FM19: Arsenal - Au Revoir Monsieur Wenger, Hola Señor Emery

[Vilmar]

I had to sell Nketiah as I have 2 amazing regens and another 2 coming. Plus I snapped up Fabio Silva for 20 million. 

 

Smith Row and Nelson have mainly played in the Champions League for me and doing well. Snatching decent numbers in goals and assists 

[raeburn]

2018/19 Season Review:

FA Cup: Knocked out in the 5th round by Watford...

Europa League: Knocked out on away goals in the quarter-finals to Dinamo Kiev...

Carabao Cup: Lost on penalties in the final to Manchester United...

Premier League: We've won the league! On the final day, with a 1-1 draw against Southampton. Manchester United pushed us all the way, but we managed to pull it out despite a poor performance that saw us lose the possession battle for the first time all season.

 

The Squad:

 

Star Man: Alex Iwobi! 19 goals and 11 assists in all competitions, including an 89th minute winner away at the Etihad in March that helped move us to the top of the table. Unlike in real life, I will definitely be holding on to Iwobi in the summer transfer window. While most of his appearances were on the wing this season, Nicolas Pepe coming in, and Reiss Nelson coming back from Hoffenheim mean that I will be looking to develop him as a mezzala in our new 4-3-3.

Top Scorer: Alexandre Lacazette scored 24 goals in all competitions, including 18 in the Premier League, which was enough to win him the Golden Boot. He out-scored Aubameyang who only managed 17 total, with 16 of those coming in the league.

Youth Prospects: Matteo Guendouzi got the most minutes out of any of our U21 players, essentially taking over the DLP role from Granit Xhaka after we sold him in January. Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Joe WIllock, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all played important roles in both the league and the cups, with Smith-Rowe and Nketiah getting 11 and 9 goals respectively. Mavropanos recieved the fewest opportunities, and with Calum Chambers coming back from loan, and Zech Medley and William Saliba both developing well in the U23s I am probably going to move him on this summer.

Disappointment: Mesut Ozil had a down season, managing only 2 goals and 3 assists all year, to go with a 6.85 average rating. He did, however, create 11 chances, third most on the team behind Iwobi and Mkhitaryan. Given how hard it will be to move him, I'm planning to just keep him on for next year and slowly phase him out of the team as players like Willock and Iwobi continue to develop.

 

Transfers Out (January):

• Dejan Iliev - 81k (rising to 100k) to Rabotnicki
• Cohen Bramall - 99k to Luton
• Shkrodan Mustafi - 34m to Real Madrid
• Granit Xhaka - 42.5m to Manchester United
• Stephan Lichtsteiner - 725k to Southampton
• Danny Welbeck - 2m to Stoke

Transfers In (January):

• Nicolas Dyhr - 900k from FC Midtjylland
• Arvin Appiah - 2.5m (rising to 4m) from Nottingham Forest
• Luca Unbehaun - 5m (rising to 8.5m) from Borussia Dortmund
• Nick Okoro - 500k from Birmingham
• William Saliba - 5m from Saint-Etienne
• Maciej Zukowski - 1.5m (rising to 2.25m) from Lechia

Transfers Out (Summer):

• Carl Jenkinson - 5.25m to Stoke
• Aaron Ramsey - free to Juventus
• Sead Kolasinac - 18.5m to Monaco
• Petr Cech - retiring

Likely Departures:

• Laurent Koscielny - As in real life, Koscielny has gotten home-sick and asked to leave. Unfortunately he rejected a contract offer from Lyon that would have brought in 16.5m, but hopefully I can find a similar bid this summer.
• Konstantinos Mavropanos - As I mentioned above, with Umtiti coming in and Chambers coming back from loan, there isn't really a path to playing time for Mavropanos. While I would prefer a sale, with a hefty % of future transfer, I am also open to a loan to help build his value.
• Mohamed Elneny - I am planning a gradual shift away from the 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3, so Elneny is surplus to requirements with Torreira, Guendouzi, and now Rabiot coming in.
• Henrikh Mkhitaryan - He had a really good season this year, providing 8 goals and 10 assists, but between his contract and his age I have to move him on if I have the opportunity.

Transfers In (Summer):

• Parfait Guiagon - 200k from Africa Sports
• Gabriel Martinelli - 55k from Ituano
• Adrien Rabiot - free from PSG
• Nicolas Pepe - 29m from Lille
• Nathan Wood - 800k from Middlesbrough
• Jacob Christensen - 1.4m from FC Nordsjaelland
• Pelayo Morilla - 200k from Sporting Gijon
• Kieran Tierney - 30.5m from Celtic
• Samuel Umtiti - 61m from Barcelona

 

The Squad Next Season:

GK: Leno / Martinez / Unbehaun

DR: Bellerin / Maitland-Niles / Osei-Tutu

DC: Sokratis / Chambers / Saliba

DC: Umtiti / Holding / Medley

DL: Tierney / Monreal / Dyhr

DLP: Rabiot / Guendouzi / Christensen

CM: Torreira / Willock / Morilla

AM: Ozil / Iwobi / Guiagon

AMR: Pepe / Nelson / Martinelli

AML: Aubameyang / Smith-Rowe / Saka

CF: Lacazette / Nketiah / Appiah

[Muerte706]

I am struggling with Arsenal. I play a 4-2-3-1 with BBM + DLP(D), but the strikers are complete sh&t. Lacazette has a vey poor average, Aubameyang is a little better. I bought Ajer, Tete, Grimaldo and a couple of kids(Morilla, Trincao, etc.) for the future. I changed the roles so many times, but the team is playing awful. I tried everything but it seems i don't  find the correct settings. I score very hardly, and i got beated 4-0 by Leverkusen, Liverpool, etc. 

 

I find this combination DLP+ BBM very bad.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Muerte706

[dcaine100]

On 23/08/2019 at 17:12, Muerte706 said:

I am struggling with Arsenal. I play a 4-2-3-1 with BBM + DLP(D), but the strikers are complete sh&t. Lacazette has a vey poor average, Aubameyang is a little better. I bought Ajer, Tete, Grimaldo and a couple of kids(Morilla, Trincao, etc.) for the future. I changed the roles so many times, but the team is playing awful. I tried everything but it seems i don't  find the correct settings. I score very hardly, and i got beated 4-0 by Leverkusen, Liverpool, etc. 

 

I find this combination DLP+ BBM very bad.

I play a similar formation to yours, In my team the AM (S) and Poacher were too static I solved this by adding the "roam from position" player instruction to the AM (S) and changing the Poacher to a Complete Forward Attack.

They now move about a lot more and get much more involved in play and are harder to defend against.

Let me know if these changes help 🙂

Edited August 27, 2019 by dcaine100
Spell Correction

[Muerte706]

Meanwhile i read some threads about 4-2-3-1 formation(i'm a fan of 4-3-3), made some changes and i'm doing great. I'm first in my second season, 2 points ahead of Liverpool. After i finished 3rd in the first season, with no cups and eliminated by Leverkusen from EL, i sold Aubemayang, and Iwobi to City for a combined 160 millions. I bought, Partey, Berge, Jota, Sancho, Zaha. I love that the kids play really well, Nelson, Smith Rowe, Mavropanos etc. 

 

LE. I got dumped out of CL by Inter after a disappointing 0-0 at home. Second in Premier League with 1 game in hand, and still running for both cups. I lost to Tottenham 2-3 after going 1-0 up because i wanted to rest some players for CL QF. I'm still not 100% happy with how the team plays...

[arsenalthebest]

Erling Haland has 162 goals(32.4/season) in all competitions  putting him forth behind Cliff Bastin we're in March of the 2023/24 season making him 23 so he has plenty of time to become our top goalscorer

[Muerte706]

32 goals per season? What tactic do you have? Can you post a screenshot here?

[arsenalthebest]

On 01/09/2019 at 11:19, Muerte706 said:

32 goals per season? What tactic do you have? Can you post a screenshot here?

i use different tactics and and will bring in different/tweaked tactics most seasons however I play him as a pressing forward on attack

Edited September 2, 2019 by arsenalthebest

[Vilmar]

On 23/08/2019 at 18:12, Muerte706 said:

I am struggling with Arsenal. I play a 4-2-3-1 with BBM + DLP(D), but the strikers are complete sh&t. Lacazette has a vey poor average, Aubameyang is a little better. I bought Ajer, Tete, Grimaldo and a couple of kids(Morilla, Trincao, etc.) for the future. I changed the roles so many times, but the team is playing awful. I tried everything but it seems i don't  find the correct settings. I score very hardly, and i got beated 4-0 by Leverkusen, Liverpool, etc. 

 

I find this combination DLP+ BBM very bad.

I use the same tactic and having Guendouzi en Torreira in a BBM + BWM let to me winning the league 3-4 games before the end. Took in 19 goals Man C had 29) but scored only 75 (Liverpool had 96). 

My struggle was the strikers. I had goals coming from my midfield which was good but at times the strikers disappointed me. I think it's my tactic as I brought in Maximiliano Gomez who wasn't effective as well. Calleri who wasn't consistent. Same for Piatek. I have now opted for a young strikers force. Consisting out of Joveljic, Silva, Uriatre (regen) and Aldade (regen), while Almada, Felix serve as back up when I play 4-2-4. And I still have 2 more promising strikers in my U23. Most goals are still coming from my (attacking) midfield but the strikers are following closely. 

My striker plays as either AF or P depending on the players stats also have Joveljic who plays as CF. I also customise my tactics based on who I play. Cross early with P. work in box with AF. Wings are either IF or W both on support but can change to Attack depending on how things go. AMC is AP or T, again based on the player his stats. central midfielders are DLP/BBM and BWM. When Torreira gets yellow I shift him to DLP and move Guendouzi to BBM. Biggest los has been 4-3 against Cardiff with an average of being 1-3 in scoreline. 

[Muerte706]

Neah. The save is ruined. I reloaded so many times that i don't want to play this anymore. I struggled to score goals, the strikers have so many games with 6.3, 6.4 average. I quit the game after a 0-0 at home with bottom placed Huddersfield. Crossing problem, pinball football, defenders making horrendous passes(they kick the ball only tho center of the field after a corner), highlights from AI with setpieces from the side of the penalty area, or throw ins from the same place. 

No matter the system used, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, wide or narrow the problems are the same.  

[lomekian]

On 09/09/2019 at 07:43, Muerte706 said:

Neah. The save is ruined. I reloaded so many times that i don't want to play this anymore. I struggled to score goals, the strikers have so many games with 6.3, 6.4 average. I quit the game after a 0-0 at home with bottom placed Huddersfield. Crossing problem, pinball football, defenders making horrendous passes(they kick the ball only tho center of the field after a corner), highlights from AI with setpieces from the side of the penalty area, or throw ins from the same place. 

No matter the system used, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, wide or narrow the problems are the same.  

Have you tried the tactic I uploaded a few pages back? It works wonders for me, and I've noticed a few others have had success with it.

I have no idea if I can make a tactic work with another very different team, but as an Arsenal blogger, podcaster and amateur tactical analyst, I know this club backwards and every year come up with a FM spanking tactic for Arsenal.

I guess its partly because Wenger's bizarre squad building has left with a squad where standard tactical set ups are less effective than tailored ones. I often find things that run contrary to online FM tactic gurus work best with Arsenal! Certainly, I've ended up with an asymmetric formation every year and it always works better than standard ones....

Will be interesting if its as good with the slightly more logical signings coming in these days....

[lomekian]

On 23/08/2019 at 17:12, Muerte706 said:

I am struggling with Arsenal. I play a 4-2-3-1 with BBM + DLP(D), but the strikers are complete sh&t. Lacazette has a vey poor average, Aubameyang is a little better. I bought Ajer, Tete, Grimaldo and a couple of kids(Morilla, Trincao, etc.) for the future. I changed the roles so many times, but the team is playing awful. I tried everything but it seems i don't  find the correct settings. I score very hardly, and i got beated 4-0 by Leverkusen, Liverpool, etc. 

 

I find this combination DLP+ BBM very bad.

For me the DLP and BBM are excellent, but I have a lopsided AP ahead of the DLP, the striker lopsided ahead of the  BBM, the IF on Attack, an advanced WB on the left, and quite a few more team instructions.

The AI teams are set up to counter standard formations, Going lopsided and oddly balanced gives them more problems. The general philosophy is based on the best elements of the later Wenger teams, with elements of the earlier ones to combine it with Emery style intensity. (need to rotate lots though, so stock up on those good u21 players for more options!)

[Mark.]

On 12/09/2019 at 11:25, lomekian said:

Arsenal blogger, podcaster and amateur tactical analyst,

What is your blog and podcast?

[lomekian]

20 hours ago, Mark. said:

What is your blog and podcast?

I used to have a blog called 'Edge of the Area' and then joined the team at dailycannon.com specialising in long form articles, club history etc, and used to have a weekly column until work made it impossible to commit to. I still do the odd thing, but mostly just do the daily cannon weekly podcast which I host and produce. If I'm being honest its not as good as the Arsenal Vision podcast has become, and doesn't get as many good guests as Arseblog, but I guess we have about 1k to 2k listeners every episode with the odd spike into the tens of thousands. A couple of years ago we had bigger numbers, but as my acting career has started being busier following my building up from having changed from my old job, I haven't had as much time to commit to it. That said, I've got some special guests lined up between now and Xmas, so that should be fun! I wish I had more time to give to it, but I can't complain if acting work is picking up ;-)

Have also been guest on a few radio shows, and was on Love Sport every week for about 5 months until I became unavailable, and have written the odd article elsewhere. I don't have the tactical or coaching knowledge of someone like Clive Palmer, but I do know a lot more than most fans I guess - 30+ years of watching avidly means you spot patterns etc quicker, and I also usually know all the youth prospects well before they reach the u23s....

Edited September 27, 2019 by lomekian

[speed_demon]

Hey peeps.

How have you guys got on with Nketiah? 

I've just been offered £41M from Wolves, 31M upfront. 

My main strike force is Aubameyang with 25 goals & Lacazette 32 goals (both all comps). 

Nketiah has only made 12 appearances (I recalled him from loan in Jan, so hasn't had a full season) with 10 goals. 11 of those were as a sub too.

So, should I accept 41M?

[Sysiphus]

On 09/10/2019 at 16:58, speed_demon said:

Hey peeps.

How have you guys got on with Nketiah? 

I've just been offered £41M from Wolves, 31M upfront. 

My main strike force is Aubameyang with 25 goals & Lacazette 32 goals (both all comps). 

Nketiah has only made 12 appearances (I recalled him from loan in Jan, so hasn't had a full season) with 10 goals. 11 of those were as a sub too.

So, should I accept 41M?

From my experience he can become a very good goalscorer, but you have to invest a lot of gametime in him for him to be able to lead your frontline to CL glory down the line. He's the perfect 2nd to 3rd striker though in my opinion. Money will never be an issue at Arsenal in FM so I wouldn't sell an academy prospect unless he gets no minutes for you and you've already acquired great regens and he stands in the way. 

[Yoeri]

Anyone who's in possession of FM2020 en wanna provide me some screenshots of Arsenal players?

[femster]

If you tell me how to do it and who you want I can do it, as long as no one else objects.

[Kieran87]

On 21/11/2019 at 18:46, Yoeri said:

Anyone who's in possession of FM2020 en wanna provide me some screenshots of Arsenal players?

Ask for who you want?

[Kieran87]

[BrickCommo23]

On FM20, anyone else start with £10m but then in about December of Season 1 you get a message saying there is now £77m available? 

Not complaining, just seems a bit random. 

[Champfan10]

8 minutes ago, BrickCommo23 said:

On FM20, anyone else start with £10m but then in about December of Season 1 you get a message saying there is now £77m available? 

Not complaining, just seems a bit random. 

Yep, I had the same.

[RandomGuy.]

2 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

On FM20, anyone else start with £10m but then in about December of Season 1 you get a message saying there is now £77m available? 

Not complaining, just seems a bit random. 

 

2 hours ago, Champfan10 said:

Yep, I had the same.

The initial budgets are set to reflect real life spending. Arsenal spent a lot so have a small budget, but I believe Liverpool and Man City have large budgets.

[Champfan10]

Just now, RandomGuy. said:

 

The initial budgets are set to reflect real life spending. Arsenal spent a lot so have a small budget, but I believe Liverpool and Man City have large budgets.

Its meant to reflect real life, Ill be shocked if we spend more in January.

[BrickCommo23]

25 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

 

The initial budgets are set to reflect real life spending. Arsenal spent a lot so have a small budget, but I believe Liverpool and Man City have large budgets.

Sure, I completely get that. Would have been stupid to have another 70m given what has been spent IRL. 

Just seems weird to suddenly have another 70m about 8 weeks later - having not sold anyone, qualified for anything, won anything etc etc. 

Not complaining just surprising

[Yoeri]

On 22/11/2019 at 21:53, Kieran87 said:

Thanks man. The future looks bright. But Saliba and Martinelli look as good as they are in real. That's a bit disappointing.

Do you also have the attributes of Aubameyang, Özil, Laca, Pepe and Tierney?

[Kieran87]

On 25/11/2019 at 11:30, Yoeri said:

Thanks man. The future looks bright. But Saliba and Martinelli look as good as they are in real. That's a bit disappointing.

Do you also have the attributes of Aubameyang, Özil, Laca, Pepe and Tierney?

This is a month or so after the first ones, still only November 2019.

[arsenalthebest]

Is no one going to do an Arsenal FM20  Thread

Edited November 30, 2019 by arsenalthebest

[SteveUK]

I'm more than happy to do one

[SteveUK]

Started one up, going to be working on it through the day now, will include squad details and breakdown of players, and some suggestions.