FM15: Arsenal FC

[Collzy]

Due to that shambles last night, time to start up a reactionary save on the new patch

Bye bye Giroud and Mertesacker (and a few of the oldies)

In comes Romero, Depay, Samper and Tielemans and a new CB, Balanta or Marquinhos or something.

[Welshace]

Go for Marquinhos... you'll find he'll be ridiculously cheap in the new update... and will partner up well with your newest Brazilian CB already at the club.

[Collzy]

Just seen people getting him for ridiculously cheap prices, is this a bug or is there problems with him and PSG irl? Will definitely be going for him though.

Has Clyne been touched anyone know? Noticed I got a spot at RB free, think Chambers is more suited to CB, so probably go for him or Coleman. Unless it's worth keeping Chambers RB and buying Balanta as well anyway?

Although, considering how cheap Marquinhos is, maybe splash out and go for de Sciglio, nice youthful team then.

[olieogden]

There seems to be quite a few cheap players. I landed Mussachio for 7m and he looks quality, as well as Volland for 12m

[Collzy]

So, being an Arsenal fan I ALWAYS do a career with them, a fairly long one until I get bored, so I'll do this last one on the final patch before moving onto two different things, maybe someone like Inter to restore to former glories and then a challenge of some sort, Pentagon/Dafuge.

Anyway; plans are, make a LOT of changes, frankly, there's overload in positions where there's no need, and not enough in positions where it is needed so I plan on doing the following:

Change the entire backroom staff, other than a few scouts. I do this with every save I start - in my last one I managed to bring Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp, Overmars and Pires in as coaches so if I can do that again at some point in the save that'd be nice.

Sell: Mertesacker, Monreal, Arteta, Flamini, Diaby, Rosicky, Giroud

Buy: Marquinhos, Balanta, Digne, Lucas Romero, Gaston Romero, Tielemans and Depay, along with the usual youth prospects (Taric, Savitsky, Jovic etc.)

So the first team squad will be something like:

Szczesny

Ospina

Debuchy

Chambers

Marquinhos

Koscielny

Gabriel

Balanta

Digne

Gibbs

Lucas Romero

Gaston Romero

Ramsey

Wilshere

Oxlade-Chamberlain

Tielemans

Ozil

Cazorla

Walcott

Depay

Alexis

Welbeck.

Although that's basing it on a 4-1-2-2-1, and is a basic draft, haven't even loaded the game up yet so this could all very well change.

[Sapačko]

Looks like everyone will sell Giroud in FM due to his poor performance yesterday.

[TheBigBoss]

Started an Arsenal save but I decided to disable the first transfer window

[WillyBroadband]

Go for Marquinhos... you'll find he'll be ridiculously cheap in the new update... and will partner up well with your newest Brazilian CB already at the club.

Have seen a few people talk about getting Marquinhos on the cheap but I've just been quoted £86mil?! Sheesh!

[WillyBroadband]

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!

Hey man, I got Khedira for £11mil too. Bit of an obvious buy but I couldn't resist, not on massive wages either (by massive I mean less than £100k p/w)

How has been performing for you?

[iArsenal11]

Would love to know how you guys got Marquinhos so cheaply. Also been quoted for 16m for both Balanta and Romero...

[Kawee]

It's ridiculous how cheap some of the best youngsters in the world are now. You can have one of the best CB partnership in the world for years to come for less than 20m.

Has Clyne been touched anyone know? Noticed I got a spot at RB free, think Chambers is more suited to CB, so probably go for him or Coleman. Unless it's worth keeping Chambers RB and buying Balanta as well anyway?

Depends what kind of RB you're looking for. If you want a marauding wingback, he won't be that for you. I haven't been able to develop him into a world class CB either. Sure, he'll turn into a very good one, capable of playing in the UCL final, easily, but not as good as the likes of Balanta.

As a conservative fullback, to balance out the wingback on the left though, I've found very few better than him. You can easily develop him to be very well-rounded. My Chambers is 15 or more in every key attributes such as tackling, marking, crossing, positioning, pace, acceleration, etc. He doesn't have any 18-20, but put together, you have a good defender, who is fast, and capable on the ball.

[olieogden]

Hey man, I got Khedira for £11mil too. Bit of an obvious buy but I couldn't resist, not on massive wages either (by massive I mean less than £100k p/w)

How has been performing for you?

Consistant as you'd expect, had a shaky start trying to get my tactics down with 2 frustrating 1-0 away losses and a loss versus liverpools 343 which seemed to dominate no matter what i did...

Rotate him and Coquelin with Ramsey on the other side, who I will rotate with Rosicky, Wilshere and Arteta

Have found Cazorla a revalation at left WP and CM(a) along with Ozil.

Trying to get Sanchez firing. Has 7 Goals from out wide and the odd game upfront in mid october.

As ever have found it hard to get goals out of Giroud and Welbeck consistantly! doesn't help they get injured once some string of form hits.

Mussachio and Kos is a great partnership at the back, when I play to control games and not concede so far we've done exactly that and the clean sheets are definitely because of the efforts of them two.

[Sunstrikuuu]

To people talking about selling Giroud, don't be too quick to cut bait. I struggled a bit with tactics for a season, but once I got a working tactic, Giroud was my leading goalscorer with 25 goals and 11 assists in 30 matches. I sold him at age 30 for £30 million. That's not bad!

It's 2019 in my save, and I've won the quintuple! Though in fairness that includes the European Super Cup, the Club World Championship and the Capital One Cup, so it's not really that impressive. Still, the European Cup and the league is a solid double. I got knocked out of the FA Cup in the 6th round by United, who finished second with Falcao and Karim Benzema combining for 75 goals and 30 assists, which isn't bad for two players who're then a combined 64 years old. Wayne Rooney is retiring at 33 to become a manager which ahahahahaha. He made 28 appearances and scored 14 goals in his last season.

Romelu Lukaku carried me this season. He scored 40 in 44, including the simplest hat trick ever in the Champions League final against Barcelona - a free header from the penalty spot and two penalties (Barca had three men sent off). He also had 16 assists, which actually put him in 4th on my team.

Josh Murphy played a combination of left wing and striker, scored 28 goals and had 18 assists as a rotation starter and first sub off the bench. He'd have played more except that Julian Draxler had 21 goals, 14 assists and an average rating of 7.8 despite tailing off at the end of the season.

Aaron Ramsey was the English Player of the Season (despite not being English) and the European Player of the Year. At 28, Ramsey had 16 goals and 24 assists in all competitions with generally good stats elsewhere as a CMa/APs. I may look to change up his role as in games after the patch he didn't seem quite as involved defensively. Still, he's the best player at the club.

Kinglsey Coman joined last January from Juventus for £30m in a deal that I continue to believe wasn't quite fair (I've talked about why in other places in this thread). In his first full season, the right-footed AMLC/ST gained AMR as a natural position, had 17 goals and 29 assists, came second or third in England in dribbles/game and generally established himself as the first-choice replacement for departed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Coman being so good meant Serge Gnabry didn't get quite as much time. Gnabry still had a marvelous season with 12 goals and 15 assists in all competitions, almost exclusively as a Ws played in the AMR position.

Mario Gotze floated through games as an APs in the center of my formation and basically didn't do anything. He dropped deep, he made some passes, he was mostly underwhelming. In games as a DLFs, CFs or even AFa, hhe scored 26 goals with 11 assists in all competitions, which means I have some tactical work to do in the offseason to accomodate two wingers, Ramsey as an attack-minded midfielder, Lukaku and Gotze all in the same formation.

Lucas Romero played a role stripped of most creativity as my most defensive midfielder. He was generally indifferent though very rarely bad. Nearly 7 tackles per game was nice, and he led the team in yellow cards with 11.

Jack Wilshere featured 37 times in all competitions and managed 4 goals and 5 assists. Wilshere couldn't really find a defined position or push ahead of Ramsey or Romero as a starter. Despite that, he generally played pretty well, and perhaps I'll look to tweak my formation more when he comes in. I don't generally get much out of AMCs, so I'm worried.

Lucas Silva was generally decent, but is too attacking to be a defensive midfielder and not a good enough passer to be an attacking central midfielder. In my tactic he's a bit of a man without a country, and with only 3 tactic slots, I can't prepare one to use him as part of a deep-lying pair. It's a shame, he's talented and played well in 30 appearances.

Defensively, Wojciech Szczesny played decently but not necessarily well. Sometimes he made some saves, sometimes he didn't sometimes his distribution was something sometimes another goalkeepers are funny.

Ditto prospect Diego Florentin. The only question I have is when someone will make an offer that forces Florentin into the #1 shirt.

Calum Chambers was young and pretty good at right back and center back.

Per Mertesacker was old and pretty good at center back. I have to be careful about when I play him. His strengths are still strong at 34, but his lack of speed and generally declining physicals make him a liability against some teams. Leverkusen are apparently interested in buying, and he might turn into a decent enough coach.

Laurent Koscielny started a lot more matches than I would have thought, partially due to injuries forcing Chambers to play right back. He was good! He wasn't as good as the others, unfortunately; he's becoming more prone to errors. He was the only player to receive a straight red this season. Still, he was serviceable, but with two young, talented CB prospects reaching 18-20, how much longer he'll stay is an open question, dependent in part on Per's situation.

Balanta was awesome and stuff. Six goals from corners and free kicks. He's rully good u guys. Buy him if you haven't already. He's got that position so completely locked down it ain't funny (until someone gives me all the money and I put in a kid).

Fullback was weird this season. I had a job share at left back, played one of the LBs at RB a lot, and had some injuries. Javi Manquillo was really good when he played but he suffered a serious leg injury in the middle of the season and, in a year where I went deep in four of five cup competitions, played only twenty matches despite being the main right back. If I can get good money for him I'll take it; I think he's made himself expendable (more on that later).

Jose Luis Gaya was likewise good, but after pushing my left wing position higher up the pitch and making that player more attacking, Gaya's cavalierness and attacking mentality scared me a bit and he eventually fell out of favor. He didn't do much wrong, but I didn't do a great job giving him games down the stretch.

Jonathan Silva forced him almost completely out of the team. Silva can play left or right back and made a lot of appearances this season in both positions. In the end, I favored Silva's defensive ability over Gaya's superior attacking quality and pace. That may not be true next season as I'm talking myself into developing a narrower formation to accomodate unused central players; I'll need Gaya's running and crossing to create width. We'll see.

Youri Tielemans had 14 assists and 7 goals in 30 matches. He was the best of the prospects, and the only player to be a consistent scoring threat from free kicks. Striker Ezequiel Ponce was the first name on the teamsheet on loan at West Brom, and scored 20 goals; I look forward to having him next year. Sean O'Shea, a striker from the United States, spent nearly all season injured and only made four substitute appearances at the close. It's disappointing as he absolutely lit the world afire in his last two outings on loan. Highly rated though jerkwad-y prospect Freek Claassen made only 7 appearances on loan and it's time for him to go because he's a jerkwad. Braim Zabalza, signed from Chelsea after they inexplicably listed him, made 23 appearances at right back and was quite good. I hadn't expected him to play much and to be poor when he did, but after a series of injuries to other players he's given me a bit of a dilemma. Right back is a hard spot to fill and getting a good one cheap is awesome. Evgeny Zinovjev (ST, Russia), Nicolas Barrios Alfonso (AMC/ST, Argentina), Israel (DM, Brazil), Nuno Tiago (ST, Portugal), Franck Morel (CB, France) and Soliou da Silva (DM, France) were all very promising in limited time and are going to make me struggle to fit them in next season. Zinovjev's 3 goals and 4 assists in 8 appearances was the most production of the bunch. Winger Pedro Machado spent his age 20 season on loan at West Brom, winning the Championship Player of the Season with 9 goals and 18 assists; CM Benny Lassen was the third player I sent to West Brom with some success. Ivorian versitile midfielder Mamadou Coulibaly miraculously qualified for a work permit and had a quietly successful half-season at Ausburg.

In the end, the season was down in large part to luck; Ramsey, Romero, Balanta and Lukaku stayed generally healthy. My 4-2-3-1 worked well in 10 of the 11 positions, and I was able to simply overwhelm some teams with firepower on the wings. I've got a lot to do next season to match AC Milan and Ajax's 3 straight European Cups, which will be my focus.

[Kawee]

I'm going to second the idea of keeping Giroud, especially if your tactic revolves around a lone striker playing pivot. After all, that's his role! These were his stats in his three seasons with me before I sold him for 15m to Milan. As you can see, he actually got consistently better.

[thomit]

Give Giroud the right working conditions, and he will be pumping in goals. He was Golden Boot winner in my first season. That said, Aboubakar has been so good for me - breaking scoring records east, west and everywhere - that I had to give Giroud second fiddle duty ... he wasn't very pleased with that, so I had to let him go.

[Revans]

I start with no budgets in first window ALL the time.

Started with Arsenal on the new update. Playing a 4-2-3-1 variant with 1 DM and 1 CM.

Gone for Szczesny, Debuchy, Per, Kosc, Gibbs, Flamini, Ramsey, Sanchez, Ozil, Cazorla, Welbeck. Absolutely dominating teams possession and chances wise but Ozil, Sanchez and Welbeck seem to get caught offside too often.

Cazorla has been unreal so far and apart from a disappointing opening day defeat at home to Swansea we're doing alright. I think once the team gets used to the way I want them to play we'll start scoring 3+ a game.

Definitely looking to bring in a new DM and DL in January. A back-up DC and AML may also be useful.

Any recommendations on players or help on preventing the huge amount of offside calls?

[thomit]

Welbeck and Alexis gets caught offside a lot because they have that PPM ... give them a support role if you want to stop that, or come up with a tactic that makes them not always be the frontmost player. Both are in my opinion better suited as AML or AMR on support duty. If you want to avoid offsides from your striker, use Giroud. It's easy to make him be one of the most prolific strikers in the game. Depends on your tactics. If not keen on that, get Aboubakar.

DM = Lucas Romero, William Carvalho. 2 different types, but both reliable DM's. DL ... if you want WB/CWB types: Alex Sandro. Alaba if he's within sensible range financially - but he rarely is.

[Revans]

Thanks for the advice.

I'll look to using Giroud as Welbeck hasn't really impressed so far. I'm going to leave the player roles as they are for the moment, I am only 3 PL games in! So if I start scoring for fun but with loads of offsides it won't exactly be a problem. Signed Alex Sandro and Lucas Romero on FM14 with Chelsea and they were both immense, definitely going to look at them in January. I'll let you know how I get on.

[gggfunk]

I start with no budgets in first window ALL the time.

I do the same, everytime. I think it adds more realism to the game.

I've started a new save with Arsenal too. I add Akpom to the 1st team, as some of my players got injured, and he plays really well, sometimes even better than Giroud. In January I also want to buy a good DM as this is the weakest side of my team. Flamini's got to go.

This is my first ever save in FM 15 so I treat it more as a test than a long-term game, but I enjoy playing it anyway. After 2-3 seasons I will finish and start over, but this time it'll be a proper and long-term save which I'd like to describe in a nice way on the forum.

Cheers for all Arsenal supporters!

[Revans]

I added Bellerin and Akpom to the first team just to make sure I have 2 players for every position.

[arsenalthebest]

March Report

04/03/18 | Capital One Cup Final | Wembley

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Romero© 6.8 RB: Güllenbeck 8.1 RCB: Hales 7.6 LCB: Bola 7.8 LB: Hecker 7.2 MCR: Pogba 6.9 MCL: Rosa 6.7( Wilshere 45/6.9) AMR: Robert 6.4( Ox 45/6.8) AMC: Bäron 6.7 AML: Bauer (Campbell 56/6.7) STC: J.Long 6.6

Arsenal 0

Liverpool 1( Balotelli 3)

07/03/18 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Romero© 7.8 RB: Chambers 8.7 RCB: Koscielny 8.2 LCB: Stones 6.9( Doria 70/6.8)LB: Gibbs 7.8 MCR: Pogba 8 MCL: McCarthy 8.3 AMR: Deulofeu 7( Ox 64/6.8) AMC: Halilovic 6.9( Wilshere 64/6.8) AML: Sterling 9.6 STC: Munir 9.7(MoM)

Arsenal 6 ( Sterling 8 , Munir 21 & 22 , Sterling 30 , Munir 45+1 , Chambers 83 | Assts: Munir/Gibbs 1 , Sterling 2)

Stoke 2 ( Gayle 16 , Badelj 25)

10/03/18 | F.A Cup( Qtr-Final) | Loftus Rd

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Romero© RB: Güllenbeck 7.6 RCB: Bola 7.6 LCB: Koscielny 7( Doria 62/6.8) LB: Yenga 7.8 MCR: McCathy 7.4 MCL: Bäron 6.8( Wilshere 62/6.8) AMR: Bauer 9.1(MoM) AML: Campbell 8.4 STCR: L.Long6.7( J.Long 47/7.1) STCL: Rosa 7.4

Arsenal 3 ( Bauer 39 , Rosa 48 , J.Long 67 , Bauer Inj 74 | Assts: Bauer/Campbell 1)

QPR 0

13/03/18 | UEFA Champions League 1st Knock-Out Rd(Leg 2) | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 6.8 RB: Naughton 6.8 RCB: Kjær 7 LCB: Koscielny 8.6© LB: Yenga 7.3 MCR: Neves 6.9( Wilshere 63/6.9) MCL: Pogba 7 AMR: Malcom 6.5( Ox 56/7.4) AML: Deulofeu 8.6 STCR: Ings 6.7( Munir 61/7) STCL: Giroud 7.5

Arsenal 3(8) ( Giroud 34 , Koscielny 62 , Deulofeu 70 | Assts: Ings/Ox/Munir 1)

Bayer Munich 1(7) ( Müller 85)

17/03/18 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 6.8 RB: Naughton 7.4 RCB: Kjær 7( Doria 75/6.8) LCB: Koscielny 7.1 LB: Yenga 6.8( Gibbs 75/6.8) MCR: Wilshere 6.9( Ox 65/6.8) MCL: Pogba 6.8 AMR: Halilovic 8.4 AMC: L.Long 9 AML: Campbell 7.7 STC: J.Long 9(MoM)

Arsenal 3 ( J.Long 35 & 59 , L.Long

89 | Assts: L.Long 2 , J.Long 1)

Swansea 1 ( Dyer 69)

20/03/18 | Barclays Premier League | DW Stadium

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.2 RB: Naughton 7.9 RCB: Kjær 8.5 LCB: Koscielny 7.9 LB: Yenga 8 MCR: Wilshere 9 MCL: Neves 7( Pogba 65/6.7) AMR: Halilovic 7.6( Ox 65/6.8) AMC: L.Long 8.1 AML: Campbell 9.1(MoM) STC: J.Long 6.8( Munir 60/7)

Arsenal 4 ( L.Long 10 , Wilshere 32 , Campbell 54 , Munir 69 | Assts: Halilovic 2 , L.Long/Campbell 1)

Wigan 0

31/03/18 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 6.9 RB: Chambers 7.5 RCB: Kjær 8.2 LCB: Koscielny© 7.4 LB: Yenga 7.5( Gibbs 75/6.8) MCR: Wilshere 6.7( Pogba 75/6.9) MCL: Neves 7 AMR: Sterling 8 AMC: L.Long 7.2 AML: Campbell 7.1 STC: J.Long 7( Munir 64/7)

Arsenal 3 ( J.Long 1 , De Gea O/G 3 , L.Long 80 | Yenga/Campbell/Pogba 1)

Man Utd 1 ( Benzema 69)

[TheBigBoss]

Bit disappointed with how little some of Arsenals promising youngsters are rated potential ability wise Zelalem 2.5* really ?

[Kawee]

Bit disappointed with how little some of Arsenals promising youngsters are rated potential ability wise Zelalem 2.5* really ?

Zelalem can develop into a pretty decent player. IRL, he hasn't shown he will become a world-beater, so there really isn't a good ground for him to be so in FM.

He's basically around mid-table EPL quality, which is fair enough. With more luck (I don't know what his PA is in my game, but in some games, he can be better) and more attention to his development (i focused on better prospects) he can develop into a UCL player, I think.

[TheBigBoss]

To those who are playing 4-3-3/4-1-2-2-1 what are you doing with Ozil ? I have him on the right of the front 3 and while he hasn't been bad he hasn't exactly been class

[Revans]

Ozil (AMC) has been the biggest disappointment for me so far

[lomekian]

To those who are playing 4-3-3/4-1-2-2-1 what are you doing with Ozil ? I have him on the right of the front 3 and while he hasn't been bad he hasn't exactly been class

In my 4231 as a treq he averages 20 goals and 20 assits every season, averaging about the 8 av rating mark.

[lomekian]

Bit disappointed with how little some of Arsenals promising youngsters are rated potential ability wise Zelalem 2.5* really ?

Akpom, Gnabry and in CA terms Crowley are the big disappointments for me. I always boost them a little as injuries permitting, its pretty obvious they will have good careers in one of the top flight divisions somewhere in Europe, given how their dominance at youth level is matched by fantastic work ethic and discipline and (bar this season with Gnabry's injury) have kept improving a great deal year on year.

[KingLara]

FM15 Season 2 – January

FA CUP 3RD ROUND

BARNSLEY 0

ARSENAL 2

Munir 11 56

With the Chelsea game in a few days I rested most of the first team meaning starts for youngsters Bola at left back and Vanni partnering Mertesacker. He was outstanding with an 8.7. Munir scored the brace and set up a 4th round tie with Brentford

PREMIER LEAGUE

CHELSEA 1

Cuadrado 84

ARSENAL 4

Chamberlain 32 36 Walcott 37 45

Poor Munir was benched despite his brace as I brought back the big guns. We were playing ok until a four goal blitz In 13 minute shattered Chelsea and killed the game dead. The stepped it up in the second half but only managed a single consolation from Cuadrado. Bernard suffered an injury and would miss the rest of the month.

PREMIER LEAGUE

NEWCASTLE 3

Sissoko 10 El Arabi 31 56

ARSENAL 5

Ozil 3(Pen) 73 Chamberlain 23 82 Welbeck 90

We produced an excellent attacking performance at Newcastle but kept letting Newcastle back in it from poor mistakes.

PREMIER LEAGUE

WIGAN 1

Waghorn 66

ARSENAL 5

Ozil 16 Welbeck 21 64 Balanta 57 Sanchez 87

Our fifth away game in a row saw us visit Wigan. The stats were pretty similar to the Newcastle game just we conceded two less goals.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 5

Podolski 21 Welbeck 25 41 Wilshere 63 Ozil 86

WATFORD 0

We were back at the Emirates for the first time since Boxing day (this game was on January 17th) for the third game in a row we scored 5 goals. Another excellent attacking display backed up by a very welcome clean sheet. Welbeck starting to hit form too.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ASTON VILLA 1

Cresswell 23 miss/pen 57 Sanchez s/o 61

ARSENAL 4

Welbeck 28 56 69 Ozil 52

A result that flattered us as Villa squandered several good chances. Welbeck secured a hattrick and Ozil added his 21st of the season. When Sanchez was sent off at 3-1 I was confident of getting five goals for the fourth consecutive game but we couldn’t take advantage.

FA CUP 4TH ROUND

ARSENAL 2

Sanchez 42 Kosicielny 72

BRENTFORD 0

Having scored 45554 in our last five games we hosted championship Brentford. This time of course we only managed to score twice. A goal in each half. Ramsey out for 4 weeks.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 4

Ozil 5(Pen) 73 Podolski 30 88 Sanchez 62

MANCHESTER CITY 4

Aguero 11 Milner 26 60 Navas 39

We faced City out to avenge the terrible 1-0 reverse earlier in the season. An all out attacking goal fest as we came from 4-2 down to rescue a point late on. Now drawn at home against both Manchester sides.

PREMIER LEAGUE

QPR 1

Kalou 7

ARSENAL 1

Sanchez 13

The final game of an exhausting month draw us travel to QPR. We probably shaded it but the draw a fair result.

League Table

Ended the month with a couple of draws but still opening up a big lead. City 6th and Liverpool 7th.

1. Arsenal Played 23 Points 57

2. Chelsea Played 24 Points 49

3. Tottenham Played 24 Points 47

4. Man United Played 23 Points 46

5. Southampton Played 23 Points 45

Other News

FA Cup 5th round draw – Burnley vs Arsenal

Liverpool and United will contest the League Cup final.

Danny Welbeck won player of the month. Ozil was second. City boss Slaven Billic won manager of the month while Diego Poyet won young player.

I made a mistake not extending Bertrands contract before he left to go back to Chelsea. I tried to get Baines but to no avail. With Gibbs still out for six weeks I loaned in Evra.

Goals in January

January saw us score 32 goals in 9 games. Scorers were;

Welbeck 8 Ozil 6 Chamberlain Sanchez 4 Podolski 3 Munir Walcott 2 Balanta 1 Wilshere 1 Koscielny 1

February fixtures

Premier League

Liverpool (H) West Brom (A) West Ham (H) Everton (H) Crystal Palace (H) Hull (A)

Champions League

Sporting Lisbon (A)

FA Cup

Burnley (A)

[Yaniv242]

What position is ozil on?

[lewis999]

I've had to give Santi a little boost not only because he is absolute class IRL and his stats don't reflect his work ethic but also because I have a bit of a man crush.

[KingLara]

What position is ozil on?

AMC trequista

[Revans]

Ozil has sorted himself out now, obviously took him a while to get used to the formation and role.

Signed Ricardo Rodriguez and Milan Badelj to cover DL and DM and wanted to upgrade Mertesacker and Debuchy so took Musacchio and Mario from Villareal.

Sold Diaby, Arteta and Monreal. Looking to shift Debuchy, Paulista/Mertesacker at the end of the season and bring in some backup for Santi at AML.

Won the Carling Cup, into the Semis of the FA Cup (Spurs) and got Real Madrid in the 1/4 final of CL. Sitting 4th in the league and a fair bit off 2nd so need to improve there.

[arsenalthebest]

I'm keeping an eye on Sturridge his contract runs out in 2019(currently in 2018) with any luck(though I doubt it) I'll have him on a free at start of 2019/20 season

[TheBigBoss]

Finished my first season managed to finished 2nd 12 points behind Chelsea, won the Carling cup but a disappointing last 16 exit to Barca and a FA cup 5th round loss to United, Sanchez finished with an amazing 32 goals in all competitions and my pet project Akpom who I've giving minutes to when I can and have him on an individual training program scored 7 goals in all competitions. Massive negative is I signed Romero in January but sent him on loan for the rest of the season but the Argentinian season ends in December

[thomit]

1 season + 1 month into the next, and Aboubakar has just scored his 50th goal for Arsenal ...

[arsenalthebest]

April Report

03/04/18 | UEFA Champions League(Qtr-Final 1st Leg) | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.8 RB: Chambers 7.6 RCB: Kjær 7.5 LCB: Koscielny© 7.6 LB: Yenga 7.4( Gibbs 70/6.9) MCR: Wilshere 8.6 MCL: Neves 7.4 AMR: Sterling 9.1 AMC: L.Long 6.9( Munir 65/6.6) AML: Campbell 7.6( Ox 65.7.2) STC: Giroud 9.3(MoM)

Arsenal 5 ( Wilshere 29 , Giroud 51 & 59 , Sterling 74 , Ox 88 | Assts: Gibbs/Sterling/Giroud 1, Campbell 2)

FC Porto 1 ( Gil Romero 84)

07/04/18 | Barclays Premier League | Vicarage Rd

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.2 RB: Chambers 7.6 RCB: Kjaer 7.9 LCB: Koscielny 9(c - MoM) LB: Yenga 6.9( Gibbs 71/6.9) MCR: Wilshere 6.7( Pogba 6.2/7.2) MCL: Neves 8.7 AMR: Sterling 9 AMC: L.Long 9 AML: Campbell 6.9( Ox 57/8.9) STC: Munir 8.6

Arsenal 5 ( Koscielny 56 , Ox 66 , Munir 74 , L.Long 82 , Sterling 86 | Assts: Pogba/Munir/L.Long 1 , Ox 2)

Watford 1 ( Bennett 36)

11/04/18 | UEFA Champions League( Qtr-Final 2nd Leg) | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 7.2 RB: Stones 7.1 RCB: Woodward 6.7( Koscielny 45/6.9) LCB: Bola 8.2 LB: Hearn 6.9( Gibbs 67/6.6) MCR: Wilshere© 6.9( Pogba 67/6.8) MCL: Vannucci 6.9 AMR: Malcom 8.9(MoM) AMC: L.Long 68 AML: Deulofeu 6.9 STC: Ings 6.7

Arsenal 1(6) ( Bola 7 | Asst: Malcom)

FC Porto 0(1)

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 7.3 RB: Stones 8.4 RCB: Woodward 7.9 LCB: Bola 8.4 LB: Hearn 7.7 MCR: Wilshere( Pogba 10/9) MCL: Vannucii 8.4 AMR: Campbell 8.1 AMC: L.Long 9 AML: Deulofeu 9.4(MoM) STC: J.Long 9

Arsenal 4 ( Deulofeu 27 & 57 , J.Long 65 , Pogba 74 | Assts: L.Long 2 , J.Long 1)

QPR 0

18/04/18 | Barclays Premier League | Stamford Bridge

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milamkovic Savic 6.9 RB: Stones 6.7 RCB: Kjær 6.7 LCB: Dória© 7.3 LB: Gibbs MCR: Vannucii 6.7 MCL: Wilshere 6.9( Pogba 45/6.6) AMR: Deulofeu 6.7 AML: Campbell 6.7( Ox 51/6.9) STCR: L.Long 6.3( Giroud 45/6.9) STCL: J.Long 6.7

Arsenal 1 ( Giroud 73 | Assts: Ox)

Chelsea 1 ( Ayew PEN 76)

21/04/18 | F.A Cup( Semi-Final) | Wembley

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 6.5 RB: Stones 7.8 RCB: Kjær 6.5( Koscielny 61/7.2) LCB: Dória© LB: Yenga 7.8 MCR: Wilshere 7.6 MCL: Vannucii 6.6( Pogba 63/7.7) AMR: Deulofeu 7.6 AMC: L.Long 7.7 AML: Campbell 6.7( Ox 61/6.6) STC: Munir 6.9

Arsenal 2 ( L.Long 20 , Dória 59 | Asst: Yenga)

Liverpool 2 ( Suso 17 , Vannucci O/G 70)

Pen Shoot-Out

Arsenal 10 ( Munir , Wilshere , Stones , Pogba , Ox , Dória , Yenga , Koscielny , Deulofeu , L.Long )

Liverpool 9 ( Belhanda , Henderson , Rubén Garcia , Suso , Nkoulou , Sturridge , Flanagan , Moreno , Lucas Levia)

24/04/18 | UEFA Champions League(Semi-Final 1st Leg) | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 6.8 RB: Stones 7 RCB: Kjær 7.4 LCB: Doria 7.2 LB: Yenga 7.4 MCR: Wilshere 8 MCL: Vannucii 7.3( Pogba 71/6.6) AMR: Deulofeu 8.7 AMC: L.Long 7.3( Ox 85 AML: Campbell 7.7 STC: Munir 7( Giroud 85)

Arsenal 3 ( Munir 33 , Campbell 38 , Deulofeu 70 | Assts: Deloufeu/Yenga/L.Long 1)

Chelsea 1 ( Costa 80)

28/04/18 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 7 RB: Stones 7.7 RCB: Kjær 7( Koscielny 67/6.8) LCB: Dória© 8.2 LB: Yenga 7.6 MCR: Wilshere 8.7 MCL: Vannucii 7.1 AMR: Deulofeu 9.2(MoM) AMC: L.Long 8.3 AML: Malcom 8( Ox 73/7.3 STC: J.Long 6.5( Giroud 76)

Arsenal 3 ( Deulofeu 15 & 76 , Ox 90+3 | Assts: L.Long/Doria/Wilshere 1)

Tottenham 0

[KingLara]

FM15 Season 2 – February

TRANSFER NEWS

I made yet another mistake where I forgot to extend Bertrands loan deal so he left after a productive time with Gibbs injured. My pursuit of Baines didn’t work and with no suitable long term left back options was forced to go for another loan. I plumped for Evra. The other two incomings are youngsters put in the under 21’s. Jovic is a winger/striker while Nietzel has four accomplished positions but will probably be a cm. Jovic will feature for the first team next season. Right now I have sent him on loan to Kiev. No outs just a few loans. I also signed two players on pre contracts.

In

Jan Nietzel – 8.1m

Luka Jovic(regen) – 1.2m

Patrice Evra - (Loan)

Premier League

ARSENAL 3

Ozil 40pen Podolski 54 Munir 58

LIVERPOOL 2

Sterling 38 Murillo 66

In September Liverpool battered us at Anfield only for Ozil to pop up with a smash and grab winner in the 86th minute. This game saw much of the same. We created little but scored three times. After Murillo pulled a goal back the reds threw the kitchen sink at us yet somehow we survived. Evra made his debut.

Premier League

WEST BROM 3

Blanco 15 90 Dorrans 69

ARSENAL 2

Walcott 3 Podolski 60

Three days later it was the reverse at the Hawthorns. Dominated the game but went down to Blancos late winner as I pushed forward to try and get the win. It was Walcotts first goal in 9 games.

Premier League

ARSENAL 3

Wilshere 45 Ozil 70pen Welbeck 89

WEST HAM 1

Poyet 60pen

We responded well with an efficient performance against West Ham.

FA Cup 5th Round

BURNLEY 5

Hendrick 55 Woo 57 Boyd 76 88 Wallace 84

ARSENAL 6

Sanchez 1 Walcott7 Mertesacker 17 Chamberlain 19 Welbeck 72 82 Koscielny s/o 37

A truly extraordinary game only FM could conjure up. 4-0 up in 19 minutes after 25 we had already had 24 shots on goal. Burnley managed zero. But then Koscielny was harshly sent off and Burnley immediately pulled two back in the opening 12 minutes of the second half. Walcott limped off injured for Welbeck. He made it 2-5 and 3-6 and thinking that was that I brought on Bernard after two months out injured and left the game. Burnley pulled another two back. The irony of the game is that I chose to play Szczesny over Ospina for a better defensive display.

Premier League

ARSENAL 5

Welbeck 5 Ozil 18 70pen Sanchez 44 Koscielny 79

EVERTON 0

After the carnage against Burnley I was for defence over stack and played a team focused on defence. As often works out the game does the opposite and we won 5-0. Pleasingly Everton created very very little. Ozil now on 26 goals for the season with another brace.

Premier League

ARSENAL 5

Chamberlain 18 41 Chambers 35 Podolski 84 Bernard 90

CRYSTAL PALACE 1

Piatti 16

Another good win. Piatti opened the scoring for Palace but after that it was one way traffic for a team missing most of the first team with the game against Sporting on the horizon. Welbeck suffered broken ribs and will miss a month.

Champions League 2nd round 1st leg

SPORTING LISBON 1

Slavchek 76

ARSENAL 3

Koscielny 28 Podolski 49 Ozil 61

An excellent result in Lisbon puts us pretty much into the last eight. Sportings keeper made six or seven amazing saves in a man of the match display to keep it down to three. After Walcott missed 6 chances in the first half I switched him for Podolski upfront who scored after only four minutes!

Premier League

HULL CITY 1

Snodgrass 3

ARSENAL 3

Chamberlain 61 Wilshere 86 Sanchez 90

Podolski retained his place upfront but was sadly poor. A hangover from Lisbon saw us dominated in the first half but only one down with szczesny producing some decent saves. We upped the tempo in the second half with Chamberlain pulling us level before Khedira set up Wilshere and Sanchez to win the game.

League Table

1. Arsenal Played 29 Points 72

2. Chelsea Played 29 Points 64

3. Man United Played 27 Points 55

4. Tottenham Played 29 Points 54

5. Southampton Played 28 Points 52

Other News

FA Cup Quarter Final draw – Manchester United vs Arsenal

Speaking of United they won the League cup 3-2 on penalties after beating Liverpool in the final. Van Persie with a brace.

Calum Chambers won young player while Cuadrado at Chelsea won player of the month. Ozil was second again. Mourinho won manager of the month I settled for the Ozil position of second.

Goals Conceded

Last season we scored 108 league goals but let in 42. I was determined to lower that figure and it seemed to be going well until we suddenly started leaking goals all over the place. We’ve let in 21 in the last 14 games.

Goals conceded After 5 games – 3 10 games – 5 – 15 games – 8 20 games – 15 25 games – 26 29 games - 29

March fixtures

Premier League

Nottingham Forrest (H) Swansea (A) Stoke City (H)

Champions League

Sporting Lisbon (H)

FA Cup

Manchester United (A)

.

[Revans]

Ozil has sorted himself out now, obviously took him a while to get used to the formation and role.

Signed Ricardo Rodriguez and Milan Badelj to cover DL and DM and wanted to upgrade Mertesacker and Debuchy so took Musacchio and Mario from Villareal.

Sold Diaby, Arteta and Monreal. Looking to shift Debuchy, Paulista/Mertesacker at the end of the season and bring in some backup for Santi at AML.

Won the Carling Cup, into the Semis of the FA Cup (Spurs) and got Real Madrid in the 1/4 final of CL. Sitting 4th in the league and a fair bit off 2nd so need to improve there.

Finished the season and got 3rd on the last day, Chelsea in 2nd and United in 1st were some way ahead though. Lost 2-0 in the FA Cup final to Chelsea and lost on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the Champions League final against Bayern. I did beat Madrid 6-3 on agg in the 1/4 final!

Signed Muslera, Mustafi, Romero, Oliver and Aboubakar! Oliver is understudy to Ozil but the rest go straight in to the starting XI. Sold Debuchy, Per, Ospina, Flamini and Giroud. Rosicky retired...

Won 5 drawn 1 in the PL so far and through to the next round of the CC. Won my first game away at Legia Warsaw in CL group. I'm expecting big things this season!

[arsenalthebest]

Sterling has just set a new average rating record for the Prem of 8.7 from 22 games

[Revans]

Welbeck and Alexis gets caught offside a lot because they have that PPM ... give them a support role if you want to stop that, or come up with a tactic that makes them not always be the frontmost player. Both are in my opinion better suited as AML or AMR on support duty. If you want to avoid offsides from your striker, use Giroud. It's easy to make him be one of the most prolific strikers in the game. Depends on your tactics. If not keen on that, get Aboubakar.

DM = Lucas Romero, William Carvalho. 2 different types, but both reliable DM's. DL ... if you want WB/CWB types: Alex Sandro. Alaba if he's within sensible range financially - but he rarely is.

Thank you for recommending Aboubakar - the guy is a beast!

[arsenalthebest]

Just been offered a job interview with Juventus & Bayern

[TheBigBoss]

Just been offered a job interview with Juventus & Bayern

Personally would reject but it depends on how much you've achieved at Arsenal

[arsenalthebest]

Personally would reject but it depends on how much you've achieved at Arsenal

I've had them might create a branch off save for them if I get offered the job

[TheBigBoss]

I've had them might create a branch off save for them if I get offered the job

Yeah I've done that before ending up doing the save you get the job with more, unless it's going bad

[tinkerer]

End of 2015/2016 season and we won PL with 84 points, 7 more than Man Utd in 2nd. We also managed to win FA Cup by beating Spurs with penalty kick

( 6 - 5, that was close, but we are really much deserved it than Spurs ). Knocked out in Quarter final of UCL by Munchen with 2 - 0 aggregate. Mikel

Arteta retired and Olivier Giroud gone to Marseille, though he scored 17 goals in all comps last season. Brought in Tielemans, Enner Valencia, Romelu Lukaku,

and Marquinhos this season. Tielamans bought for Arteta replacement knowing that he is really great ball playing midfielder. Enner Valencia had great season

with West Ham last year with even selected for PL Team of the Year. Although he will have to fight place with the likes of Sanchez, Oxlade, and Walcott.

Giroud gone to Marseille for 6,75m pounds because he didn't want to be Welbo deputy. Lukaku bought for 16m pounds ( i think cheap enough ) from 4th

place Everton. He play 29 games last season and contributes 13 goals and 5 assists and i think he will be solid replacement for Giroud ( they are big forward,

and i really like the option between the pacey Welbo and the strong Lukaku ). Marquinhos bought for only 21m pounds, great bargain by my DoF isn't it? The

idea of my DoF probably brought him in to replace Lucas Romero that sold to Real Madrid for 23.5m pounds, considering we already have 4 centre backs in

Mertesacker, Koscielny, Eder Balanta, and Nicklas Sule. I think i will use him like Mourinho used David Luiz at Chelsea. But I don't really like that role and

probably bringing more DM and move Marquinhos to CB role. The problem is i need to sell first one of our CB and that probably be Mertesacker.

Mertesacker is my temporary captain ( that Arteta is retired ) and at the end of the season his contract will expired.

So what i should do guys? Letting Mertesacker finished his contracts and released him (honorably) or trying to seek buyers for him knowing that probably

it will give us nearly 5m pounds?

[thomit]

Personally would reject but it depends on how much you've achieved at Arsenal

Why would anyone leave Arsenal for somewhere else? There's no other club in the world that's better to manage. And if you're a Gunner, then ....

[arsenalthebest]

May/End Of Season Report

05/05/18 | Barclays Premier League | Anfield

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 6.7 RB: Stones 6.8 RCB: Koscielny 6.9 LCB: Doria© 7.1 LB: Naughton 6.6( Gibbs 56/6.3) MCR: Wilshere 6.5( Ox 59/7.2) MCL: Vannucci 6.7( Pogba 45.6.9) AMR: Sterling 8.3 AMC: L.Long 6.7 AML: Malcom 8 STC: Munir 6.7

Arsenal 3 ( Malcom 39 , Ox 63 , Doria 66 | Assts: Sterling 2 , Munir 1)

Liverpool 3 ( Balotelli 19 , Suso 40 , Henderson 45)

09/05/18 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 7 RB: Stones 7 RCB: Koscielny 6.9 LCB: Doria 6.9 LB: Naughton 7( Gibbs 71/7) MCR: Wilshere 8.1 MCL: Vannucci 6.5( Pogba 51/6.6) AMR: Sterling 9 AMC: L.Long 9 AML: Malcom 6.9 STC: J.Long 9.5(MoM - Giroud 71/7.1)

Arsenal 5 ( J.Long 19 & 45 & 65 , L.Long 75 , Giroud 90 | Assts: L.Long 2 , Sterling/Gibbs 1)

Newcastle 3 ( Anita 51 , Ince 73 , Azzaoui 84)

13/05/18 | Barclays Premier League | Selhurst Park

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 8.4 RB: Stones 8.7 RCB: Doria© 9.1 LCB: Koscielny 7.4( Bola 45/8.1) LB: Naughton 8.6 MCR: Wilshere 9.2 MCL: Vannucci 8.9 AMR: Sterling 9.2( Ox 78/6.9) AMC: L.Long 9.3 AML: Malcom 9.3 STC: J.Long 9.8(MoM - Ings 45/9.5)

Arsenal 10 ( J.Long 2 & 23 & 37 & 42 , L.Long 45 , Ings 51 & 69 & PEN 77 , Williams o/g 87 , Bola 89 | Assts: Doria/Ox/l.Long 1 , Sterling/Wilshere 2 , Malcom 3)

Crystal Palace 0

19/05/18 | F.A Cup( Final) | Wembley

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 6.8 RB: Stones 7.5 RCB: Koscielny 7.6 LCB: Doria© 7.6 LB: Naughton 6.9( Gibbs 75/6.8) MCR: Wilshere 6.9 MCL: Vannucci 7.2( Pogba 69/6.8) AMR: Sterling (MoM) AMC: L.Long 6.7( Munir 63/6.8) AML: Malcom 7.4 STC: J.Long 8

Arsenal 2 ( Malcom 47 , J.Long 90+2 | Assts: Sterling/ J.Long 1)

Man Utd 1 ( Benzema 69)

26/05/18 | UEFA Champions League( Final) | Estadio De Luz

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic Savic 7.2 RB: Stones 8.4 RCB: Koscielny 8.7 LCB: Doria© 8.8 LB: Naughton 7.9 MCR: Wilshere 9 MCL: Vannucci 8.5 AMR: Sterling 9.1 AMC: L.Long 7 AML: Malcom 9.1( Ox 76/7.3) STC: Munir 9.2(MoM)

Arsenal 4 ( Malcom 37 , Munir 65 & 70 , Ox 84 | Assts: Sterling 2 , Malcom 1)

R. Madrid 0

End Of Season Squad Reports

Senior Squad

I was very Pleased with the performances of regens Jimmy & Lyall Long(no relation) they were both excellent in their roles. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was an assist machiene & contributed a good number of goals Sterling also contributed well in goals & assists. Deulofeu had a good first signing especially considering he was free , Halilovic was good but I won't be making his loan permanent Romero & Milankovic Savic were also good as was the defence as a whole. Ruddy & Pogba were a bit disappointing & I will probably sell them, despite his good performance Milankovic Savic may be sold. over all it was an excellent season for the seniors

U-21 Squad

Rene Baron(regen) was the best player with 18 goals & assists. Elana(regen) , Woodward , Willock and Vannucci(regen) also put in good season for the U-21's all are potential future first teamers , future 1st team hopefulls Hales , Stacey , Leanardo & De Decker had disappointing seasons. We went out in the second round of the U-21 cup to losing 1-0(aet)to Palace U-21's. We went out 2-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach U-19's in the 1st Knock-Out Rd of the U19's Champions League

U-19 Squad

Future 1st team hopefuls Moncur , Hecker & Law had decent seasons while Kutney was disappointing. We went out of the U-18's cup in the quarter-finals losing 2-1 to Sunderland U-18's.

Tables

Stats(Senior Squad only)

[arsenalthebest]

I'm the new England manager previous one resigned got the world cup to look forward to now

EDIT

just played my first competitive game(first WC game) and won 5-0 with Arsenal players getting all 5 - Sterling/Ox 2 , J.Long 1

[TheBigBoss]

How did you lot find Walcott on the game I'm really considering letting him leave on a free I'm in my second season and he's a squad player mainly due to Chamberlains quality form and the fact that Alexis, Ozil and Chamberlain are all ahead of him in the wide positions

[Kawee]

This is easily one of my favourite moments in FM15 so far:

It's producing sexy football, and developing talent that really keeps this game interesting in long-term one-club saves. My next goal is to have 3 of my developed players win top 3 Young Player of the Year. I've had one of mine won the thing, but 2nd and 3rd place went somewhere else.

Youngsters are bloody expensive though. I'm spending +50m on recruiting them each year. And you can forget the German ones. The top ones are quoted at +60m each.

Anyone know how to spot talent in Asia or Africa? I have 2 scouts each in those 2 continents and after years, still nothing worthwhile.