FM15: Arsenal FC

[Poddy]

How did you sell Walcott right away if he's injured

[RTHerringbone]

Finally started a new save with the updated database. Three players in the first window; Juan Jesus, Maximilian Meyer and managed to persuade B. München to sell me Javi Martinez. I'm particularly excited about that, he seems to be something of a ultimate holding midfielder. I sold Walcott straight away, since I know I would be going to do that pretty soon anyway. He's a little too injury prone, and not worth the wages he will be demanding when I need to renew his contract. By experience ... I'm quite sure that haven't changed with the new database?

Last time round, your focus was on reinforcing the DC slots - has that changed just because you now have Gabriel Paulista on the latest database? I have to say, he has been excellent for me as I approach season three.

Will you still be using a 4-2-3-1 Wide and / or 4-1-4-1 system this time?

[thomit]

Ah. Well, last time around I thought it was a good idea to get in 2 central defenders, now that I have Gabriel I'm happy with just 1. Is the simple answer to that. I always have 2 players for each position in my setup, + youngsters as 3rd options. And I rotate heavy, even the CD's. Per, Kos, Gabriel and Jesus (!) as CD's, Chambers and Debuchy as right backs - I don't see Bellerin as a long term option, his potential in FM 15, even in the latest database does not correspond to what we have seen of him in rl lately, unfortunately. And yes, Gabriel has been useful and reliable, for the most part. A bit fond of the yellow cards when I play him in the stopper role, perhaps, so I tend to use him in the other CD spot.

And it's a 4231 wide, yes. WB/s, CD/x, CD/d, WB/s (CWB if I need to attack for real).

CM/d and RPM or AP/s

IF/s, T, IF/a (wide men can change to wingers, depending on who).

CF/a.

Control, Fluid. Work ball, whip crosses, push higher, roam. With attacking and consolidating variants.

Btw, I'm a bit disappointed that no correction seems to have been done to Coq's abilities and potential in this edition of the database. I will have to look for a 2nd holding mid in the summer, if I don't decide to just stick with Flamini for another season. Very happy with the upgrade to Sanchez though.

Btw 2: From what I understand, Aboubakar will be in much heavier demand from the big clubs come the summer window in this database. Anyone tried to poach him early? Porto seems to refuse everything I offer them so far.

[thomit]

How did you sell Walcott right away if he's injured

I'm in February 2015, sold Walcott to Roma (25M) in the January window. He was "healed" for me in early November. That is "straight away" for me, sorry if it was confusing.

[RTHerringbone]

Btw 2: From what I understand, Aboubakar will be in much heavier demand from the big clubs come the summer window in this database. Anyone tried to poach him early? Porto seems to refuse everything I offer them so far.

He stayed at Porto for season one on my save, and then P-SG signed him for a large fee in the 2015/16 summer window. At the same time, Harry Kane joined Newcastle from Spurs for about half of Aboubakar's fee, so it may be worth keeping an eye on White Hart Lane.

[carrunion22]

RTH, quick question - what league setup do you use on your save, and what do you do with your scouting?

[thomit]

Kane. Hmm. Well, he was a Gunner once, so maybe it's time to bring him back home. We shall see.

[RTHerringbone]

RTH, quick question - what league setup do you use on your save, and what do you do with your scouting?

Can't remember off the top of my head, but it's almost certainly just the top division in England, France, Holland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil.

I play FMC so don't do much with Scouting; just appoint the best Scout I can so I can create eight scouting assignments. However, when it comes to finding players, I generally do most of the work myself by using attribute filters, or manually assigning Scouts to look at higher value 17 year olds.

[carrunion22]

Right, having lost my other file and the fact I have a week off work, seems a good time to get stuck into a nice new shiny Arsenal save. Once I figure out screenshots, I will post them in future updates.

I'm following the same road I used on the aforementioned lost file as I enjoyed it and had a good first season. Will be setting up as follows (from R to L):

GK(D)

WB(S) - Stay wider

CD(D)

CD(D)

WB(A) - Stay wider

DM(D)

CM(A)

AP(S)

IF(A) - Roam, Sit narrower

IF(S) - Get forward, Sit narrower, Shoot less

CF(S) - Move into channels

TI's - Retain possession, Shorter passing, Work ball, Play out of defence, Push higher, Roam, Close down more, Stay on feet, Offside trap, Lower tempo.

In defence, all 3 central midfielders drop back in front of the area providing strength in numbers, and in attack the system looks more like a 4-2-3-1 with the CM(A) moving into an AMC position and the the AP(S) holding deeper, then the DMC will be ready to pick up clearances and recycle. May seem to be a lot of TI's but I've had success with that setup a few times, yielding high possession and control of the game, which is obviously what you want from an Arsenal team.

Monreal out to Newcastle for 10m and Coquelin to Fulham for a structured 7.5m. River wanted too much for Balanta so I went for Nkoulou who I'm looking to move straight in alongside Koscielny and will look to move him into a leadership role with a season or 2 under his belt. Gaya at left back, and Lucas Romero will take the DM(D) spot with Flamini as back up. Agreed a deal of around £4.5 for Francesco Bardi to join summer 2015 when his loan finishes - had good experience with him in the past and has solid stats that can develop. Been underwhelmed by the progression of Szczesny and Ospina this year.

Signings for the future involve Ruben Neves and Jesus Vallejo who will be loaned out to lower domestic clubs. Passlack and Ruben Barbosa joined, both at 16 years old, looking for them to hold down the full back spots for years to come. And finally Bonazzoli will join next summer.

My friendlies are set as a few against low rep teams to get big scores and a morale boost, and some tougher games to provide more challenge.

[thomit]

@ numero uno gunner

You are lacking a holding midfielder in central midfield. A common error I see often in people's tactics around here. BBM is ok, but need to be paired with either a CM/defend or a DLP/defend. A BWM is not a reliable holding midfielder, not even if he's on defend duty. Get your midfield balance sorted for better results, specially vs. strong teams away. You could of course go down the route Wenger did in the last half of last season: A dedicated holding mid (CM/defend - Coquelin), paired with a DLP/support (Cazorla). Cazorla had a role that looked more like what a Regista does in FM, but there's no regista role for the CM slots in FM, unfortunately. Adding the "roaming" PI to the DLP/support role could be an approximation.

[Nonlondoner]

So, has anyone else created a Jeff Reine-Adalaide yet? I did last night using the Official In-game Editor and based his attributes on what I saw over the two Emirates Cup matches. His CA came out at 107 and I put his PA around 165 mark which seems adequate for now. He's a pure AMC but competent at MC and ST.

[notam]

Intresting result in Club Champsionship Semi-Final.

[arsenalthebest]

So, has anyone else created a Jeff Reine-Adalaide yet? I did last night using the Official In-game Editor and based his attributes on what I saw over the two Emirates Cup matches. His CA came out at 107 and I put his PA around 165 mark which seems adequate for now. He's a pure AMC but competent at MC and ST.

Can you upload the file please

[arsenalthebest]

Akpom's just had a great 2015/16 season 28 gls 11 assists in 28 apps. turned Down a £3m + £27m/48 months from Chelsea for him

[Nonlondoner]

I've never posted a screen grab from FM, is it easy?

[numero uno gunner]

@thomit

Thanks for the advice. I've gone for CM - defend, and I'll report back on that in due course. I've started to think about the future a little more, and have targeted a couple of midfield youngsters in John Hou Saeter and Kristoffer Ajer, as well as David Kownacki (identified by my scouts and looks ok for a 17 year old). How has everyone else planned for the future?

I've arranged for Andre Ayew to join on a free transfer in the summer, and currently am negotiating for Lucas Romero (is £7.5m a fair price?) and Alexandre Lacazette (probably somewhere between £13m - £15m - again, is this a fair price?).

I've just thumped Fulham 4-1 in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final, and now have Blackpool in the fourth round of the F.A. Cup. Its time to start building some momentum I think.

[arsenalthebest]

I've never posted a screen grab from FM, is it easy?

easy enough you need to upload the DB that you created Adelaide on (it should be in Sports Interactive - Football Manager 2015 - Editor Data) to a file sharing site like mediafire.com then post the link on here.

[thomit]

@thomit

Thanks for the advice. I've gone for CM - defend, and I'll report back on that in due course. I've started to think about the future a little more, and have targeted a couple of midfield youngsters in John Hou Saeter and Kristoffer Ajer, as well as David Kownacki (identified by my scouts and looks ok for a 17 year old). How has everyone else planned for the future?

I've arranged for Andre Ayew to join on a free transfer in the summer, and currently am negotiating for Lucas Romero (is £7.5m a fair price?) and Alexandre Lacazette (probably somewhere between £13m - £15m - again, is this a fair price?).

I've just thumped Fulham 4-1 in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final, and now have Blackpool in the fourth round of the F.A. Cup. Its time to start building some momentum I think.

Lucas Romero is good future (and present) planning. I'd happily pay £20M for him if I had to - but have never payed more than £15M in any of my saves so far. Can play several roles in DM or CM position, is a pretty good midfielder from the beginning, and soon turns out one of the best midfielders in the game. Apart from that, it depends on if you want to stick to the 4231 or not, and what roles you have in mind. Personally I have abandoned the 4231 Wide in favour of the 4312 Narrow, and lately to my take on a "Invincibles" tactic, which in my version is a 4-1-2-3 DM Asymmetric (L).

And as usual; if you're looking for a strong, Complete Forward type of a striker to replace Giroud or Welbeck, get Aboubakar before anyone else does. Or Lukaku, if his price is still acceptable.

[Nonlondoner]

Cool, thanks. Will give that a go at the weekend. I'm about to close down to install Windows 10.

[KingLara]

Season 4 March

League Cup Final

ARSENAL 2

Aboubakar 4 Balanta 12

MAN CITY 0

Match Stats Possession 55/45 Shots 13(7)/19(6) Corners 11/4 Fouls 10/21 CCC 3/0 WW 1/0 YC 0/0 Passes 419/304

Man of the Match- Bernard (8.9)

Arsenal – Cech Clichy Aurier Warner Balanta Ramsey Mascherano Bernard (Romero 70) Chamberlain (Tielemans 84) Gotze (Wilshere 70) Aboubakar

Subs Not Used: Szczesny Chambers Koscielny Ozil

Man City – Hart Rodriguez Zabaleta Mangala Maicon (Vezo 66) Ayew Nasri Bishop (Hulk 71) Depay Fierro (Sturridge 61)

Subs Not Used: Woods Smith Navas Dzeko

We secured out second League cup in four years with a comfortable win against City. Aboubakar and Balanta put us 2-0 ahead after 12 minutes and we just sat back and took it. City had plenty of shots but badly missed the absent Aguero and never really tested Petr Cech. 21 fouls by City and not a single card.

FA Cup Quarter Final

ARSENAL 4

Bernard 29 Aboubakar 51 55 Pepe 61

SOUTHAMPTON 0

On paper not the easiest game. I played a second string with the Sampdoria game a few days after. The saints never really turned up. They failed to have a shot in the first half and only managed 2 in the second. Aboubakar hit a brace after coming on at half time for the injured Welbeck. Pepe who is cup-tied from the Champions League scored a well taken header from a corner.

Champions League 1st Knockout Round 2nd Leg.

ARSENAL 3

Chamberlain 9 27 41

SAMPDORIA 2

Vivani 27 Sorenson 86

There would be no fourth Champions league in a row as we very disappointingly crashed out in the last 16. I took a risk and opted for a more attacking central midfield of Ramsey and Wilshere rather than mixing them up with Mascherano and Romero. We were rampant at the start and Viviano made a number of good saves after Chamberlain had given us the lead with a smart toe-poke. However Vivani levelled for Sampdoria but Chamberlain was on hand again to get an instant reply. He finished off his hat-trick and again we were denied by the brilliance of Viviano to extend the lead. I shut up shop with 20 minutes to go but having just used my last sub Sorenson glanced a header over Szczesny for 3-2 and we were out on away goals.

Premier League

EVERTON 0

ARSENAL 0

After the disappointment of the Sampdoria game we faced a tricky trip to Everton who had won their last 5 home games including a 5-1 victory over United. I went back to basics and neither side created a clear cut chance. Take a point.

Premier League

ARSENAL 4

Aboubakar 38 42 56 59

WEST BROM 0

A good routine win. Aboubakar’s four goals took his tally for the season past 40. The Albion failed to have a shot in the second half.

Premier League

ARSENAL 4

Aboubakar 5 17 31 Balanta 25

MAN UNITED 0

After the International break we hosted an out of sorts United. De Gea made two world class saves in the opening 20 minutes as we were rampant. We maintained a good level in the second half but without the goals. Good way to end the month.

League Table

10 clear of Chelsea but play them soon. Liverpool still in the mix for fourth. In the relegation zone Hull are 11 points off safety, Aston Villa 9.

1. Arsenal Played 31 Points 80 GD 74

2. Chelsea Played 32 Points 70 GD 36

3. Man City Played 32 Points 62 GD 37

4. Man Utd Played 32 Points 62 GD 12

5. Tottenham Played 30 Points 60 GD 27

Other News

FA Cup Semi-Final draw – ARSENAL vs Man United / Watford vs Swansea

With 7 goals Aboubakar won player of the month. Balanta came 3rd. I won manager of the month. Nitcham won young player.

The race for the Premier League is hotting up with six games left. Norwich and Bournemouth should go up. But from 3rd to 14th the gap is only 10 points.

England

A good win over Germany 3-0. Sturridge Sterling and oddly a John Stones penalty beat the greyed out players.

April fixtures

Less busy than other years obviously. Two tough games to start.

4th – PL – Tottenham (A)

7th – PL – Chelsea (A)

14th - PL – Burnley (H)

18th - PL – West Ham (A)

22nd – FAsf – Man Utd (N)

28th – PL – Stoke (H)

[arsenalthebest]

Just started my third season question is will last seasons top scorer Chuba Akpom be a one season wonder & will I regret turning down Chelsea's £30m offer for him?

[Hnansen]

Hello!

I am looking for some advice on how to play well against the other top teams (City, United, Chelsea etc.). Im generally doing very well against all other teams, but i just can't seem to get any results from the big teams.

Do you have any tactical advice?

[arsenalthebest]

Pre-Season/August Report

13/08/16| Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Howes 6.9 RB: Bellerin 7 RCB: Bartley 7.1( Chamber 62/6.9) LCB: Chester 7.3 LB: Taylor 7.9(MoM) MCR: Wilshere© 6.8( Morata 62/6.7) MCL: Fletcher 7.1 AMR: Piatti 7.9 AMC: Brownhill 6.9( Vidal 45) AML: Wellington Silva 7.2 STC: Iwobi 6.8

Arsenal 2 ( Taylor 46 , Piatti 81 | Asst: Wellington Silva x1)

Q.P.R 0

20/08/16 | Barclays Premier League | Etidhad

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.7 RB: Chambers 6.8 RCB: Dedé© 7 LCB: Koscielny 7 LWB: Gibbs 6.6( Coleman 45/8.2) MCR: Wilshere 7.5( Alexis 78) MCL: Vidal 6.5( Ramsey 45/6.8) AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 6.7 AMCL: De Bruyne 7( Swap With Alexis 78) STCR: Morata 7 STCL: Akpom 6.8

Arsenal 3 ( Morata 15 , Coleman 50 , Hart O/G 62 , Wilshere Inj 78) | Assts: De Bruyne/Akpom x1)

Man City 2 ( Silva 31 , Isco 51)

27/08/16 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.1 RB: Chambers 7.9( Ward 70/6.7) RCB: Paulista 8.1 LCB: Chester 8.2 LB: Taylor 7.1 MCR: Fletcher 7.4( Vidal 70/6.8) MCL: Wilshere 7.6 AMR: Wellington Silva 9(MoM) AML: Young 9 STCR: Morata 7( Lukaku 45/7.2) STCL: Akpom 9

Arsenal 4 ( Akpom 11 , Morata 29 , Lukaku 61 , Wellington Silva 70 , Akpom Inj 72) | Assts: Akpom/Wellington Silva x1 , Young x2)

Aston Villa 0

[ajw10]

Recently finished my first season with Arsenal (on an self updated update, so I have Cech). Won the league, got knocked out of the quarters of the FA Cup by Leicester (!) and lost in the semi finals of the CL to eventual winners Bayern Munich.

All in all a good season. I always have transfers off in the first window so January was the only period I could make any changes. Out went an injury plagued Jack Wilshere to Arsene Wenger's Real Madrid for £35m, in came transfer listed Verratti for £11m.

Going forward we were absolutely amazing with Chamberlain netting 29 from the right wing position. Alexis got 27 and Giroud 30. Despite this I want another forward in, particularly as Giroud wasn't a big enough threat in the big games, his lack of mobility was a big problem.

I have two deals in the pipeline, either I get Bale for £25m and play Alexis up front or Benzema for £29m. I'm leaning towards Benzema due to the realistic nature of the transfer and because I've never managed him before. Thoughts? I have £100m+ to spend so money isn't an issue, although I don't want to go mad and ruin the save.

Ins 2015/16

Gaya £13.5m

Samper £9m

Outs 2015/16

Debuchy £10m

Rosicky free

Ospina £5.5m

Monreal £16m

I'm looking to ship out Walcott due to his injuries and Joel Campbell. My squad currently looks like this

GK Cech/Szczesny

FB - A Bellerin/Jenkinson

CB - D Mertesacker/Chambers

CB - X Koscielny/Gabriel

FB - S Gaya/Gibbs

B2B Ramsey/Verratti

DLP - D Verratti/Arteta/Samper

RMD - A Chamberlain/Walcott

AP - S Ozil/Cazorla

IF - A Alexis/Cazorla

AF - A Giroud/Welbeck

Looking at it, I could probably do with a wide player more, although I have Gnabry and Maitland-Niles in the youth team that are promising. Plus Welbeck can play more out wide if Benzema joins.

I would like a back up to Ramsey too, it all depends on whether I can loan out Samper or not.

[arsenalthebest]

September Report

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.2 RB: Bellerin 7.1 RCB: Chester 7 LCB: Bartley 7( Dede 68/6.9) LB: Mena 8(MoM) MCR: Fletcher© 6.7( Vidal 56/6.7) MCL: Zelalem 7.4 AMR: Wellington Silva 6.8 AML: Young 6.9 STCR: Akpom 7.6 STCL: Iwobi 6.9( Lukaku 45/6.9)

Arsenal 2 ( Akpom 22 , Lukaku 74 | Assts: Akpom/Iwobi x1)

Crystal Palace 0

14/09/16 | UEFA Champions League( Group Stage) | Celtic Park

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.4 RB: Bellerin 7.7 RCB: Chester 7.5( Dede 89) LCB: Da Graca 8 LB: Mena 7.7 MCR: Ramsey 9 MCL: Fletcher© 6.7( Vidal 56/7) AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 9.4( Alexis 89) AMC: De Bruyne 9 AML: Munir 9.5 STC: Akpom 9.7(MoM)

Arsenal 6 ( De Bruyne 36 , Akpom 45 , Munir 61 , Akpom 77 , Munir 87 , Akpom 88 | Assts: ( Munir/Akpom x1 , Oxlade-Chamberlain x4)

Celtic 2 ( Snodgrass 7 , Armstong 18)

17/09/16 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruuddy 6.9 RB: Coleman 6.8 RCB: Dede 7.3 LCB: Koshcielny 8.5 LB: Ward 6.6 MCR: Wilshere 8.3 MCL: Vidal 7.3 AMR: Alexis© 9(MoM) AMC: Piatti 8.5 AML: Young 7.2 STC: Kane 8.8

Arsenal 4 ( Kane 17 , Vidal PEN 28 , Koshcielny 32 , Kane 90+1 | Assts: Alexis x3 , Wilshere x1)

Liverpool 2 ( Sturridge 82 & 90)

21/09/16 | Capital One Cup (3rd Round) | Griffin Park

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Delac 7.3 RB: Chambers 7.9 RCB: Bartley 7.1 LCB: Da Graca 6.7( Dede 45/7) LB: Taylor© 7.6 MCR: Bielik 6.8( Vidal 63/6.9) MCL: Crowley 6.9 AMR: Maitland-Niles 7.6 AML: Wellington Silva 7( Alexis 63/6.6) STCR: Iwobi 8.5 STCL: Morata 9(MoM)

Arsenal 3 ( Maitland-Niles 58 , Morata 63 & 75 | Assts: Iwobi x2 , Wellington Silva x1)

Brentford 0

24/09/16 | Barclays Premier League | Stamford Bridge

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.9(MoM) RB: Coleman 6.4 RCB: Gabriel 6.8( Bartley 68/6.9) LCB: Koshcielny 7.2 LB: Mena 6.7 MCR: Crowley 6.8 MCL: Vidal 7.1 AMR: Alexis 6.5©( Young 45 - Akpom 49.6.9) AML: Munir 7 STCR: Kane 7.1 STCL: Morata 6.9

Arsenal 1 ( Kane 19 , Young Inj 49 | Asst: Munir)

Chelsea 0

27/09/16 | UEFA Champions League( Group Stage) | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Ruddy 7.2 RB: Coleman 7 RCB: Koscielny 7 LCB: Gabriel 6.1( Chester 75/6.9) LB: Mena 7 MCR: Crowley 7.8( Fletcher 67/6.3) MCL: Vidal 7.2 AMR: De Bruyne 9.3 AMC: Ramsey 7.3( Piatti 45/8.2) AML: Oxlade-Chamberlain 8.1 STC: Lukaku 9.5(MoM)

Arsenal 6 ( Lukaku 1 & 6 , De Bruyne 10 , Ramsey 16 , Piatti 47 , Lukaku 83 | Assts: Oxlade-Chamberlain/ De Bruyne x3)

Feyenoord 3 ( Smit 7 , Toornstra PEN 74 , Manu 86)

[notam]

No more messi in Golden Ball..

No more messi in Golden Ball

[KingLara]

FM15 Season 4

April

Premier League

TOTTENHAM 1

Suso 36

ARSENAL 1

Chamberlain 59

The fans may have been “devastated” but I was happy with a decent draw.

Premier League

CHELSEA 0

ARSENAL 0

In similar circumstances to the real life game at the Emirates this season. A draw kept us 11 points clear with 5 games left. We had the best chance though but Courtois pulled off a stunning reflex save.

Premier League

ARSENAL 6

Chambers 28 Bernard 50 69 Aboubakar 65 83 Balanta 85

BURNLEY 1

Ings 16

After two away games against the top five we faced Burnley at the Emirates On 88 goals with 5 games to go I went all out attack. We had 15 shots in the first 25 minutes but trailed 1-0. Although Chambers got us level I was furious at half time. The second half was a big improvement. Five well taken goals. We played so well I didn’t make a single substitution.

Premier League

WEST HAM 2

Mceachran 67 Poyet 72(pen)

ARSENAL 2

Aboubakar 4(pen) Chamberlain 77 Romero s/o 74

A third trip to a London rival in four games. We were missing Ozil with a leg injury. We had the better of the first half but the hammers had the better of the second. Both sides had 13 shots with 6 on target. In the first half we had 61% possession. In the second the west ham had 57. A draw the fair outcome. Romero would miss the FA Cup semi-final.

FA Cup Semi-Final

[Wembley]

MAN UNITED 0

ARSENAL 1

Aboubakar 106

After Extra Time

We scraped through to the FA Cup final after beating United in extra time. We were still missing Ozil and I swapped the keepers as well as starting Welbeck for Aboubakar. We had 30 attempts during the game but were wasteful. Finally Aboubakar came off the bench to hit his 48th of the season and send us into the final against Watford.

Premier League

ARSENAL 4

Aboubakar 5 67 Chamberlain 7 Bernard 14

STOKE 0

A good routine win against Stoke. Aboubakar hitting his 50th of the season. We dropped off in the second half but the job was done.

League Table

The distraction of the Champions League semi final saw United only get 4 points from 4 games and slip to 6th. In the relegation battle., Villa are 2 points off safety.

1. Arsenal Played 36 Points 89 GD 83

2. Man City Played 36 Points 71 GD 41

3. Chelsea Played 36 Points 71 GD 33

4. Liverpool Played 36 Points 70 GD 27

5. Tottenham Played 36 Points 66 GD 25

Other News

Depay won player of the month. Ryan Kent won young player while victories over United and Chelsea saw Liverpool manager Luxembergo win manager of the month.

Bournemouth won the Championship and go up with Norwich. Still 8 teams can make the play offs with one game to go.

The champions League semis are finely poised. United lead Barca 1-0 heading to Spain while Porto and Juventus drew the first leg 1-1

May fixtures

Less busy than other years obviously. Two tough games to start.

5th – PL – Nottingham Forrest (H)

13th – PL – Southampton (A)

19th - FAfinal – Watford (N)

England

31st – F – Ivory Coast (H)

[arsenalthebest]

March Report

01/03/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Anfield

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.8 RB: Güllenbeck 6.9 RCB: Paulo Sérgio 7.4( Chambers 74/6.7) LCB: Hecker 7.5 LB: Tagliafico 6.9 MCR: Wilshere© 6.6( Munir 41/8.7 - Swap with L.Long 41) MCL: Valle 7.2 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 8.5 AMC: L.Long 7.8 AML: Sterling 9(MoM) STC: J.Long 45( Lukaku 45/6.8)

Arsenal 4 ( L.Long 2 , Munir 44 & PEN 47 , Mingolet O/G 51 | Assts: Oxlade-Chamberlain x2 , Sterling x1)

Liverpool 2 ( Sturridge 43 , Jefferson O/G 57)

04/03/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates'

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 7.3 RB: Logan 6.6( Chamber 66/6.8) RCB: Rüdiger 7.3 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 7.1 LWB: Tagliafico 7.4 MCR: Crowley 9(MoM) MCL: Valle 6.8 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain© 7.5 AMCL: Beale 8.1( Munir 66/6.7) STCR: Rosa 7.3( Lukaku 71/6.6) STCL: J.Long 6.4

Arsenal 3 ( Crowley 4 , Beale 12 , Rosa 35 | Assts: Tagliafico/Oxlade-Chamberlain/Crowley x1)

Sunderland 1 ( Pasalic 38)

14/03/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Queens Park Rangers Stadium

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.9 RB: Hecker© 6.6( Chambers 73/6.8) RCB: Rüdiger 8.3 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 7 LWB: Tagliafico 6.8 MCR: Crowley 6.9 MCL: Valle 7.6 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 6.9 AMCL: L.Long 6.8 STCR: Rosa 8.8(MoM) STCL: J.Long 6.8( Munir 7.3/6.7)

Arsenal 2 ( Rosa 34 & 44 | Assts: Oxlade-Chamberlain/Crowley x1)

Q.P.R 0

18/03/2020| UEFA Champios League (1st Knock-Out Round 2nd Leg) | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.9 RB: Güllenbeck 7 RCB: Hecker© 7.9 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 7.2( Rüdiger 67/6.8) LWB: Targett 6.8 MCR: Crowley 7 MCL: Valle 6.8 AMR: Malcom 7.4 AMCL: L.Long 7.4 STCR: Rosa 6.8( Lukaku 67/6.6) STCL: J.Long 8.8(MoM)

Arsenal 3(6) ( J.Long 3 & 25 , Malcom 72 | Assts: L.Long/Malcom x1)

Sporting 1(3) ( Mario PEN 6)

21/03/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 7.3 RB: Güllenbeck 8 RCB: Paulo Sérgio 6.8( Rüdiger 7) LCB: Hecker 7.9 LWB: Tatgett 8.6 MCR: Beale 6.9( Mangolia 71/6.8) MCL: Moncur 7.1 AMR: Malcom 6.9( Munir 57/6.8) AMCL: Zouak© 8.3 STCR: Rosa 9.2 STCL: Lukaku 9.7(MoM)

Arsenal 4 ( Lukaku 11 , Rosa 47 , Lukaku74 & 83 | Assts: Rosa x2 , Lukaku/Targett x1)

Ipswich 0 ( Heath Inj 42)

[arsenalthebest]

April Report

01/04/2020 | UEFA Champions League( Qtr-Final 1st Leg) | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Hamilton 6.8 RB: Güllenbeck 6.6 RCB: Paulo Sérgio 7.3 LCB: Hecker 8.4(MoM) LWB: Targett 6.8 MCR: Beale 7.6 MCL: Moncur 7 AMR: Sterling 8.2 AMCL: Zouak©6.8 STCR: Munir 7.4 STCL: Malcom 6.7

Arsenal 2 ( Munir 54 , Hecker 62 | Assts: Beale/Sterling x1)

Man Utd 1 ( Rondon 45+1 , Jones S/O 60)

04/04/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Madejski

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milamkovic-Savic 7 RB: Güllenbeck 7.3 RCB: Paulo Sergio 7.6 LCB: Hecker© 7.7( Rüdiger 78) LWB: Tagliafico 7.1( Chambers 45/6.9) MCR: L.Long 7.4 MCL: Moncur 6.9 AMR: Sterling 8.9(MoM) AMCL: Beale 7.6( Rosa 45/6.4) STCR: Munir 7.2 STCL: Malcom 7.3

Arsenal 3 ( Munir PEN 10 , Beale 12 , Malcom 30 | Assts: Sterling x2 , Munir x1)

Reading 0

07/04/2020 | UEFA Champions League( Qtr-Final 2nd Leg)

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic-Savic 6.9 RB: Güllenbeck 6.9 RCB: Rüdiger 7.3 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 8.5 LWB: Targett 6.8 MCR: Wilshere© 6.5 MCL: Valle 7.1 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 8.1 AMCL: L.Long 6.5( Sterling 66/6.7) STCR: Lukaku 7.8 STCL: J.Long 6.4 Munir 61/6.9

Arsenal1(3) ( Lukaku 75 | Asst: Oxlade-Chamberlain)

Man Utd 1(2) ( Mkhitaryan 51)

11/04/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Molineux

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Milankovic-Savic 7 RB: Güllenbeck 7.2 RCB: Hecker© 8.4 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 6.9( Chambers 66/6.8) LWB: Targett 6.7 MCR: Sterling 7.5 MCL: Valle 6.6( Wilshere 62/6.8) AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 7.4 AMCL: Beale 8 STCR: Rosa 6.9( Malcom 70/7.3) STCL: L.Long

9(MoM)

Arsenal 4 ( Oxlade-Chamberlain

PEN 15 , Rosa 30 , L.Long 67 , Malcom 90+1 | Assts: L.Long x2 , Oxlade-Chamberlain/Beale x1 )

Wolves 1 ( Dicko 23)

14/04/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 7.2 RB: Güllenbeck 6.8 RCB: Hecker 6.7( Rüdiger 70) LCB: Paulo Sérgio 7.1 LWB: Tagliafico 6.9 MCR: Petersen 7 MCL: Valle 6.8 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 7.9(MoM) AMCL: Anderson 6.6 STCR: Lukaku© 6 STCL: J.Long 7

Arsenal 2 ( J.Loong 40 , Oxlade-Chamberlain 52 | Assts: Tagliafico/Petersen x1)

22/04/2020 | UEFA Champions League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.7 RB: Güllenbeck 6.7( Rüdiger 80) RCB: Chambers 7 LCB: Hecker 7 LWB: Targett 6.7 MCR: Law 7.1 MCL: Mangólia 6.9( Moncur 75/6.9) AMR: Sterling 6.9 AMCL: Beale 6.7( Munir 45/8.7) STCR: Lukaku© 6.9 STCL: J.Long 7

Arsenal 3 ( J.Long 41 , Munir PEN 52 & PEN 58 | Assts: Sterling/Lukaku x1)

Real Madrid 3 ( Kroos 28 , Volland 34 , Sakho 56)

25/04/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Etihad

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.8 RB: Güllenbeck( Paulo Sergio 70/6.8) RCB: Chambers 6.8( Swap with Paulo Sérgio 70) LCB: Hecker 6.8 LWB: Tagliafico 7.9 MCR: Law 6.7 MC: Valle 6.8( Moncur 72/6.8) MCL: Sterling 7.2 AMC: Beale 6.4( Munir 56/6.6) STCR: Lukaku© 7 STC: J.Long 7.3

Arsenal 2 ( Lukaku 15 , J.Long 62 | Assts: Sterling/Tagliafico x1)

Man City 2 ( Tielemans 17 , Cartabia 71)

28/04/2020 | UEFA Champions League | Santiago Bernabéu

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.8 RB: Güllenbeck 7 RCB: Rüdiger 6.8 LCB: Paulo Sergio 6.7( Xulu 75/6.7) LWB: Targett 6.3 MCR: Crowley 6.5 MCL: McCarthy 6.9 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 7.5 AMCL: Beale 6.5( Malcom 51/6.6) STCR: Lukaku© 6.7 STCL: Munir 7

Arsenal 2(5) ( Oxlade-Chamberlain 51 , Munir 80 | Assts: Güllenbeck/McCarthy x1)

Real Madrid 3(6) ( Ramsey 9 , Ronaldo 19 , Volland 59)

[numero uno gunner]

Hi all.

I've finally got around to finishing my first season. We finished 3rd in the league in the end, five points behind champions Chelsea. I need to sort the away form out, as we only dropped 6 points at home with 3 draws - Swansea, Chelsea and Everton (who finished 4th) were the only teams to leave the Emirates with anything. However, we suffered 7 defeats away, and frustratingly they were mainly to sides we should be beating. We were far more consistent in the second half of the season (just like real life then!), and I'm hoping we can build on that and hit the ground running domestically next season.

We lost 10-9 on penalties to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup final after an exhilarating 3-3 draw. I thought we played well to win it, especially after having Balanta sent off 9 minutes into extra time, but it wasn't to be. Chelsea were the dominant force this season in England, and now we need to raise our levels to match them. The F.A.Cup was an absolute disaster, as we lost 2-1 to Blackpool. We had so many injuries (I'll come back to that in a moment) and I ended up putting out a weakened side and paying for it. No complaints whatsoever about this result.

However, the Champions League was utterly incredible. After losing 2-0 away in Leverkusen, we scraped through 3-2 on aggregate after extra time, with a 3-0 win at home. Juventus awaited in the last 8, and what followed was just madness. We found ourselves 4-1 down inside 30 minutes in Turin in the first leg, and ended up losing 5-2. I decided to just go for it in the return leg, and a goal blitz followed, with us 6-0 up at half time. They pulled one back, but we went through 8-6 on aggregate in a crazy tie. Barcelona in the semis, and a 3-0 defeat at the Nou Camp, and to be honest it could have been a cricket score. I went for it in the second leg, deciding losing but having a go was better than losing and not being brave, and somehow a Danny Welbeck inspired performance (he got a hat-trick) saw us win 4-0, with a very nervy 20 minutes to hang on after the last went in. Bayern then beat Chelsea in the other semi, and I started to believe this was going to be our year. That belief was shaken badly when they battered us for the first half of the final, but we kept them out and went in at half time all square. 6 minutes into the second half, the turning point happened, with Rafinha getting himself sent off for a second bookable offence. A man up soon turned to a goal up as Laurent Koscielney netted, only to be pegged back by a Thomas Muller penalty. It was tense, and time for someone to make themselves a hero. Up step Alexis Sanchez, returning from a 4 month injury lay off to score the winner in the 86th minute, and sparking wild celebrations. An unexpected win, but we'll take it!

Overall, I'm hugely happy with the season. Injuries hampered us massively at times, with Arteta, Romero, Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, Sanchez, Walcott, Giroud and Aboubakar all out injured for at least two months each, and there was a month spell where they were all out at the same time. Insane.

Performance wise, Danny Welbeck finished as our top scorer with 23 goals, followed by Giroud with 20 (and 16 assists), Oxlade-Chamberlain with 19 (as well as 19 assists), Sanchez with 16 and Walcott with 15. I'm pleased the goals were spread around the forward players, and hope that continues. Aboubakar got 8 goals in 7 starts and 5 substitute appearances, so I think he would also have got to double figures had it not been for injury.

In terms of the squad, no one left in January in the end, but Vincent Aboubakar joined from Porto for £18.25m, and Lucas Romero from Velez for £7.75m. I'm happy with the contributions made by both players, although neither has nailed down a first team spot just yet. Andre Ayew is about to join on a free from Marsailles as well. The current squad looks like this now:

GK: Szczesney / Ospina / Martinez

DR: Debuchy / Chambers / Jenkinson / Bellerin

DC: Koscielney / Gabriel

DC: Balanta / Mertesacker / Vallejo

DL: Monreal / Gibbs

MC (B2B): Ramsey / Wilshere / Tielemans / Diaby / Hou Saeter

MC (CM - D): Arteta / Romero / Flamini / Coquelin / Ajer

AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain / Walcott / Gnarby / Campbell

AMC: Ozil / Cazorla / Rosicky / Gnarby / Ademoglu

AML: Alexis / Welbeck / Ayew / Podolski

ST: Giroud / Welbeck / Aboubakar / Sanogo / Akpom

Now, I'm aware that this looks like a huge squad, but I've included the players returning from loan duty, as well as some of the young lads who I think might have a bright future at the club. So, I'm now looking at who needs to move on, and I think its going to be these players:

Permanent transfers:

Podolski

Campbell

Flamini

Coquelin

Sanogo

Mertesacker

Diaby - Released

Rosicky - Retired

Loans for experience:

Hou Saeter

Akpom

Ademoglu

Decisions to be made:

Jenkinson - Is he going to be better than Chambers at RB?

Bellerin - How will he develop? Is it worth sending him out on loan again or shall I look to move him on now?

Ajer - An interesting one. Would it be better to send him out somewhere on a season long loan where he will play regularly, or shall I keep him as back-up for my CM-d position?

Ideally, I want a squad with:

3 GKs

2 RBs

4 CBs

2 LBs

3 B2Bs

3 CM-d

2 AMLs

2 AMCs

2 AMRs

1 Forward utility player

3 STs

I now need to decide where I can improve the squad, and who I am going to target to bring in. I'm also going to spend some of my transfer funds on youngsters for the future who I can develop. Any must-haves?

[Spiegel]

Decisions to be made:

Jenkinson - Is he going to be better than Chambers at RB? No.

Bellerin - How will he develop? Is it worth sending him out on loan again or shall I look to move him on now? Turns out decent, if unspectacular. I'd send him on loan.

Ajer - An interesting one. Would it be better to send him out somewhere on a season long loan where he will play regularly, or shall I keep him as back-up for my CM-d position? I'd say he's too young to loan out, give him some tutoring and some game time. If you're happy with his personality (Resolute/Professional), then maybe loan him out.

8letterrule

[arsenalthebest]

March/End Of Season Report

02/05/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.9 RB: Güllenbeck 6.9 RCB: Rüdiger 7.7 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 7.7(MoM)( Xulu 82) LWB: Targett 6.8 MCR: Crowley 7.3 MCL: McCarthy 6.9 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 6.9 AMCL: Beale 7( Rosa 41/6.5 - J.Long 82) STCR: Lukaku© 7 STCL: Munir 7

Arsenal 2 ( Lukaku 15 , Beale Inj 41 , Munir PEN 54 | Assts: ( Beale x1)

Aston Villa 0

10/05/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Goodison Park

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Hamilton 6.7 RB: Logan 6.3 RCB: Omrani 7 LCB: Chambers 7 LWB: Targett 6.7 MCR: Anderson 7 MCL: Moncur 8.6 AMR: Rui Miguel 7.3 AMCL: Länge 6.5 STCR: Givanildo 9(MoM) STCL: Konté 6.7

Arsenal 3 ( Givanildo 21 & 40 , Moncur 49 | Assts: Anderson/Rui Miguel/Lange x1)

Everton 3 ( Barkley 26 , Robertson 37 , McGeady 48)

Under 21's

Under 18's

[arsenalthebest]

start of the 2020 summer transfer window and only Ox remains of the original senior squad players Zelalem (who I re-signed) this season and Crowley(last season) are also in the senior squad & will rotate in the cm position

[lomekian]

8letterrule

Bellerin's performances for me massively over-achieve compared to his attributes.

With a CA of about 140 (tutured twice) I think, he averages 8.61 with 6 goals and 10 assists in 20 games as RWB (A) for me in my second season.

[thomit]

Bellerin's performances for me massively over-achieve compared to his attributes.

With a CA of about 140 (tutured twice) I think, he averages 8.61 with 6 goals and 10 assists in 20 games as RWB (A) for me in my second season.

Not necessarily over-acheivement; his speed stats alone makes for a very good wingback. If his CA is approx. 140 as you say, that is plenty. A 180 CA player does not necessarily make for a better wingback, he would probably be more well rounded in his attributes, but not necessarily be a better wingback.

Personally, I have kept Bellerin. After I sold Debuchy, he and Chambers now rotate in in the DR slot, and both are among the best in the league.

[lomekian]

Not necessarily over-acheivement; his speed stats alone makes for a very good wingback. If his CA is approx. 140 as you say, that is plenty. A 180 CA player does not necessarily make for a better wingback, he would probably be more well rounded in his attributes, but not necessarily be a better wingback.

Personally, I have kept Bellerin. After I sold Debuchy, he and Chambers now rotate in in the DR slot, and both are among the best in the league.

I agree entirely...but it does amuse me that he has the best AVR and second best assists in the league!

[leschko]

Hey Guys,

yesterday i started a new Save since i got bore of my older ones. I wanted to start with the Gunners and wanted them to play fast & creative football just like in real life (in my opinion). Well i started to set up an 4-2-3-1 and fit all my players in good roles. I made some additions to the team with most of them very young looking for the upcoming years: W. Carvalho, Ademoglu, Ayer, J. Vallejo, T. Probst.

Now, what my problem is that i can't find a good working tactic that lets the team play fluid and attacking without conceding too much goals, özil is also not performing... could you guys help me out with your opinions or even a good working tactic? thanks...

[thomit]

You'll find plenty of people's Arsenal tactics described in this very thread if you go back through the pages. Otherwise, the Tactics & Training forum is the place for this kind of questions.

[numero uno gunner]

@Spiegel - Thanks for the advice. I couldn't get any takers for either Jenkinson or Bellerin on a permanent deal, so both are currently out on loan. Interestingly, I've just had an offer from Barcelona for Debuchy, who is still my first choice right back. I've negotiated them up to £18.5m + 25% of next sale, but am unsure on whether or not to take it. With £72m sat in my transfer budget (more on that in a moment) its not as if I need the money, but at 30, is there a younger, better alternative out there?

I've just hit January in my second season on my save. Both the European Super Cup and the Club World Championship have been added to the trophy cabinet, and we've progressed to the 4th round in the F.A. Cup, semi finals in the Capital One Cup, and the last 16 in the Champions League. Our World Club Championship jaunt has left us with a bit of a backlog of fixtures. I'm currently sat third, 7 points behind leaders Liverpool, but with three games in hand. Stoke are the only team to have left the Emirates with anything this season, where they stole all three points with a typical smash and grab, and I've suffered defeats at both Anfield (1-0) and Old Trafford (2-1). However, we have beaten Man Utd 4-1 at home, and followed that up with a 3-0 home victory against Man City as well. If we can keep this form up, we are in with a serious chance of winning the title.

In terms of my squad, I'm now trying to identify where I can improve it (suggestions welcome). It currently looks like this:

GK: Szczesny / Ospina

DR: Debuchy / Chambers

DC: Koscielny / Gabriel

DC: Balanta / Vallejo

DL: Monreal / Gibbs

B2B: Ramsey / Wilshere / Tielemans

CMd: Gil Romero / Romero / Arteta

AMR: Walcott / Oxlade-Chamberlain

AMC: Ozil / Cazorla / Gnarby

AML: Sanchez / Ayew

ST: Aboubakar / Giroud / Welbeck

I've got some youngsters coming through as well, but would definitely welcome any suggestions on that front as well. I seem to currently have a plethora of young central midfielders, but not many players in other positions.

How is everyone else getting on?

[thomit]

@Spiegel - Thanks for the advice. I couldn't get any takers for either Jenkinson or Bellerin on a permanent deal, so both are currently out on loan. Interestingly, I've just had an offer from Barcelona for Debuchy, who is still my first choice right back. I've negotiated them up to £18.5m + 25% of next sale, but am unsure on whether or not to take it. With £72m sat in my transfer budget (more on that in a moment) its not as if I need the money, but at 30, is there a younger, better alternative out there?

I've just hit January in my second season on my save. Both the European Super Cup and the Club World Championship have been added to the trophy cabinet, and we've progressed to the 4th round in the F.A. Cup, semi finals in the Capital One Cup, and the last 16 in the Champions League. Our World Club Championship jaunt has left us with a bit of a backlog of fixtures. I'm currently sat third, 7 points behind leaders Liverpool, but with three games in hand. Stoke are the only team to have left the Emirates with anything this season, where they stole all three points with a typical smash and grab, and I've suffered defeats at both Anfield (1-0) and Old Trafford (2-1). However, we have beaten Man Utd 4-1 at home, and followed that up with a 3-0 home victory against Man City as well. If we can keep this form up, we are in with a serious chance of winning the title.

In terms of my squad, I'm now trying to identify where I can improve it (suggestions welcome). It currently looks like this:

GK: Szczesny / Ospina

DR: Debuchy / Chambers

DC: Koscielny / Gabriel

DC: Balanta / Vallejo

DL: Monreal / Gibbs

B2B: Ramsey / Wilshere / Tielemans

CMd: Gil Romero / Romero / Arteta

AMR: Walcott / Oxlade-Chamberlain

AMC: Ozil / Cazorla / Gnarby

AML: Sanchez / Ayew

ST: Aboubakar / Giroud / Welbeck

I've got some youngsters coming through as well, but would definitely welcome any suggestions on that front as well. I seem to currently have a plethora of young central midfielders, but not many players in other positions.

How is everyone else getting on?

Left back and keeper looks to be your next targets for improvement. Szczesny is good, but not world class, and you'll need world class sooner or later. And Monreal is getting on, and Gibbs is rather injury prone.

Otherwise it looks good, I think. I see you managed to keep Walcott; for me he demands a ridiculous wage when new contract talks begins, way over what he's worth compared to the rest .... I wouldn't give him what he wanted, so he was sold. I presume you granted him a hefty wage? For me, it wasn't a big loss; Joel Campbell has been amazing for me on the right wing and competing with the Ox for that spot. But then I play a slightly different formation now (4-1-2-3-DM Asymmetric L), so the right winger starts in the midfield strata, as a WM/attack.

I can't find a place for Gnabry; he is a completely different sort of player to Cazorla/Özil so not an option for me in the AMC slot. I tried to re-train him for a WM/attack role on the right, but he's not doing very well there. Will probably have to let him go. If put in the AMC slot, he should be a shadow striker, or a AM/attack ... and that's not what I want.

[arsenalthebest]

Pre-Season/August Report

TACTICS

4-3-3-1 mat

GK: G-D

RB: FB-D

RCB: CD-D

LCB: CD-D

LB: FB-D

MCR: AP-S

MCL: CM-D

AMR: W-A/S or IF-A/S

AMC: T-A

AML: W-A/S or IF-A/S

STC: P-A or TM-A

Instuctions:

Retain Possession , Pass Into Space , Work Ball Into Box , Whipped Crosses , Exploit The Flanks , Play Wider , Push Higher Up , Prevent Short GK Distribution , Higher Tempo

NARROW 4-1-2-3 DM

GK: G-D

RB: FB-D

RCD: CD-D

LCB: CD-D

LB: WB-S/A

DMCR: DM-S

MCR: AP-S

MCL: CM-D

STCR: P-A

STC: DLF-A or TM-A

STC: P-A

Instructions

Retain Possession , Shorter Passing , Run At Defence , Stay On Feet , Higher Tempo , Look For Overlap( with WB-A) or Hit Early Crosses( With WB-S)

4-2-2-2 RW

GK: G-D

RB: FB-D

RCB: CD-D

LCB: CD-D

LWB: WB-S/A

RCM: AP-S

LCM: CM-D

AMR: W-A/S or IF-A/S

AMCL: T-A or EG-A

STCR: TM-A or P-A or CF-A

STCL: P-A

Instuctions

Retain Possession , Shorter Passing , Clear Ball To Flanks , Run At Defence , Roam From Positions , Stay On Feet , Be More Expressive , Look For Overlap( with WB-A) or Hit Early Crosses( With WB-S)

Pre-Season Friendlies

Pld: 5 W/D/L: 5/0/0 Goals Scored/Conceeded: 24/0 Goalscorers: Munir/Rosa x6 , L.Long/J.Long/Tagliafico/Oxlade-Chamberlain x2 , Malcom/Xulu/Bruno Thiago/Luiz Antônio x1

09/08/2020 | Community Shield | Wembley

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Santoro 6.7 RB: Güllenbeck 6.8 RCB: Xulu 6.8 LCB: Hecker 7 LWB: Tagliafico 6.8 MCR: Crowley 6.5 MCL: Valle 7.7 AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 7.5 AMCL: Bäron 6.8 STCR: Rosa 6.9( J.Long 77) STCL: Munir©7.4

Arsenal 2 ( Rosa 18 , Munir 64 | Assts: Munir/Oxlade-Chamberlain x1)

Chelsea 3 ( Trindade De Vilhena 13 , Origi 77 , Wijnaldum 88)

15/08/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Old Trafford

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Santoro 6.8 RB: Güllenbeck 6.7 RCB: Xulu 8 LCB: Kruiswijk 6.4( Hecker 62/6.8) LWB: Tagliafico 6.4 MCR: Crowley 7 MCL: Valle 6.8 AMR: Oxlade-hamberlain 8.4 AMCL: Bäron 6.5 STCR: Rosa 6.3 STCL: J.Long 6.6( Munir 62/6.7)

Arsenal 2 ( Crowley PEN 22 , Oxlade-Chamberlain 55 | Asst: Oxlade-Chamberlain)

Man Utd 2 ( Zaza 14 , Rondón 62)

24/08/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Santoro 7.2 RB: Güllenbeck 7.3 RCB: Xulu 7.3 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 8 LWB: Tagliafico 7.6 MCR: Luiz António 6.8( Zelalem 72/6.8) MCL: Stacey 7.3( Valle 78) AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 7.5 AMCL: Bäron 9(MoM) STCR: Park Won-Kwan 7.2 STCL: Malcom 6.7( J.Long 55/8.7)

Arsenal 4 ( Oxlade-Chamberlain 21 , Staey 31 , Malcom Inj 55 , J.Long 83 & 87 | Assts: Bäron x3 , Malcom x1)

Q.P.R 1 ( Fer Inj 26 , Mutch 48)

29/08/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Stamford Bridge

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Santoro 7.1 RB: Güllenbeck 9(MoM) RCB: Xulu 7 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 6.9 LWB: Tagliafico 6.8 MCR: Zelalem 6.8 MCL: Stacey 6.5( Valle 57/6.5) AMR: Bolaasie 6.6( Oxlade-Chamberlain 45/6.8) AMCL: Bäron 6.8 STCR: Park Won-Kwan 6.3( Malcom 52/6.7) STCL: J.Long©6.9

Arsenal 1 ( J.Long 79 | Asst: Oxlade-Chamberlain

Chelsea 1 ( Costa 58)

Pleased with zero losses having Chelsea & United away as2 of my first 3 league games

[Llew_Arshavin23]

I'm currently enjoying an Arsenal save, my first serious one on FM15, and thought I'd like to write about it. Hopefully, this will become an in-game half yearly thing.

A SEASON REVIEW - 2014/2015; unexpected delight

First, some background on the details of the save: I decided to align it with the 2015/2016 season, promoting Bournemouth, Norwich and Watford to the Premier League. I also edited in a large number of transfers as future transfers, up to around the time Paris Saint-Germain announced the Ángel di María deal. You will see more later...

I came into the season with fairly realistic, and somewhat unambitious, expectations: qualify for the UEFA Champions League with a top three finish, compete in said competition and win the FA Cup. As with all my saves, I disable first transfer window budgets, meaning Arsenal's squad for the 2014/2015 season was the squad with which I had to achieve the aforementioned objectives. Here's the story of my season...

COMMUNITY SHIELD

After an indifferent pre-season - a comfortable win against newly-promoted Bournemouth, a draw and a loss against 1.FC Köln and Bayer Leverkusen respectively and a good 1-0 triumph over Porto - we had the tough task of opening our season against Manchester City, a team that I have always had mixed results against. We set-up in an advanced 4-2-3-1, with Alexis Sánchez starting up front - and we lost 2-0, thanks to a brace from Samir Nasri.

I didn't read too much into it, but the performance was somewhat lackadaisical, as we struggled to cope with Manchester City's excellent interplay around our own penalty box. It would also influence the gradual change to a 4-4-1-1 formation.

---

CAPITAL ONE CUP

Unsurprisingly, I didn't put much onus on the squad to perform in this competition, so much so, it was used as a relatively competitive tool to test certain aspects of our tactics and, of course, certain players within our squad. After a horrible win over Ipswich at home - Kieran Gibbs scored a lovely goal from 30-yards to win it - aspects of our performances in the later rounds were promising, not least the introduction of Héctor Bellerín and Chuba Akpom to the first-team.

We were knocked out in the semi-final by an undeniably full-strength Chelsea side, but it is always nice to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

---

FA CUP

Retaining the FA Cup was a primary objective, adding to Arsène Wenger's fine work a year prior. A tough proposition to begin our FA Cup campaign: Championship leaders, Middlesbrough. We dominated proceedings, but the relatively inexperienced side - including debutant Gedion Zelalem - failed to find a breakthrough until late on. The replay was no better, but ultimately successful.

Chelsea were next, at Stamford Bridge, and I decided to field an almost full strength side. Ramsey, Özil and Alexis all started, with the latter three supplementing Theo Walcott who started as the lone striker. The decision to start Walcott centrally was vindicated before half-time. Already 1-0 up thanks to a wonderfully-worked Aaron Ramsey goal, Walcott dribbled past three hapless Chelsea defenders with power and pace before finishing neatly beyond Courtois. His second: a result of fine wing play from the exciting Oxlade-Chamberlain, providing Theo a drilled cross which he sweeped into the net. His hat-trick goal was the culmination of a cohesive, fast-paced counter attack. Mesut Özil found a galloping Walcott in the right-hand side channel, resulting in Theo eventually sliding the ball past Courtois following a cut-throat one-two with Alexis Sánchez.

Two trips to Merseyside was the reward for toppling Chelsea. The first of the two, Everton at Goodison Park, was a bitty, scrappy affair, but our quality and character eventually reared its head. Cazorla converted the rebound from his own, saved penalty after Serge Gnabry was brought down in the box. Mesut Özil missed a penalty (also won by Gnabry) in the 90th minute. Liverpool were next and it was a nigh perfect counter-attacking display. Largely restricting an in-form Rodgers side to effort from range, Santi Cazorla converted the Mesut Özil-won penalty early on. Ramsey sealed the tie with a well-struck shot following excellent contributions from Giroud and Alexis.

We returned to Wembley for a London derby, with Championship club Fulham looking to capitalise on our unsuccessful European exerts earlier in the week. Mesut Özil, influential throughout the FA Cup run, doubled our lead with a curling effort. An anxious scoreline became a a comfortable one late on, as second-half substitute Jack Wilshere profited from half-cleared set-pieces with a couple of composed finishes.

Quickly following our semi-final triumph, we soon realised that we would compete with title rivals Manchester United for the honour of retaining the FA Cup. A daunting task in any circumstance, the tie took on greater significance considering that both clubs stood at 11 FA Cups each at the top of the all-time FA Cup winners table. And we lost, heartbreakingly, due to Robin van Persie's glorious left-foot and astounding ability. Yet, we won the war...

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Despite set-backs in the qualification and group phases, our European campaign was competitive, fruitless, but undoubtedly somewhat enjoyable. Alexis' performances were of the highest quality, scoring four goals and creating a further three and averaging six successful dribble a game, while Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal were standout defensive stalwarts.

A word on our dignified dismissal at the quarter-final stage: we were unlucky not to progress. The return leg at the Emirates was, probably, one of our finest performances of the season yet we only have a single goal and a Champions League exit. There's always next year.

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BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

August to the New Year

We negotiated the first-half of our Premier League season with promising and exciting excellence, combining good, flowing football with dependable defending and an ability to adapt to certain scenarios and circumstances. All of the aforementioned qualities can be attributed to a greater tactical understanding of our style and system, one which I adapted throughout the season's opening weeks. From the end of August to the final days of November, we scored eighteen goals and kept eight successive clean sheets. Mesut Özil was outstanding, adding goals to his game as the season grew older.

January to May

The New Year welcomed new propositions, new competitions and new challenges - but no significant movements in the transfer market. Swiss playmaker Edimilson Fernandes (FC Sion) and regens James de la Hoya and US-born Portugese youth international Sérgio Almeida joined for nominal fees, while Chuba Akpom and Alex Iwobi joined League One sides Blackpool and Bradford later in the year. Despite no first-team additions, preparations for the summer were well under way.

As is obvious, our start to the Premier League's second-leg was far from ideal nor expected. Cracks were uncovered in our December trip to Southampton and said cracks were exposed further as the season progressed. It was not until season's end that we rediscovered our verve and stability, with our form prior to the last knockings of the campaign erratic and inconsistent. It wouldn't be presumptuous to suggest that the increased intensity and frequency of competition contributed to our stuttering form.

Regardless of our troubles, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain seemed to find another level on his manageable path to super stardom. He ended the season with ten goals and three assists in twenty-two league appearances and was also influential in England's Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

Final Barclays Premier League Table

We did it! We actually did it! We - outsiders Liverpool and Manchester United included - were certainly beneficiaries of surprisingly inept Chelsea and Manchester City sides, but the three-horsed race ran right up until the final day. We manoeuvred ourselves into a situation where at least a draw, with favourable results elsewhere, away at Leicester would clinch the club its first Premier League trophy in over a decade. Our triumph of style and character is one I certainly associate with our imperious start to the season. Our next objective is to build on this success, but first to consolidate our position in the top three.

*All statistics are taken from all club competitions

Most Appearances: Wojciech Szczęsny - 55; Aaron Ramsey - 52; Alexis Sánchez - 50; Per Mertesacker - 49; Mesut Özil - 46

Top Scorers: Danny Welbeck - 20; Olivier Giroud - 19; Theo Walcott - 14; Alexis Sánchez - 13; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 12

Most assists: Mesut Özil - 19; Alexis Sánchez - 16; Aaron Ramsey - 11; Olivier Giroud - 10; Theo Walcott - 8

My Players of the Season: Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny - the spine of our title-winning side. Both Mesut and Aaron brought goals to the side, while without Koscielny, I very much doubt we'd have picked up results against our title rivals. Mesut Özil in particular was gloriously magnificent: his decision-making is second to none and he is the epitome of the style with which I want my team to play. He duly won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award.

Young Players of the Season: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Héctor Bellerín and Gabriel - all provided great, dependable depth to our squad without complain, with both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bellerín holding down first-team roles for large periods of the season. The Spaniard made his debut at Under-21 level and has developed into a right-back who will probably start the season as my first choice. Gabriel, also, often came into the side in the absence of Koscielny and performed to a good standard. He, along with Calum Chambers, will receive more minutes at centre-half next season.

Fans' Player of the Season: Alexis Sánchez - fifty first-team appearances, thirteen goals and sixteen assists in his first season at Arsenal and in England. Remarkable numbers for a remarkable player, one who performed regardless of opposition, pressure or expectation. My Alexis highlight of the season: his marvellous displays against Liverpool and Chelsea early in the Premier League season; performances which set the tone for he himself and the team collectively.

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SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW

Coming into the summer, I identified two priorities in order to strengthen not only the first-team, but the squad as a whole: defensive midfield - to be more precise, a like-for-like replacement for club captain Mikel Arteta - and centre-forward. With a transfer budget of around £100 million, considerable funds were available in order to put several plans into action. Here's the full list of the club's incomings and outgoings...

Incomings

It wasn't a busy window in terms of incomings, yet it could well be a significant one in terms of realising our ambitions. I'll begin by summarising the additions of the lesser-known names on the list. French full-back Tom Duponchelle, AFC Ajax wide man Pellé Clement and Spanish under-19 centre-back Álex Zalaya all join the club to primarily strengthen our under-21 squad. All three have potential and I'm hoping at lest one will provide a welcome surprise in their development, if only to make a healthy profit. Two English regens, Liam Pointon and Joey Willis, also join the under-18s squad in risk-free deals; again, both fit into the club's ethos and both have room to improve under a higher standard of specialised coaching.

Petr Čech also comes in as a pre-arranged transfer. He will become my number one, despite Szczęsny's promising form from last season. Albeit is early in the season, the fans have welcomed him with open arms, not least due to his good early season form.

Onto the big one: Karim Benzema! Steve Rowley spent much of his time scouting the Frenchman, who scored 18 goals for Real Madrid last term, and his time, gladly, wasn't wasted. Early enquiries were made in March, with the answer being £74 million, but Benítez's fifth-placed finish meant that Real's demands lowered significantly, allowing me to get a basic £28 million pound deal (with a further £6 million coming in monthly instalments and a one-off, appearance-based payment to come) completed by early July. He joined us over Manchester United, who also made an offer, and will earn £190,000-a-week. I'm really excited about what he will bring to my squad; he is the prefect Arsenal striker.

As mentioned earlier on, I was also in the market for a holding midfielder. A Mikel Arteta replacement, in fact. Someone who could fulfil the role held down so well by Arteta himself on forty-five occasions last season. A player who could dictate from deep, control tempo of games and help find the likes of Mesut Özil and Aaron Ramsey in more advanced positions as well as protect the back four intelligently. Numerous players were extensively scouted - Christoph Kramer, Asier Illarramendi, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to name but a few - and I eventually determined a list of three names who were my number prime targets: Borussia Dortmund's Ilkay Gündoğan, Granit Xhaka of Borussia Mönchengladbach and Leon Goretzka, somewhat starved of opportunity at Schalke 04. Approaches were made for all three, bids upwards of £20 million were made for the former two and £17 million for the latter, yet we couldn't agree any sort of deal.

Deadline day signing, Ki Sung-Yeung

With the final week of the transfer window upon me, I quickly compiled another list of three not ideal, but certainly more attainable players. Villarreal demanded £12 million for club captain Bruno Soriano leading me to agree a £7 million fee - rising to £8 million after 40 league appearances - for Swansea midfielder, Ki Sung-Yeung. He initially accepted my basic £40,000-a-week wage packet five days before the window closed, but the deal wasn't confirmed on his end until three hours prior to the window's closure, forcing me to establishing a contingency plan, in case Ki did turn me down, of a season-long loan for Manchester United exile, Michael Carrick.

I'm happy with the signing of Ki. At 26-years-old, he will provide a good option for my current squad and for squads in four or five years; someone who will, I'm sure, accept his role as a first back-up. Time will tell if he can successfully make the step up to Champions League level. It is indeed a deal which is reminiscent of Arsenal signing Mikel Arteta in 2011 and I'm hoping he can have a similarly important effect on the fortunes of the club. Despite Ki's arrival, a holding midfielder will be the first priority during the summer of 2016.

Outgoings

The first-team squad has been trimmed, to some extent, into a leaner, less flabby grouping of players. Lukas Podolski joins Galatasaray after a mediocre spell at Internazionale, Mathieu Flamini. who made just ten appearances last season; seven as a substitute, moves to Norwich and Joel Campbell returns from his loan spell at Villarreal only to return to Spain, Valencia, in a healthy £10 million deal.

I am looking forward to tracking the progression of some of our youngsters who have left the club on loan, in particular Chuba Akpom, Dan Crowley, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Serge Gnabry. All should have a future at the club.

[Sapačko]

Your posts are always so damn good looking. Keep it up :o

[lomekian]

Hey Guys,

yesterday i started a new Save since i got bore of my older ones. I wanted to start with the Gunners and wanted them to play fast & creative football just like in real life (in my opinion). Well i started to set up an 4-2-3-1 and fit all my players in good roles. I made some additions to the team with most of them very young looking for the upcoming years: W. Carvalho, Ademoglu, Ayer, J. Vallejo, T. Probst.

Now, what my problem is that i can't find a good working tactic that lets the team play fluid and attacking without conceding too much goals, özil is also not performing... could you guys help me out with your opinions or even a good working tactic? thanks...

This is my tactic. Yet to lose a game in season two...of course you will need to tweak according to your personnel, but it is based on the team that won the FA CUP this may

http://www.mediafire.com/download/e41z5ba59w1tvxi/4-2-3-1_mat_cup_final_08187BB5-BB0F-4D26-9C25-51157CDF8D69.fmf

[arsenalthebest]

I've got a fairly tricky CL group Dortmund , Roma & Anderlecht

[numero uno gunner]

Left back and keeper looks to be your next targets for improvement. Szczesny is good, but not world class, and you'll need world class sooner or later. And Monreal is getting on, and Gibbs is rather injury prone.

Otherwise it looks good, I think. I see you managed to keep Walcott; for me he demands a ridiculous wage when new contract talks begins, way over what he's worth compared to the rest .... I wouldn't give him what he wanted, so he was sold. I presume you granted him a hefty wage? For me, it wasn't a big loss; Joel Campbell has been amazing for me on the right wing and competing with the Ox for that spot. But then I play a slightly different formation now (4-1-2-3-DM Asymmetric L), so the right winger starts in the midfield strata, as a WM/attack.

I can't find a place for Gnabry; he is a completely different sort of player to Cazorla/Özil so not an option for me in the AMC slot. I tried to re-train him for a WM/attack role on the right, but he's not doing very well there. Will probably have to let him go. If put in the AMC slot, he should be a shadow striker, or a AM/attack ... and that's not what I want.

Yeah, I've been scouting a few left backs, and think its just a case of deciding who I want to bring in now. Both Gaya and Jonathan Silva are high on my list, but their respective clubs are looking for fees which I think are astronomical. Gibbs has picked up a few knocks, so if I let Monreal go, I'm definitely going to need to bring in a top level left back.

As for the keeper, Szczesny has been fantastic this season. However, Courtois is unhappy at Chelsea, as he wants first team football. I'm very tempted to make a move for him, but think I'll play the long game and unsettle him a bit further. Maybe he'll put in a transfer request which would make my life easier.

Gnarby has just been providing the cover that Rosicky did last season. Ideally, I'd like to bring in someone who can play AMR/C/L, but I haven't targeted anyone for that role yet.

I chose to turn down the offer from Barcelona for Debuchy, but Juventus have now come in for Koscielny. He's 30, and they've offered me a deal worth £21m in total. Worth taking? Could I get a better replacement for cheaper?

[Swills417]

At the conclusion of the second season, we ended up empty handed. Was a two horse race for the final 8 games or so, as Tottenham and Manchester United fell away. Liverpool did not threaten and was able to shrug off mid-table form for a late surge for the top 4. Manchester City were poor all season, I did the double over them and as a result have sacked Unai Emery. Looking to apply for this as I've never managed city, and it would be odd to play as a club I use mainly as an outlet for overpriced mediocre players in previous iterations of the game.

Finished a point off a Chelsea team who are on the verge of the quadruple, with only the UCL to play against Barcelona. I was knocked out of the group stage of UCL, and went out in the quarters of the EURO cup to Liverpool, who retained the trophy in the final.

In terms of player performance and tactics, we weren't as prolific as I would of liked with the front three of Ozil, Welbeck, Chamberlain and their deputies Walcott, Ayoze and Sanchez were all injured for a few weeks at differing stages of the season. Welbeck was on course for 30+ goals this season, but injuries made him only net 23 times in 34 games, which enabled him to have the best minutes/goal ratio in the league. Ramsey made the most appearances and netted 9 times, mostly from the penalty spot.

Ozil became natural as a LAM, and as result plays more like David Silva does for city by cutting in, as Alex Sandro provides overlapping runs. The purchase of Busquets in January added a solidity to midfield that was lacking before. Our next best option at CDM was Llorente who has a 2* rating there!

In order to make ground on Chelsea next season, a process of strengthening our depth is needed. A lack of quality backup for Welbeck meant we struggled up top at times, and if Ramsey or Busquets got injured we only have championship quality players to fill in.

After 4 seasons away, managing title rival Manchester City I have returned to the Emirates for a second spell!

Now after assessing the damage done by my successors Jorge Jesus in 2016-2018 and Pep Guardiola 2018-2020, it's clear the club have stagnated, yet not entirely fell away from the title chasing pack. Jorge Jesus finished a strong 2nd and winning the FA Cup in 2016/17 whilst bringing in the clubs current talisman Paco Alcacer for £33.5m on January transfer deadline day 2017 scoring 71 times in 100 games for the club, alongside fellow transfers success 30 year old Jackson Martinez, signed from FC Porto for £19.75m who finished the 3rd in the golden boot in the 2016/17.

The 2017/18 season began with a hint of optimism for a real title challenge with Jorge Jesus striking the £33.5m deal to bring in Mauro Icardi to add to to considerable firepower at the club including Alcacer, Welbeck and Jackson Martinez. However, with the ageing partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny shipped 42 goals, and despite being the highest scoring team in the league, finished 3rd never really threatening champions Manchester City. This disappointment was catalyzed by a poor performance in the Champions League and finished bottom of a group of Inter, RB Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow. Come the end of the season Jorge Jesus was sacked for poor performances.

Guardiola had enjoyed a poor season with Bayern finishing 5th after failing the qualify for the Champions League the previous season via the play-off and was subsequently sacked and promptly brought to the emirates to user in a new era of success. He began his reign with a plethora of signings for the central midfield position, including Xhaka, Sergi Darder, Stambouli and instrumental in the signing of Andres Iniesta to join Sergio Busquets in making the switch to north London. Despite bringing possession football back to Arsenal, the team struggled to score goals and laboured to a 4th place finish in his first season and a poor 6th place finished spelt the end of his tenure with the club.

Interestingly, the club has failed FFP three consecutive times from 2017, so addressing this will be a new challenge as will be utilizing the aging stars Ozil, Busquets and Sanchez. Navigating the transfer market will be different to starting a new game as most of, if not all the top young stars such as Lucas Romero, Gabriel Barbosa and G.G. Romero are all at top clubs. The football landscape have also changed since I was last manager. Jose Mourinho's dominant Chelsea side have aged, and the special one has claimed my vacant post at Champions Manchester City as his own. Stoke and Blackburn have Tycoons and challenge for the top 6 spots regularly and we still have our neighbours snapping at our hills.

The current squad has a decent mix of experience, youth and players in their prime. Busquets, Ozil and Sanchez being the veterans of the squad, with Alcacer, Chamberlain and Ramsey being the key players, with Dan Crowley, Ojo and Da Graca being the young (real) players breaking into the first team. Haven't done a full squad analysis but at a glance, I at least need a backup keeper and someone to challenge Alcacer (with Pep making the awful decision to sell Icardi for £14m to Bayern).

[arsenalthebest]

September Report

12/09/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.9 RB: Montero 7.4 RCB: Gizzarelli 7.3 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 7.2 LWB: Tagliafico 6.9 MCR: Crowley 6.7 MCL: Morán 7.3 AMR: Bolasie 6.9 AMCL: L.long 6.9 STCR: Rosa 8.2(MoM) STCL: Munir©6.4( Konté 45/6.8)

Arsenal 2 ( Rosa 60 , Morán PEN 63 | Assts: Rosa/ Konté x1)

Liverpool 0

16/09/2020 | UEFA Champions League( Group Stage) | Signal Iduna Park

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.8 RB: Montero 7 RCB: Gizzarelli 7.9 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 6.7( Hecker 76) LWB: Tagliafico 6.9 MCR: Crowley 7.3 MCL: Morán 6.9( Valle 79) AMR: Malcom 8.1 AMCL: L.Long 5.9( Bäron 69/7.2) STCR: Rosa 6.8 STCL: Munir© 9.5(MoM)

Arsenal 4 9 Munir 23 & 35 , Bäron 78 , Munir 86 | Assts: Malcom x2 , Rosa x1)

Dortmund 2 ( Nem 53 , Barbosa 69)

19/09/2020 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson© 7.2 RB: Güllenbeck 7.8 RCB: Xulu 8.3 LCB: Hecker 7.3( Gizzarelli 63/6.8) LWB: Targett 7.3 MCR: Beale 6.8( L.Long 58/6.9) MCL: Stacey 6.7( Valle 63/6.7) AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 8.3 AMCL: Bäron 7.6 STCR: Park Won-Kwan 9.5(MoM) STCL: J.Long 9.2

Arsenal 4 ( Park Won-Kwan 4 , J.Long 20 & 26 , Beale Inj 58) , Park Won-Kwan90+3 | Assts: Park Won-Kwan x2 , Oxlade-chamberlain x1)

Newcastle 0

22/09/2020 | Capital One Cup(3rd Round) | Craven Cottage

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Júnior 6.7 RB: Hecker© 6.9 RCB: Mbiyavanga 6.8 LCB: Poljak 6.8 LWB: Targett 6.4 MCR: Neneca 6.4( Valle 45/6.8) MCL: Stacey 6.7 AMR: Gauthier 6.9 AMCL: Petersen 6.3( L.Long 45/6.2) STCR: Länge 8.8 STCL: Konté 6.5( J.Long 45/6.90)

Arsenal 2 ( Lange 47 & 82 | Assts: J.Long/Gauthier x1)

Fulham 3 ( Nabay 7 , Braithwaite 30 & 74)

26/09/2020 | Goodison Park

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 6.8 RB: Güllenbeck 6.8 RCB: Hecker 8.1 LCB: Paulo Sérgio 6.8 LB: Tagliafico 6.9 DMCR: Morán 6.7( Stacey 84) MCR: L.Long 7.5 MCL: Valle 6.8( Crowley 75)

STCR: Malcom 8.1(MoM) STC: Rosa 6.7( J.Long 67/6.7) STCL: Munir© 6.7

Arsenal 2 ( Malcom 11 , Hecker 86 | Asst: Malcom x1)

Everton 1 ( Morata 84)

29/09/2020 | UEFA Champions League | Emirates

STARTING FORMATION/TEAM: GK: Jefferson 7.7 RB: Güllenbeck 9 RCB: Xulu 9.2 LCB: Gizzarelli 8.2 LWB: Montero 8.2( Hecker 67/6.7) MCR: Crowley 9.5(MoM) MCL: Stacey 7.7( Valle 62/6.7) AMR: Oxlade-Chamberlain 8.3 AMC: Rosa 6.7( L.Long 45/6.7) AML: Munir© 9.4 STC: Malcom 9.1

Arsenal 5 ( Crowley 5 , Malcom 15 , Munir 23 , Xulu 39 , Crowley 56 | Assts: Crowley/Oxlade-Chamberlain/L.Long/Munir/Malcom x1)

Anderlecht 0

[raymondafc]

Hi Gooners, after a very successful save with Arsenal on FMC, I thought I would try my luck on the full fat version! I beefed up the coaching team so now all categories are 4 star minimum and average work load. The Emirates Cup is sorted & will see Milan, Porto & Schalke attending this year. I'm using the now "standard" 4-2-3-1, pairing a BWM-D with a AP-S in central midfield, IF-A on the left, W-A on the right and a Trequartista through the middle behind an Advanced Forward. It works on the FMC save so we'll see!

So far I have brought in Wanyama (£16.5m) & Stones (£26m) and Coquelin has gone to Fulham for £5m. I contemplated keeping him & selling Flamini but I wasn't happy with his stats for the BWM role.

Just starting the friendlies so here goes!

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Just a note regarding setting up your side with a player in the ball-winning midfielder role: he is exactly that, a ball-winner. If you're looking for a 'sitter' - someone who will be disciplined in his position on the pitch as well as recycle possession - then I would suggest using a CM-D (with 'close down less') or, as I do, a DLP - D. The latter may not be the better choice considering he'd be partnered with another playmaker by role.