. Arsenal Played 9 Points 24

2. Man United Played 9 Points 22

3. Chelsea Played 9 Points 20

4. Everton Played 9 Points 19

5. QPR Played 5 Points 18

Other News

In the league cup after knocking out Chelsea we now host Liverpool. The Manchester derby takes place in one of the other quarters.

Mata won player of the month. Bernard weirdly was 3rd. Sterling was young player while I won manager of the month.

November fixtures

The league cup match takes place in December. We will get our schedule for the club world cup this month too.

League

Hull (H) Nottingham Forrest (A) Swansea (H)

Champions League

Grasshoppers (H) Galatasaray (A)

[JEinchy]

Season six was my poorest season to date. We didn't win a single major trophy; the Community Shield, Euro Super Cup, Club World Cup and Capital One Cup were welcome additions to the cabinet, but Sunderland dumped us out the FA Cup in the third round, Chelsea beat us in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and beat us to the league title on the final day.

I really, really ballsed it up in the league. We were coasting along just fine until Chelsea knocked us out of Europe. After that, we lost back-to-back games against Villa and Everton and let Chelsea back into contention. Wins against Norwich and Watford steadied things and put us three points ahead with a +4 advantage on goal difference going into the final day. Then, disaster struck: we lost our home game against Norwich, and Chelsea thumped Watford 6-0 to comfortably overturn the goal difference and win the title. Epic title win for them, but a complete and total embarrassment for me.

(Players highlighted in red are regens)

I'm not quite sure where to go from here. Only Chelsea has managed to compete with us for the title, while I've been in four out of six Champions League finals. I even have a very healthy contingent of English players (nine were called up to the latest England squad from my team), which has always been something I try to do every Arsenal save. Things are starting to get a bit stale. I could try and rebuild the team but with a £195mil transfer budget (plus whatever I'd get for selling some great players) that'd be far too easy.

So what do you think: one more season to try and win the title back from Chelsea, or should I start anew?

[Mark.]

Season six was my poorest season to date. We didn't win a single major trophy; the Community Shield, Euro Super Cup, Club World Cup and Capital One Cup were welcome additions to the cabinet, but Sunderland dumped us out the FA Cup in the third round, Chelsea beat us in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and beat us to the league title on the final day.

I really, really ballsed it up in the league. We were coasting along just fine until Chelsea knocked us out of Europe. After that, we lost back-to-back games against Villa and Everton and let Chelsea back into contention. Wins against Norwich and Watford steadied things and put us three points ahead with a +4 advantage on goal difference going into the final day. Then, disaster struck: we lost our home game against Norwich, and Chelsea thumped Watford 6-0 to comfortably overturn the goal difference and win the title. Epic title win for them, but a complete and total embarrassment for me.

(Players highlighted in red are regens)

I'm not quite sure where to go from here. Only Chelsea has managed to compete with us for the title, while I've been in four out of six Champions League finals. I even have a very healthy contingent of English players (nine were called up to the latest England squad from my team), which has always been something I try to do every Arsenal save. Things are starting to get a bit stale. I could try and rebuild the team but with a £195mil transfer budget (plus whatever I'd get for selling some great players) that'd be far too easy.

So what do you think: one more season to try and win the title back from Chelsea, or should I start anew?

Surely you need to get that title back? Also can always try for an invincible season? One thing I have done in the past is to set myself a variety of quota challenges, like 2 from East Europe, 2 from South, 2 from South America max limits (just random examples)

Or start again haha, but my personal preference is you continue. Enjoy seeing the saves that are pushing onward into the future.

[toxicfusion]

First season:

Signed no one during the initial window, opting to change round my backroom staff bringing in Rene Meulensteen, Warren Joyce, Ulf Kirsten, Sergio Araujo, Clive Allen and John Cooke.

Early Season

Struggled initially, lost 0-2 to Man City in the Community Shield and the opening game of the season to Southampton, then scrapped through the champions league playoff. Worst defeat came away at Man City, losing 7-3.

Champions League Group stage should have been straight forward but for losses against Zenit and Sporting Lisbon, hope was restored after beating Zenit 5-0 at home but the victory over Monaco wasn't enough and elimination on Goals Scored.

With injuries affecting my central midfield players I made the decision to sweep in to make my only signing in the form of Hector Herrera from Porto who was excited to join a team in the Champions League (by the time he got here we were in the Europa League alongside Porto). Whilst early I glad I made the choice as Wilshere would pick up an injury in training and be out for 3 months from mid December.

Results picked up but for being knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Man Utd and losing to Chelsea just before Christmas at home. This was soon forgotten with a 3-5 win at White Hart Lane on Boxing day.

Second Half of the Season

While Chelsea were running away with the league, we climbed into third and put some distance between ourselves and Everton and Man City. Made it through the the first two knockout stages of the Europa League with 5-1 agg win over Red Bull Salzburg and 7-5 agg win against Leverkusen (with a 5-1 win at home before a 4-2 loss away) and then victory against Florentina in the Quater Finals, though the second leg ended with an injury to Giroud which would leave him out for the remainder of the season.

His injury was the first of a series of injuries, with Koscienlny, Mertesacker, Walcott, Rosciky all missing various games.

In the remaining 7 games of the season would result in 5 losses and only two draws.

Frustrating as I was only a couple of points behind Man United after beating them, though those two points kept me in third though as Man City stumbled on the final day and Everton overtook them into 4th place (which got Pellegrini the sack)

Second season

Hired Francisco Rufete as my Director of Football (was fed up having to approve every loan for the Under 21s)

Transfers In: Lars Bender (£25.5m), Inigo Martinez (£25.5m), Fabio Coentrao (£8.5m) and Micah Richards (Free!)

Transfers Out (So far): Carl Jenkinson (£1.3m to Aston Villa), Mikel Arteta (£950k to Newcastle) (many others released on free)

Wanted Bender and Martinez and payed more than I'd have liked for either. Micah was released by Man City and while he's a gamble he helps the homegrown numbers and was happy on £36k a week. Real were offering Coentrao and after he rejected PSG I made my move, will now look to sell Monreal.

Bellerin and Gnarby have been sent off on season long loans.

[KingLara]

FM15 Arsenal Season 2

November

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

ARSENAL 4

Munir 14 Podolski 33(Pen) Cazorla 67 Khedira 73

GRASSHOPPERS 0

Easy as you like. Munir scored his first goal for the club. Top of the group and through after 4 games.

Premier League

ARSENAL 1

Bernard 36

HULL 0

It could’ve been seven or eight with the chances we had. Bernard alone hit the woodwork twice. I kept faith with Romero from the previous game over Khedira but unfortunately he tore his hamstring and will miss three months.

Premier League

NOTTINGHAM FORREST 1

ARSENAL 7

Walcott 5 Bernard 22 Khedira 37 Chambers 52 Ozil 58 62 Munir 80

We could’ve scored a few in the last five or six games and poor old Nottingham Forrest finally got the hiding in front of their own fans.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

GALATASARAY 1

Dzemaili 53

ARSENAL 0

Already qualified and played a very weakened team.

Premier League

ARSENAL 4

Sanchez 37 Ozil 39 43 Welbeck 57

SWANSEA 0

We hit the post twice in the first eight minutes but recovered to secure another easy win. Ozil yet again the star of the show. Gibbs tore his calf and will miss four months. I might keep Bertrand until the end of the season.

League Table

We play United next. Win that and the Title race is pretty much over.

1. Arsenal Played 12 Points 33

2. Man United Played 11 Points 26

3. Chelsea Played 12 Points 24

4. Everton Played 12 Points 24

5. QPR Played 12 Points 21

Other News

An Arsenal top three in player of the month with Ozil, Bernard and Khedira. Sterling and I defended our respective awards.

I loaned Jesse Joronsen from Fulham as an emergency keeper. Unlikely to play.

Bruno Conti replaced Jonker as head of youth Development

The Under 21’s lost their cup game at Swansea. I usually give them a few players like Chambers and Munir but completely forgot.

December fixtures

An Interesting month.

League

Man Utd (H) Stoke (A) Tottenham (H) Southampton (A)

Champions League

Dynamo Kiev (H)

League Cup QF

Liverpool (H)

Club World Cup

unknown

[Spiegel]

Hi all,

I'm coming up to December in my first season at Arsenal. Overall, it's looking decent, we've had a Man Utd-esque run of injuries so far (Forced into playing a back five of Martinez - Gibbs, Monreal, Arteta, Flamini for three or four games). But we've found ourselves in 4th after a decent run of form!

I disabled transfers for the first window, so my only arrival was Tielemens on loan. He's been very good as a false nine, though with Ozil, Walcott and Welbeck all returning from long term injuries, he may be moved back into the midfield.

I've agreed a £6.5mill deal for N'Koulou from Marseille, I felt I needed a powerful reinforcement at both Centre-Back and Midfield, so I'm hoping I can kill two birds with one stone with his addition. I was also eyeing Balanta, Kondogbia or Dragović, but I'm tempted to hold off until the Summer.

I'll post a proper update, when I reach January

[iArsenal11]

Do you guys make any staff changes at the beginning? Like bringing in a new assistant manager or any new scouts? I brought in two new coaches but I am thinking of replacing Bould too.

[notam]

Do you guys make any staff changes at the beginning? Like bringing in a new assistant manager or any new scouts? I brought in two new coaches but I am thinking of replacing Bould too.

i usually do alot of changes, because if you look at the stars in training, its not really good enough. (swe fitness coach for example).

Also i try to bring in a assistant manager.

[JEinchy]

As far as coaches go, I usually add two or three so I have at least 4.5 star ratings and average work load in each category. The scouting I leave alone since Arsenal have got a great contingent of scouts from all over.

Whether or not you get a new assistant manager depends on how you play. Since I usually do player appraisal, training, team talks and press conferences by myself, Bould is just another defensive coach. But if you want him to take on more responsibilities you may want to find a new one, as Bould's JPA/JPP is a bit on the low side.

[Cam NBH]

Anyone had any luck with Giroud as a Target Man (support)? If not, which role do you give him?

[iArsenal11]

I play him as a Target Man (support) and so far in the middle of January he has 16 goals in 27 appearances. He was also benched near the start of the season for Lacazette who I play as an Advanced Forward.

[arsenalthebest]

I play him as a Target Man (support) and so far in the middle of January he has 16 goals in 27 appearances. He was also benched near the start of the season for Lacazette who I play as an Advanced Forward.

as do I though not been as good 1 goal and assist in 5 games still very early in the season though

[JEinchy]

So, I've mustered up the motivation to crack on with another season after the major disappointment we suffered at the end of last season. There weren't any changes to the squad in the summer. A couple of months in and things are going well:

The season didn't start in the best way. Our season started with Crystal Palace beating us 3-2 at Selhurst Park after we had a 2-0 lead at half-time, then a couple of weeks later we lost at Man City 2-0 after a very poor performance. Since then, though, we've won six on the bounce, the most recent being a 2-1 win over Chelsea at "Lampard Park".

In the Champions League, we were drawn in a group with Marseille, Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk. The first game in France against Marseille ended 1-1. It was a very frustrating game where none of our players could dribble past their's; their centre back, Doria, complete 14 tackles, while one of their regen midfielders completed a stupendous 21 tackles, not to mention a high number of interceptions. Wins home and away against Shakhtar and a home win over Basel has helped us take control of the group, though.

The Capital One Cup continues its trend of giving us easy draws. Championship side Portsmouth away in round three was followed by Championship side Derby away in round four. Now in the quarter-finals, we've been given Championship side Reading.

Robert Lewandowski started the season on fire with seven goals in four games, but he's now out with a broken foot for four months. This is worrying because at 32, he'll likely suffer some decreases in his attributes. Fortunately, academy product Callum Lincoln has stepped on wonderfully with 14 goals in 12 games, including five goals in a game against Ipswich.

Mesut Ozil suddenly decided he's unhappy in England and wanted to return to Germany, so he's currently on a leave of absence. Dorin Rotariu has stepped up as the team's most important player in the meantime.

Richie Hickie, another academy product, is also doing very well and is keeping Calum Chambers out of the first team.

Will update again after 20 league games.

[KingLara]

FM15 Season 2 update - December

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 2

Bernard 34 Walcott 45

MAN UTD 2

Falcao 3, 8

I was confident despite a few injuries but that was thrown out of the window when United twice hit us on the break in the opening 8 minutes. What happened after is a classic Football Manager joke. 7 clear cut chances after 25 minutes 13 at full time. De Gea was making double saves and triple saves. At one point I think there was even a quadruple save! An absolute joke.

http://i.imgur.com/MHICpys.png?1

PREMIER LEAGUE

STOKE 0

Diouf s/o 65

ARSENAL 3

Walcott 25 Khedira 50 Ozil 75

Just the 5 clear cut chances but still a good win at Stoke with strange minutes for the three goals. Diouf sent off for a horror tackle on Wilshere who luckily seems ok. Stoke failed to have a single shot on target.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3

Walcott 25 Khedira 50 Ozil 75

DYNAMO KIEV 0

A nice easy way to finish the group stages. Both central defenders scored with Mertesacker returning after a lengthy absence only to pick up another injury which means he will will miss the Club World Cup. Much worse was Cazorla breaking his foot. He will miss four months.

CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEM-FINAL

JEONBUK 0

ARSENAL 10

Chamberlain 3 37 Walcott 17 24 Bernard 36 46 51 57 Welbeck 61 Balanta 77

Bernard the star with a 9.9 at 4 goals. We only had 19 players to choose from after I left out Bertrand by mistake. At one point I had an eye on breaking the club record winning margin of 12-0 but it wasn’t to be. Expecting a tougher test in the final.

CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

ARSENAL 3

Ozil 42 54 Walcott 69 Bernard miss/pen 44

AMÉRICA 1

Martinez 83 Valuenzuela s/o 80

Having scored zero in the previous game it was Ozil’s turn to ripple the net. He scored a brace as we lifted the club world cup with ease. Bernard missed a penalty and rated a 6.4. Unfortunately a fourth clean sheet in a row was ruined late on by a Martinez free kick.

LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL

ARSENAL 1

Ozil 11

LIVERPOOL 1

EL Shaaraway 70

[Liverpool win 10-9 on Penalties]

We returned to England after the club world championship to take on Liverpool just three days later. I played almost a full strength team only making changes to defence bringing in Bertrand and midfield recalling Podolski and Bernard. We started well with Ozil giving us the lead but as half time approached we were starting to get tired. Second half Liverpool were all over us and should’ve won the game in normal time. I set up extra time to get us to penalties where Balanta was the only player to miss. Second time Liverpool have stopped us winning a domestic cup. Revenge for them from the community shield which we won on penalties.

Ozil Podolski Bernard Wilshere Bertrand Khedira Debuchy Welbeck Koscielny Balanta

Gerrard El Shaaraway Manquillo Henderson Doumbia Murilla Moreno Sterling Allen Sakho.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 1

Wilshere 48

TOTTENHAM 0

We produced a good response from the Liverpool game. There were a lot of tired legs and the likes of Balanta and Ozil weren’t fit enough for the squad. Lloris didn’t quite match De Gea’s golden gloves but he still produced 3 or 4 world class saves and only Wilshere’s free kick got the better of him. United losing 2-0 at home to Forrest meant daylight at the top.

PREMIER LEAGUE

SOUTHAMPTON 2

Osvaldo 33 Wanyama 49

ARSENAL 1

Walcott 27

Sometimes the game makes you lose on purpose. 7 clear cut chances, Hit the woodwork three times, they had only three shots ect….

League Table

The Fix at St Mary’s (Honest I’m not bitter!) means we now trail United by two points but with two games in hand although we visit Chelsea next.

1. Man United Played 18 Points 42

2. Arsenal Played 16 Points 40

3. Chelsea Played 18 Points 36

4. Tottenham Played 19 Points 35

5. Southampton Played 18 Points 35

Other News

Champions League 1st Knockout Round draw – Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal

FA Cup 3rd round draw – Barnsley vs Arsenal

Falcao won player of the month. Januzaj won young player while continuing the United theme David Moyes won manager of the month for Southampton.

England drew Scotland Croatia and Switzerland in the Euro 16 draw. Belgium Czech Republic Germany and Portugal is the group of death.

The Transfer window is now open. I badly need a target man as Welbeck is the best in the role which says it all. I’m also targeting Baines as well as a few contract expiring youngsters.

January fixtures

A busy month starts with 4 away games in a row. 3 in the league one in the fA Cup

Premier League

Chelsea (A) Newcastle (A) Wigan (A) Watford (H) Aston Villa (A) Man City (H) QPR (A)

FA Cup

Barnsley (A)

[iArsenal11]

This game is seriously frustrating. My team can keep clean sheets to save their lives. They let players slide right by them even if I have them marking them tightly. I can go on great runs of form (unbeaten in all comps from end of September to beginning of January) then we just collapse. 2 matches left and we are in 1st in the Premier League with a 4 point advantage against United.

[arsenalthebest]

my Jan transfer window save is going well so far not many scored but few conceded

[arsenalthebest]

This game is seriously frustrating. My team can keep clean sheets to save their lives. They let players slide right by them even if I have them marking them tightly. I can go on great runs of form (unbeaten in all comps from end of September to beginning of January) then we just collapse. 2 matches left and we are in 1st in the Premier League with a 4 point advantage against United.

I've found a good defensive tactic pld 7 gs 10 gc 2 . maybe a little boring but it works well

the tactic is called 2-3-2-3 solid defence. my steam username is ChefArsenal

[TheBigBoss]

Waiting for the new update before starting an arsenal one any advice in terms of tactics, players ?

[JEinchy]

@King Lara - I certainly share your frustration at losing games despite making a crap load of chances. I've lost a decent number of home games this way. Sometimes the opposition keeper is simply unbeatable, other times your players are just incapable of hitting the target. I suppose it is realistic as this does happen fairly often in real life, though that doesn't do much to quell the feeling that you're destined not to win some games no matter what. Seems you're still going strong, despite that. It's interesting that United are top in your save, as they've been nowhere near the title in any season on my save.

@iArsenal11 - If you're suddenly collapsing after great runs of form, it's possible that your players are becoming too complacent. It might be worth doing more to keep your players grounded and living up to high standards.

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

Into January 2021 now. I'm convinced the World Player of the Year award is rigged as a 34 year old Cristiano Ronaldo won it yet again while Dorin Rotariu and Robert Lewandowski didn't even get into the top three. It's now been 12 years since a player who's not Ronaldo or Messi has won the damn thing. The wait goes on for one of my players to win it (and for me to get the achievement that goes with it)...

Halfway through the league season and we're in control:

We're unbeaten in 15 games since that Man City defeat and have won 14 of those games; only Man United have managed to take points off of us. Southampton have been the year's surprise team so far and have gone on an incredible run of form to even be in touch with us. Man City are having a more consistent season this time around. Chelsea were keeping pace with us but recently lost to a massively under-achieving Liverpool and a massively under-achieving Spurs; in the latter game, Spurs were away from home and were down to men, but won thanks to a Mandzukic goal in the 92nd minute.

I'm not getting ahead of myself, though, having been in this position before only to throw it away in the latter stages of the season.

Stoke and Palace are having great seasons and it's Palace who are our COC semi-final opponents after we breezed past Reading. Assuming we get through what should be a tricky semi, either Man Utd or West Brom will await us in the final (which would be our 7th consecutive COC final).

I actually went back and took a look at my past draws in this competition (bolded years are the years we won the cup):

[b]14/15[/b]: Leicester, Swansea, Everton, West Brom, Watford
[b]15/16[/b]: Spurs, Stoke, Southampton, QPR, Everton 
16/17: Spurs, Liverpool, Leicester, Newcastle, Man Utd 
[b]17/18[/b]: QPR, Man Utd, Swansea, Newcastle, Wigan
18/19: Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Man Utd, Spurs, Man City
[b]19/20[/b]: Watford, Portsmouth, Leicester, Stoke, Man City
20/21: Portsmouth, Derby, Reading, Crystal Palace

Seems to be a disproportionate amount of "easy" fixtures there. Anyone else feel they keep getting easy draws in the cups?

In the Champions League, we got through our group as winners and will play Schalke in the first knockout round. I haven't played them before, and they have a number of very talented midfielders (not least Draxler and Meyer) and young regens, so I'm looking forward to it.

As far as the players go:

With Lewandowski soon to return to full fitness, I have a tough decision to make in regards to who gets that lone striker role. Lincoln is having an incredible season, but Lewandowski is still a phenomenal striker, even at 32. It's moments like these that make me regret having so many good midfielders.

Keeping hold of Mertesacker (36) and Koscielny (35) turned out to be a good decision as Chambers and Andre are both out for a month. They're both still awesome defenders, so I don't have any problem giving them games.

Rulli wants to sod off to "bigger club" Atletico, so I'll probably be letting him go and giving Cardoza, who I signed from Boro for a measly £32,000, more first team games.

[iArsenal11]

What do you suggest doing to make them more grounded?

[iArsenal11]

Here is my team starting season 2. I am using an updated database. Was thinking about trying to sign Marco Reus but he signed a new contract with Dortmund and they want 60M+ for him. Highest I want to go is 45m.

[JEinchy]

Just eight more league games to go now...

Our long unbeaten run came to an end against Ipswich in one of those games where we had all the chances, failed to convert, and ended up losing to a wrong-called penalty. It wasn't the best way to start of a tough couple of weeks that saw us play Chelsea at home three days later (and a mere two days from the COC final). We had to work hard for a 1-1 draw in that one. Since then, we've been going through the motions in the league, doing just enough to beat relegation battlers Wolves and Watford away from home. We still have United at home and Liverpool away to play, and the small matter of a North London Derby at the Emirates, so I'm keen not to let the focus of the team waver. The title isn't won yet.

In the Capital One Cup semi-final, we beat Palace 3-1 at the Emirates, but almost blew it in the away leg. That away goal really complicated things, and if not for away goals only counting after extra-time, we would have been dumped out. Thankfully, we managed to score twice in extra-time to set-up a final against Man Utd. That final ended 3-0 to us, with a brace from Callum Lincoln and Patrick Roberts scoring the other goal.

We had no such luck in the Champions League, unfortunately. The first leg in Germany against Schalke went horribly as defended like a pub team and lost 3-1; the third, especially, we hilariously bad defending right at the end of the game. 2-1 wouldn't have been a terrible scoreline, but that third goal really made the return leg difficult. We certainly tried our best. We made a boat load of chances and finally took a 1-0 lead in the second half thanks to Gary Murphy. Roberts then won us a penalty and Schalke were reduced to ten men with 20 minutes to play, but Lewandowski hit the bar. From that point, we must have lost some belief and as we failed to muster up one more decent chance. All in all, a crap way to go out.

The FA Cup is going better than it has in past years. Ipswich, Hull and Sunderland were all routinely swept aside. Now we have Man City in the semi-final. The treble is still very much on.

[Mark.]

FEBRUARY 2015 REVIEW

Short recap this time, ended up playing ahead a little bit too much.

Fixtures

(Comments where relevant and memory serves)

04/02/15 - Premier League (A)

Arsenal 4 - 0 Liverpool - Ozil (7), Skrtel o.g. (47), Sanchez (53), Walcott (64)

Big test, big win. Ozil pulled the strings on this one.

07/02/15 - Premier League (A)

Arsenal 3 - 2 Q.P.R. - Giroud (14, 19), Cazorla (68)

Perhaps a little bit complacent here.

10/02/15 – Premier League (H)

Arsenal 5 - 0 Crystal Palace - Sanchez (1), Ramsey (8), Oxlade-Chamberlain (23), Ozil (30), Gibbs (88)

14/02/15 – FA Cup 5th Rnd (A)

Arsenal 2 - 0 Swansea - Munir (25), Crowley (90+1)

21/02/15 – Premier League (A)

Arsenal 2 - 0 West Ham - Podolski (39), Walcott (84)

25/02/15 – ECL 1st KO Rnd Leg 1 (A)

Arsenal 1 - 1 Real Madrid - Sanchez (33)

After conceding early I didn't have high hopes for this tie, but Sanchez got us back into it, and then a unremarkable second half saw us take a very important away goal from the match.

28/02/15 – Premier League (H)

Arsenal 3 - 0 Swansea - Koscielny (17), Giroud (29), Podolski (51)

Summary

Great month. A huge win over Liverpool at Anfield really showed how much better than the rest of the league we are looking. Good result away in Madrid. The undefeated run continues.

March

PRM Hull (A)

FAC Fulham (H) 6th Rnd

PRM Man Utd (H)

ECL Real Madrid (H) 1st KO Leg 2

PRM Tottenham (A)

Only 5 fixtures, but will be a tough month. Some big tests, but at the same time a chance to progress in the ECL and also effectively end the title race.

[arsenalthebest]

my 2-3-2-3 tactic is working well(the game calls it 4-1-2-3 DM WB in tactics analysis screen) any way the stats P: 14 GS: 26 GC: 3

[arsenalthebest]

[JEinchy]

Here is my team starting season 2. I am using an updated database. Was thinking about trying to sign Marco Reus but he signed a new contract with Dortmund and they want 60M+ for him. Highest I want to go is 45m.

Do you really need him? You're already stocked with great attackers.

I noticed you play with a Ball Winning Midfielder alongside a Box-to-box Midfielder. Do you ever find gaps appearing behind your midfield at all?

Summary

Great month. A huge win over Liverpool at Anfield really showed how much better than the rest of the league we are looking. Good result away in Madrid. The undefeated run continues.

March

PRM Hull (A)

FAC Fulham (H) 6th Rnd

PRM Man Utd (H)

ECL Real Madrid (H) 1st KO Leg 2

PRM Tottenham (A)

Only 5 fixtures, but will be a tough month. Some big tests, but at the same time a chance to progress in the ECL and also effectively end the title race.

Good to see your season is going well. Fantastic results against Liverpool and Madrid, too.

my 2-3-2-3 tactic is working well(the game calls it 4-1-2-3 DM WB in tactics analysis screen) any way the stats P: 14 GS: 26 GC: 3

You've got some interesting set-ups. Arteta as an IFs seems an odd choice, given his lack of pace. What's your thinking behind that? Or is he just there for demonstrative purposes?

I've got a question regarding your 2-3-3-2: do you ever find yourself overrun on the flanks at all? I once attempted a similar set-up (instead of three forwards, I had an AM and two forwards) and found myself exposed down the sides quite often.

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

I finished my seventh season. Won the league comfortably, but couldn't make it a treble as Villa beat us on penalties in the final. We had all the chances, their keeper made several point-blank world class saves to keep the score down, they score some screamer in the last minute then my striker with 35 goals all season and with very good penalty taking stats puts his pen into orbit and gives them the win; just one of those games. Frustrated me to the point of breaking my earphones. :o

With the update coming out soon, I'll probably call it a day on this save. It's been great fun (and frustrating at times) and I've accomplished a lot of what I wanted to accomplish; going the season unbeaten, breaking the 49 game record and doing a clean sweep of all trophies in one season are still outstanding goals that I'll look to do in the a new save.

Overall, my trophy record was:

[b]Premier League:[/b] 14/15, 15/16, 16/17, 18/19, 20/21 (5) 
[b]Champions League:[/b] 15/16, 18/19 (2)
[b]FA Cup:[/b] 15/16 (1)
[b]Capital One Cup:[/b] 14/15, 15/16, 17/18, 19/20, 20/21 (5)
[b]FA Community Shield:[/b] 15/16, 17/18, 19/20 (3)
[b]European Super Cup:[/b] 16/17, 19/20 (2)
[b]Club World Championship:[/b] 16/17, 19/20 (2)

The club's total number of league trophies is now at 18, so I may revisit this save in the future to try and get that total up to and beyond United's record of 20.

When the update comes out, I plan on updating the opening post with new player appraisals and a more specific tactics section.

[iArsenal11]

Yeah I do notice gaps at times, with Ramsey as your DM what duty do you play him in?

[arsenalthebest]

You've got some interesting set-ups. Arteta as an IFs seems an odd choice, given his lack of pace. What's your thinking behind that? Or is he just there for demonstrative purposes?

I just forgot to replace him when doing the screenshots

I've got a question regarding your 2-3-3-2: do you ever find yourself overrun on the flanks at all? I once attempted a similar set-up (instead of three forwards, I had an AM and two forwards) and found myself exposed down the sides quite often.

Not that I've noticed but then I sim most games

[JEinchy]

Yeah I do notice gaps at times, with Ramsey as your DM what duty do you play him in?

Deep-Lying Playmaker (Defence). I want my pivot player to dictate my side's tempo and control the game from deep in midfield, while the other two CMs focus more on pushing forward and supporting the attack not just with passing, but direct dribbling, too. That's why I eventually swapped Romero and Ramsey around. Romero's physical attributes were better utilised in a less restrictive role, while Ramsey, at 29, was losing some of his athleticism but had 16-19 in several key areas for a DLP (plus a handy 14 in Tackling and two-footedness) which just made him ideal for the role.

[arsenalthebest]

yay just got the parked the bus(zero goals conceded in 10 consecutive competitive games) achievement!

[Come on ye pars]

Hey, JEinchy can you give a few screenshots of some of your players? Namely the ones Arsenal start with please.

[JEinchy]

Which ones do you want in particular?

[TheBigBoss]

How has Akpom, Zelalem, Crowley and Bellerin developed on peoples saves ? Personally think Akpom and Bellerins potential ability should get a bit of a boost on the new patch

[Come on ye pars]

Also, Chambers, Ramsey, Ox, Wilshere, Gibbs and Ozil. Also please can I see what Mert and Kos are like at in their old age? Much appreciated thanks

[JEinchy]

Akpom has retired on my game, surprisingly enough, so unfortunately I can't get a screenshot of him. I've thrown in some others as an added bonus.

Emi Martinez - Has done very well for himself, spending the last six seasons at Boca Juniors and being their first choice.

Per Mertesacker

Laurent Koscielny

Calum Chambers

Kieran Gibbs

Hector Bellerin - Went down a level to play for Spanish second division team Gimnastic, and has since moved up the levels to Real Betis and now Espanyol. Forging a solid career.

Aaron Ramsey

Jack Wilshere

Gedion Zelalem - A player I didn't give too much time too, unfortunately. Sold to Swansea, and was brought for £11mil by Spurs a couple of seasons later.

Dan Crowley

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Mesut Ozil

Serge Gnabry - Another I couldn't give much time too due to having too many players in his positions. Sold to Red Bull Leipzig where he won a Bundesliga title, surprsingly. Was then sold to Wolfsburg for £15mil.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Having a decent lower league career.

Yaya Sanogo

[arsenalthebest]

league campaign is going well(1st season with transfer update)

8 games played 22 points 18 scored 1 conceded

[Come on ye pars]

Thanks JEinchy, much appreciated. Amazed at how Per still looks good stat wise.

[Mark.]

Good to see your season is going well. Fantastic results against Liverpool and Madrid, too.

Thanks mate, yeah not very often I am so happy with a 1-1 draw, but while we have been bossing the PL, Madrid are just one of those few teams on another level still.

ATB I like the variety in your tactics. It is deffo something I am playing round with a bit. Keeps both the opposition, and myself on my toes!

[Mark.]

MARCH 2015 REVIEW

Short recap once again in an attempt to catch back up with myself.

Fixtures

(Comments where relevant and memory serves)

03/03/15 - Premier League (A)

Arsenal 2 - 1 Hull - Oxlade-Chamberlain (9), Munir (47)

07/03/15 - FA Cup 6th Rnd (H)

Arsenal 3 - 0 Fulham - Podolski (27), Campbell (38, 71)

14/03/15 – Premier League (H)

Arsenal 2 - 0 Man Utd - Ozil (40), Alexis (81)

17/03/15 – Champions League 1st KO Rnd Leg 2 (H)

Arsenal 5 - 0 Real Madrid - Munir (32, 86), Mertesacker (42), Walcott (61, 74)

What can I say, I feel like I just got this one right, both Tactically and Motivating the team. I threw a couple of different tactics at them during the match, and the change to a 4-4-2 at half time as I knew they were going to go for it really paid off.

22/03/15 – Premier League (A)

Arsenal 4 - 1 Tottenham - Chadli o.g. (28), Ozil (48), Alexis (76), Koscielny (90)

What a 5 days. I think after the high we were on from the Madrid thumping, no matter who was up next was in trouble

Summary

A fantastic month. The Man U result would normally be a highlight, but the following two fixtures threw up such amazing performances by the team. Things are looking good. To sum up how good the month was; convincingly knocked out the defending champs in the champions league, then beat the 2nd and 3rd placed teams in the league. Have drawn Man City in the next round of the Champions League so another tough month approaches as I also have them in the FA Cup Semi.

April

PRM Newcastle (H)

PRM Everton (A)

ECL Man City (A) QF Leg 1

FAC Man City (N) SF

ECL Man City (H) QF Leg 2

PRM Aston Villa (H)

Testing run vs City, yet to lose to them this season, but some tough matches. Will certainly know by the end how they play! Got away leg first in the Champions League which is how I prefer it.

[TheBigBoss]

New update has been released so I'll be cracking on with a new save tonight

[lewis999]

OMG Alexis looks absolutely unreal!

[Welshace]

Indeed he does...

Doesn't seem like Akpom, Bellerin and co have been touched though.. still look sub par.

[JEinchy]

I think Bellerin has had a CA increase. It's now:

120. He's PA is still -8, though.

Other players:

Chuba Akpom - CA 100, PA -7. Should be -8 imo.

Krystian Bielik is a -7.

Francis Coquelin - CA 123, PA 138. Don't think he was touched in the update.

No other major changes to CA/PA as far as I can see.

Got a new save loading up. I'll update the opening post at some point tonight.

[olieogden]

Starting a new save with Arsenal, nice to see the generous bump up for Alexis!

First of all, I will look to keep the squad in place until I feel out who is needed and whatnot

However, I have looked into the DM situation and the CB situation

and in doing so have landed Khedira for 11m (Bargain, couldn't say no) and am looking to land Gabriels old buddy Mussachio!

[Kawee]

PSG is basically an ATM aren't they? I feel kind of dirty right now abusing them.

In the past 2 seasons I've sold Ox, Welbeck, and Ewandro (I bought him for 8.5m) to them, each at no less than 70m. That's over 200m!!!

This is on top for 13.75 for Monreal, 12.75 for Gino Peruzzi, Cazorla for 16.5 and 10m for Debuchy. Poor thing.

I've found the breaking age to be 30. I was only able to sell Kos to Monaco for 6.5, Giroud for 15m and Cazorla for 16.5m. All of them 30 or older.

Compared that to the three I mentioned up top, and Ozil to Barcelona for 50m and Sanchez to Chelsea for 39.5m.

I'm pretty much playing monopoly at this point. I've basically turned my club into a venture capital. I buy/sign players who are transfer listed or discarded, play them to a higher value, and then selling them for ridiculous prices. My next projects are Abel Hernandez, he's 28, so I only have one season to get his value up, and some guy name Khouma Babacar.