FM17: Arsenal

[llama3]

Arsenal 2016/17 Guide

Welcome to the FM17 Arsenal guide. Arsenal Football Club is based in North London and is one of England's most successful clubs of all time. Their honours are:

• League Champions (13) - 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002 & 2004 (unbeaten)
• FA Cup Winners (12) - 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015
• League Cup Winners (2) - 1987, 1993
• Community Shield Winners (13+1) - 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015
• European Fairs Cup (1) - 1970
• European Cup Winners Cup (1) - 1994

History

Arsenal were founded in 1886 by workers from the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Arsenal eventually moved north of the river in 1913 to Highbury and were elected to the First Division in 1919 after the conclusion of the First World War at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur - spawning a fierce rivalry. Arsenal's most dominant period was in the 1930's under legendary manager Herbert Chapman - the inspiration behind the iconic red shirt with white sleeves.

Arsenal won the Fairs Cup in 1970 over Anderlecht, as well as the domestic double in 1971, winning the League at White Hart Lane, before winning the FA Cup in Extra Time 2-1 over Liverpool. Arsenal had a mixed decade, before a period of mediocrity in the 1980's. George Graham began a successful spell as manager, ably supported by new captain Tony Adams, guiding Arsenal to 2 League Cups, 1 FA Cup and 2 League Titles, as well as a famous Cup Winners Cup triumph over Parma in Copenhagen. Graham's first league title was dramatically won with seconds of injury time remaining between Liverpool and Arsenal, with Michael Thomas' winner handing Arsenal the title at Anfield.

In 1996 Arsene Wenger took over at Arsenal and quickly revolutionized the club. Wenger won the double in his first year, before repeating the trick again 4 years later. Wenger lead Arsenal's Invincibles to an entire league season unbeaten, with stellar contributions from Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp & Theirry Henry. Arsenal lost their first Champions League Final 2-1 to Barcelona in 2006 after playing with 10 men for 73 minutes after Jens Lehmann's early red card.

If you are interested in reading more of Arsenal's history, please click here.

Facilities

Arsenal play at the 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium in North London. Arsenal train at London Colney training ground, which is renowned for its excellent facilities.

Squad

Key: ***** - Poor, ***** - Back Up Player, ***** - Rotation Player, ***** - Key First Team, ***** - World Class (Current Ability only)

Goalkeepers

13 - David Ospina - Colombian international with a reputation for excellent reflexes. He is good depth to have around the club. *****
26 - Emiliano Martinez - young Argentine keeper has acquitted himself well for Arsenal on a few first team appearances. Is decent back-up but would need some game time to develop. *****
33 - Petr Cech - experienced goalkeeper, recently retired from international duty. He is clearly first choice and still retains excellent reflexes, command of his area and intelligence. *****

Right Back

2 - Mathieu Debuchy - experienced Frenchman. Fairly consistent and balanced player. However is at an age where he is not keen to play back-up to Hector Bellerin. *****
24 - Hector Bellerin - lightning quick Spanish wing back with strong attacking instincts. Has made the position his own in the last 18 months and is now considered integral to Arsenal. *****
25 - Carl Jenkinson - lifelong Arsenal fan with an excellent engine, but is prone to mistakes and defensive errors. *****

Left Back

3 - Kieran Gibbs - no longer a young prospect, Gibbs has plateaued in his development. Whilst quick and comfortable on the ball, Gibbs is not as defensively aware as he should be. *****
18 - Nacho Monreal - the experienced Spaniard has become clear first choice at Arsenal, with his aggressive and intelligent defending. Monreal likes to intercept the ball ahead of opposing wide players and offers support down the flank on the overlap. *****

Central Defence

4 - Per Mertesacker (Captain) - Experienced German defender is the new club-captain, however is absent until the new year with a knee injury. The BFG is tall and intelligent, however is particularly susceptible to being caught by pace in behind, which is not going to improve given his age. *****
5 - Gabriel Paulista - an aggressive Brazilian defender. Can be an effective defender, but prone to being drawn out of position due to his aggressive tendancies. Development has plateaued. *****
6 - Laurent Koscielny (Vice-Captain) - an extremely impressive defender. He is very intelligent and proactive at winning the ball. He is also very mobile despite the fact he is now the wrong side of 30. He is clearly the best defender in the squad and possibly in the league. *****
16 - Rob Holding - new signing from Bolton is a talented prospect. Holding is comfortable with the ball at his feet and is fairly intelligent. He is likely to improve considerably. *****
20 - Shkodran Mustafi - new signing from Valencia is a very good defender. Similar style to Koscielny and appears comfortable with the ball at his feet. *****

Central Midfield

8 - Aaron Ramsey - a player with a fantastic engine and technique. He can play in most central midfield roles, as well as wide on the right. His excellent movement and engine makes him a good box to box type player, but he is also effective as a wide man on the right tucking narrow as a wide playmaker, encouraging overlaps. *****
11 - Mesut Ozil - a truly world class player, with superb technique and intelligence. Is easily most at home in AMC behind the striker as a playmaker. *****
19 - Santi Cazorla - an aging playmaker who is beginning to suit a deeper role, picking the ball up out of the defence and dictating play from a deeper position. Still very important to Arsenal despite his age. *****
29 - Granit Xhaka - new signing in central midfield has a reputation for disciplinary problems, but offers bite as well as outstanding distribution. He can play either deeper, or higher in central midfield. *****
34 - Francis Coquelin - an aggressive and mobile, ball-winner. While comfortable technically, he is not a creative player. Despite the additions of Elneny and Xhaka, he is still very valuable. *****
35 - Mohamed Elneny - an extremely consistent and intelligent midfielder. Can play a more reserved and defensive role due to his intelligence, or play in a box to box manner due to his great energy. He uses the ball sensibly and offers a lot of balance to the midfield. *****

Forwards

7 - Alexis Sanchez - Chilean forward can play wide, or as a false nine. Extremely quick and technically impressive, but with a great workrate off the ball. *****
9 - Lucas Perez - an aggressive and mobile striker, signed from Deportivo in the summer. Could play as a false nine, or off the shoulder of the defence. Versatile forward. *****
12 - Olivier Giroud - Arsenal have not yet reduced their reliance on the French Target Man. Giroud is strong in the air and links play well, but has not shaken off question marks over his pace or ability to deliver on the big occasion. Is still an extremely useful player, as well as alternative option from the bench. *****
14 - Theo Walcott - very pacy wide forward, who is beginning to move into the peak of his career. Still an important player for the club, despite some limitations as a player. *****
15 - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - an inconsistent player of great potential. Chamberlain needs to push on and become a regular for the first team. A powerful winger, with great dribbling and technique. *****
17 - Alex Iwobi - a talented young winger with excellent potential. Technically sound as well as intelligent and mobile. Plenty of room to develop with game time. *****
23 - Danny Welbeck - injured with a serious knee injury, however his athleticism, combined with teamwork and technique make him arguably the most balanced of Arsenal's forwards. *****
31 - Jeff Reine-Adelaide - another talented young wide player, with great technique. Is likely to become integral in years to come. *****

On Loan

1 - Wojciech Szczesny - Polish goalkeeper is spending a 2nd year on loan at Roma after an infamous smoking incident saw him lose his place as first choice in 2015. *****
10 - Jack Wilshere - injury-prone midfielder is spending a year on loan at Bournemouth to provide week-in, week-out playing time due to a lack of minutes in recent years. *****
21 - Calum Chambers - versatile defender can play at centre back or full back, as well as in midfield - on loan at Middlesbrough to give him regular game time to develop. *****
28 - Joel Campbell - despite an impressive season in 2015/16 Campbell is on loan, but with little obvious room back in the Arsenal squad. Has provided a versatile and consistent wide option. *****

Youth/Reserves

Players to pay particular attention to include: Joao Virginia, Krystian Bielik, Ismael Bennacer, Gedion Zelalem, Vlad Dragomir, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Chris Willock, Chuba Akpom & Donyell Malen. 

Tactical Options

Arsenal could feasibly play in a variety of ways. They are technically excellent with a lot of pace, so could play on the counter-attack, or could set up to control the ball and attack opponents. Their good teamwork, workrate and stamina suggests they could be good at pressing opponents. They have some very versatile options in attack and could comfortably play 4-2-3-1 (or variants such as 4-4-1-1) as well as 4-1-2-2-1 (or variants such as 4-1-4-1) and even a 4-4-2 or Diamond midfield. 

I recommend building your team around Mesut Ozil as an AMC - as he is clearly your best player and most comfortable there.

Coaching & Scouting

Arsenal have an extremely well establish coaching team at both senior and youth levels. This will need little immediate work. The scouting team is also quite large and talented. Again, little immediate work is required in this area. 

[Zelalem]

Hi, do you know if there will be CA/PA changes to this team when full game is released tomorrow? 

If there is, then I will wait before starting a full Arsenal save.

 

THanks

[mcmuffin19]

Anyone post screenshots of key player attributes?

[gandrasch]

Squawka did this:

 

http://www.squawka.com/news/from-cech-to-giroud-every-arsenal-players-football-manager-2017-stats/805399

[Liamgannon]

Nice thread. Will post my 4231 tactics soon, playing sanchez up top as a defensive forward and he's been brilliant for me

[MarkC1984]

I sold Giroud and bought a left back, playing Lucas up front with Sanchez has seen me hit second.  Tried ditching Cech for Ospina but he conceded 3 goals in the EFL Cup so he's now a permanent sub.  Martinez has been farmed out to a feeder club for regular football.  

[mcmuffin19]

Any positions to focus on investing in?

[Arsenal71]

Good to see this years incarnation Llama.

[Arsenal71]

7 minutes ago, mcmuffin19 said:

Any positions to focus on investing in?

LB, Backup to a first team player, i bought sessenong from Fulham for devlopment. Monreal and Gibbs are fine.

SC.  Although Alexis is great as an SC if trained. got me 37goals last season. Giroud is also good and when welbeck is back you dont need an SC unless you sell one and get a youngster.

DLP A replacement fro cazorla if you want a stright replacement, or bring back Wilshere to play there and use the youth MC's.

TBH you dont need any signings for the enxt two years and with the youth coming through and the guys back on loan the future squad depth is fine.

 

Without any first team or backup signings won CL and EPL 1st season. so its really about managing who you have and only buy world class  or young players.

[Clifton]

It depends on what tactics you want to play.   Left back is an obvious weakness if you get injuries or suspensions, but I've got by so far with using Bola occasionally or Debuchy/Jenkinson for an in-game emergency.   Generally the squad is much better than previous years and in my first season I have bought no-one and top the table (early days I know).  It's fun to face the same dilemmas as IRL, and in fact there is more of a problem keeping everyone happy and also finding space to bring the youngsters on without adding to the squad.

[Arsenal71]

2 minutes ago, Clifton said:

problem keeping everyone happy and also finding space to bring the youngsters on without adding to the squad.

Totally agree, its not about having a big squad anymore, players will get unhappy very quickly if not played. Lucus and Elneny got unhappy but were fine after a few games promised.

[llama3]

I'd agree that generally you have 2 positions to improve upon - Left Back & Striker. You are looking really at a long term first choice to replace Monreal in 12-24 months and that "World Class Striker" - if, as and when he becomes available. Not easy to get one though.

[llama3]

20 minutes ago, Arsenal71 said:

Good to see this years incarnation Llama.

It's not my finest, but thought I had better crack on and do one this year.

[Clifton]

Another factor about squad size is that many of the Arsenal squad are able to play in a number of different positions and roles, so one player can offer cover for a lot of positions.   Don't be too hung up on what you are told are the natural roles for a player, look instead at their attributes.

 

PS Forgot to thank llama3 for getting this going.

[Arsenal71]

The only other positions would be DC but in the next cople of years as Lauren and Per will be fine in the hope that Holding and Chambers can meet potential. id still go and get a WC DC when Laurent and Per are a bit too old.

And GK if you are not keeping Szczesny and when Big Pete drops.

[Arsenal71]

10 minutes ago, Clifton said:

Another factor about squad size is that many of the Arsenal squad are able to play in a number of different positions and roles, so one player can offer cover for a lot of positions.   Don't be too hung up on what you are told are the natural roles for a player, look instead at their attributes.

Thats why a useful tool this year is the Team Repor-Squad Depth and then switch on the filters to add youth etc. Then switch through the 'show' filter for ability/potential. role suitability and best 11 as well as looking at how long and well they have played in the positions youve selected.

Its also a good tool to see where your loanees have played and whether they would fit back in your plans.

[Suggy33]

Have been playing as Arsenal before the main game comes out.

 

Season 1, I won the league.

In the first window, I signed Ander Capa (£6m) from Eibar, while selling Debuchy (£2m). In January, I sold Jenkinson (£13m) and bought Axel Witsel (£8m) and Quincy Promes (£25m). Also stocked up the youth team, and arranged for Leon Bailey to join for £12m, but can't get a WP.

 

Had some shocking injury crisis' which resulted in Akpom playing 8/9 league games, and even Mavididi getting a couple of starts too.

 

Season 2, I signed Jonny from Celta Vigo (£22m) and Inaki Williams from Atheltic Bilbao (£13m), selling Cazorla (£7m), Wilshere (£13m), Capa (£6m), Campbell (£14m), and released Mertesacker. 

Come December, we really started struggling and went 7 without a win, so I've splashed out on Hysaj from Napoli (£27m) and Alcacer from Barcelona (£40m), while ditching Giroud, Walcott, Monreal and Chambers on loan.

 

Jeff is going great guns. Popped up with 4 goals in 11 apps in season 1 (all competitions), so I've played him 26 times so far in all competitions by January in season 2.

 

Other notable youth players who are developing and keeping their high potiential:

Dragomir

 

Reiss Nelson

 

Bielik

 

Malen

[gholliday87]

1 hour ago, Arsenal71 said:

And GK if you are not keeping Szczesny and when Big Pete drops.

This is why I'm looking to get Donnarumma in asap

[yorkie87]

i signed Lukaku first thing I did, don't think much of giroud or lucas.

[gholliday87]

3 minutes ago, yorkie87 said:

i signed Lukaku first thing I did, don't think much of giroud or lucas.

How much? I'm tempted by Icardi

[yorkie87]

48mil with add ons up to 64. Didn't think much of icardi personally. It was between lukaku, Cavani or lacazette for me. 

[gholliday87]

I've always found Lukaku a bit hit and miss on past FMs

[Ragingsheep]

Which LBs are people looking at?

Ricardo's name is usually mentioned but he's on massive wages and he's also a bit on the slow side.

[vozzon]

How is everyone going with selling players and what can you get for them?

Was looking at doing an Arsenal save and getting rid of the below players:

Giroud

Debuchney

Monreal

Walcott

Wellbeck

 

Also any good buys/bargains you would recommend, would love dybala but i dont think i could get him first season. 

[llama3]

6 hours ago, Ragingsheep said:

Which LBs are people looking at?

Ricardo's name is usually mentioned but he's on massive wages and he's also a bit on the slow side.

You could look at maybe Kieran Tierney of Celtic? Guerreiro of Dortmund?

[gandrasch]

For LB Gaya could still be very good. Also Grimaldo is a favorite for the last 2 FMs and I think he got even better in this year. 

I can't wait to start playing this evening. Still tweaking about which tactic to use on paper. I want to try Özil as trequartista with Sanchez as false 9 up front, a winger(s) on the right and a if(a) on the left. Ramsey(B2B)/Xhaka(DLP(D)) behind that, but it could be a tad  too offensive. 

This year I want to try using Arsenal youngsters mostly, because they don't look as underrated as in the last couple of FMs. 

[talhak]

16 minutes ago, gandrasch said:

For LB Gaya could still be very good. Also Grimaldo is a favorite for the last 2 FMs and I think he got even better in this year. 

I can't wait to start playing this evening. Still tweaking about which tactic to use on paper. I want to try Özil as trequartista with Sanchez as false 9 up front, a winger(s) on the right and a if(a) on the left. Ramsey(B2B)/Xhaka(DLP(D)) behind that, but it could be a tad  too offensive. 

This year I want to try using Arsenal youngsters mostly, because they don't look as underrated as in the last couple of FMs. 

I signed Alex Iwobi for my side (Man City) at the start of the game, did not meet my expectations actually. So I loaned him. I'd like to see how other youngsters do in your career, hope you continue informing us with their development & performances.  

[Clifton]

Iwobi has been a bit disappointing for me (compared to real life), but it is early days.   So far Reine-Adelaide looks more promising, but I suppose these things can vary from save to save.   Because of this I have been playing Sanchez off the left.

[dily]

1st season Giroud and Dembele got me 33 goals each, at 7 mil Dembele is a must sign from celtic I think. Also have Maximiliano Romero on loan while his work permit is sorted ready to take over from Giroud. Cech is getting unsettled by Chinese clubs.

 

 

[WillyBroadband]

1 hour ago, dily said:

1st season Giroud and Dembele got me 33 goals each, at 7 mil Dembele is a must sign from celtic I think. Also have Maximiliano Romero on loan while his work permit is sorted ready to take over from Giroud. Cech is getting unsettled by Chinese clubs.

 

 

How did you get Dembele from Celtic first season, dude? He has only just signed from Fulham.

[dily]

21 minutes ago, WillyBroadband said:

How did you get Dembele from Celtic first season, dude? He has only just signed from Fulham.

It was straight forward on Beta, may be a glitch? but am not complaining with him and Romero im set up top for 10 years

[gholliday87]

3 hours ago, dily said:

Cech is getting unsettled by Chinese clubs.

 

 

Get Donnarumma...I managed to get him for an overall package of GBP 17.75m at the start of the game. Will be playing EFL/FA Cup games, and possibly the lower level league games for development. For me, he's by far the best GK in terms of potential

[MattLDempsey]

Usually love an Arsenal save every single year but the team is just so complete now I'm not sure I have much to add player wise.

[lpcinder]

Also started my Arsenal save. Haven't really sold anyone yet, but managed to sign jorge and Icardi. Icardi was a lucky case because he had a row with Frank De Boer, his coach. He was placed on the transfer list. So far I haven't been too successful. 

[RandomGuy.]

I went Arsenal in the beta, although I never finished the season.

Lucas outscored Giroud for me as an Advanced Forward. In January I signed Lukaku and Icardi. Icardi was cheaper, and scored eight goals in seven games, Lukaku got seven in ten. Elneny and Cazorla was my best performers as the deep players in a 4-2-3-1, with one a CM(d) and the other a DLP(d). Ramsey and Xhaka were inconsistent. Could never get good performances from Ox or Walcott either, so signed Felipe Anderson from Lazio, who was sensational.

[mrkeyb0ard79]

8 hours ago, gholliday87 said:

Get Donnarumma...I managed to get him for an overall package of GBP 17.75m at the start of the game. Will be playing EFL/FA Cup games, and possibly the lower level league games for development. For me, he's by far the best GK in terms of potential

Wish I'd done that. I paid well over the odds for him at the beginning of the 2nd season. 50mil I think  

[mrkeyb0ard79]

16 hours ago, vozzon said:

How is everyone going with selling players and what can you get for them?

Was looking at doing an Arsenal save and getting rid of the below players:

Giroud

Debuchney

Monreal

Walcott

Wellbeck

 

Also any good buys/bargains you would recommend, would love dybala but i dont think i could get him first season. 

Sold Debuchy to Swansea for 2mil beginning of second season. Held onto the rest. I won't be selling any english players that serve as rotation players.

Players I bought in my 1st season are attached below. Hope this helps. 

 

transfers.tiff

[aditya]

Giroud - too good to sell

Debuchy - 2-3 mill 

Monreal - 8-10 million (Jetro Willems good replacement, younger faster only 11 mil)

Walcott - too good to sell

Welbeck - 15 mil

 

Dybala or Martial is perfect for Arsenal, a mixture of Giroud and Walcott

[neildkennedy]

Made Icardi my first signing when I started the beta - He's a pretty good fit!

[gholliday87]

Sanchez as a Raumdeuter on the right hand side...thoughts?

[talhak]

3 hours ago, neildkennedy said:

Made Icardi my first signing when I started the beta - He's a pretty good fit!

Can I learn which role do you use him? I suppose Advanced Forward or Poacher?

[Champfan10]

On 04/11/2016 at 02:59, gandrasch said:

For LB Gaya could still be very good. Also Grimaldo is a favorite for the last 2 FMs and I think he got even better in this year. 

I can't wait to start playing this evening. Still tweaking about which tactic to use on paper. I want to try Özil as trequartista with Sanchez as false 9 up front, a winger(s) on the right and a if(a) on the left. Ramsey(B2B)/Xhaka(DLP(D)) behind that, but it could be a tad  too offensive. 

This year I want to try using Arsenal youngsters mostly, because they don't look as underrated as in the last couple of FMs. 

I signed Gaya for my Arsenal side and he was excellent and contributed to us winning the league in the first season.

[Laurentius Reinaldo]

im just starting fm 17 using my fav team arsenal

im just buy good wonderkid/young player
i buy: dolberg, zivkovic (on loan again), ryan sesegnon, kane wilson, afonso sousa, jerome onguene, felipe vizeu
some youngster i move to u23 and some youngster i take to senior squad

dolberg, vizeu and onguene move to senior squad

and i sell walcott for 11 mil (ive used him before and he hard to finish ez ball)

and giroud for 15 mil (giroud is okkay but i want skillful player who can drible, teamwork, and pass, and ofc finish not pure targetman like him)

i play with 4-3-3 using my mate tactic

and so far i get 3 win at bpl

[James9]

How is everyone using Ozil this season. I read an article in the Guardian about Ozil becoming more like Dennis Bergkamp in how he plays. Ozil is still a playmaker but is now making more intelligent runs and getting in to better goal scoring position. When he first arrived at Arsenal he was more of a playmaker looking for the final ball and giving the assist. Now when i watch him this season he still looks for a pass but he has added a goal scoring ability to his game. He is playing a bit higher up the pitch. I remember Bergkamp scoring 20+ goals in the season when we won the double under Arsene Wenger for the first time. 

I thought of giving Ozil a role as a AM (A) or SS. I am not quite sure what to do because I want Ozil to add goals to his game and these are the only two roles that i can think of which will allow him to get in the box and score goals. The problem is i think he still has the PPM looks for pass instead of shooting and comes deep to get the ball. These are classic playmaker PPMs. I need to find a way to get Ozil to score so any advice would be helpful. 

I am playing with either a F9 or DLF (S) so players in these roles should drop deep allowing ozil to get in the box and score

[Jay_Arsenal]

6 minutes ago, James9 said:

How is everyone using Ozil this season...

 

Ozil is a tough one, his finishing has seen a slight decrease, you could get him to work on them - but at his age I'm not sure you'll see much benefit, you could ask him to shoot more, but he would need someone feeding him directly in order for him to reap the rewards. I've used Ozil as AP - Support, he's played 8 games and has 5 assists, although not the Bergkamp you're looking for, he isn't Dennis sadly, but he adds so much to the team

[hasdgfas]

I'm playing an Arsenal save in this version, as I tend to with every version.

 

Not too many transfers in the first window. I only wanted a backup Target Man for Giroud and someone who could back up LB and CD while Mertesacker and Gabriel are injured. That need increased when Gibbs and Kos were injured for me before the season started.

 

I brought in:
 

Vasco Regini - Sampdoria - 5.5M. Not super happy with him so far, but he's been a completely reasonable backup, and that's all I needed him for.

Salomon Rondon - West Brom - 24M. More than I wanted to pay, and definitely not my first choice, but 4 goals in 4 appearances has been a good start to go with Giroud's 4 goals in 5 appearances. He's doing what he needs to do.

Jakob Novak - Olimpija Lublana - 195k. An 18 year old Slovenian AMC with very high determination that my scout team found. At 195k I thought I'd give him a go. I immediately sent him out on loan, to Poland. He's playing very poorly there so far, but he is playing regularly. One for the future.

 

 

I tend to be very liberal loaning out players that I think have potential(and even those that don't have that much). I'd rather have players playing regularly, or even semi-regularly, for a lower league team than stuck in my U23s/U18s.

 

I've attached a screenshot of all the players I've sent out on loan. You may note the nicknames, which is how I keep track of the players my assistants think have very high potential, and how I keep track of what that believed potential is. It's much easier for me to do it this way than try to remember everyone who has high potential.

[James9]

I have been watching the Chelsea vs Everton game and I have been impressed with the 343 formation. This is a formation which I would like to try and set up with the current Arsenal side in FM17. I know the current players do not fit the 343 set up. I know I have a excellent Wing back in Bellerin. I could move Ozil to the right wing and make play as a Advance Playmaker Attack. I heave Koscielny and Mustafi and I need to sign another Defend to make this work. I am not sure what to do with my midfield I have Cazorla and Xhaka who are more playmakers than players who will give me steal in midfield. Coquelin and Elneny could play a defensive role in. I plan to have one of  players in the DM STRATA and the other player in the MC Strata but again getting confused with the correct roles to allocate. Ramsey would be ideal for the B2B role. 

 

Coukd anyone me some one advice on how to set this up with Atsenal. I also need a third central defender any advice please. I would ideally like a atheletic defender who can play with the ball

[thomit]

6 hours ago, Jay_Arsenal said:

 

Ozil is a tough one, his finishing has seen a slight decrease, you could get him to work on them - but at his age I'm not sure you'll see much benefit, you could ask him to shoot more, but he would need someone feeding him directly in order for him to reap the rewards. I've used Ozil as AP - Support, he's played 8 games and has 5 assists, although not the Bergkamp you're looking for, he isn't Dennis sadly, but he adds so much to the team

Well ... Bergkamp didn't actually score that much, remember? Not if we think of him as a "striker" anyway. As a AM, he scored plenty. Özil can equal Bergkamp's scoring tally (season) if he continues this season as he has started it. Özil seems to have added some goal-scoring confidence this season. What we still lack is a 25 goals a season striker, like we had with Wright and Henry ... and could have had in RVP if he had stayed on for a couple more seasons.

[gholliday87]

13 hours ago, James9 said:

How is everyone using Ozil this season.

I've got him as an Engache just behind a complete forward...From 14(1) apps, he's bagged an impressive 7 goals, although he only has 1 assist with an average rating of 7.22.

I'm liking he's adding more goals to his game, but his lack of assists are starting to become a concern.

[danthemanwhocan]

Well, new game new save, new take on Arsenal. 

To start with my philosophy for this save and with Arsenal is, and I am sure I am not alone, to keep the ball as much as possible, be in control of the game and the bombard the opposing team. 

What makes this slightly different for me anyway, is that I will be playing the following way: 

I will be using Ozil in a different way to many others- on the wide right. 

I used the snippet tool to capture the images, and just added them to the reply, hopefully they come through!