FM23: Arsenal - Banter FC is over

[ThanatosAFC]

Welcome to the FM 2023 Arsenal FC thread!

                                           

Arsenal, in full Arsenal Football Club, byname the Gunners, English professional football  team based in Londen. Arsenal is one of the most successful squads in English football history, having played in the country’s top division (Football League first Division to 1992, Premier League thereafter) each season since 1919. In the process it has captured 13 league titles.

The club was founded in 1886 and took the name Royal Arsenal after its first game, combining the moniker of the Royal Oak pub, where the team members met, with that of their workplace, the Arsenal munitions factory in Woolwich. The name was changed to Woolwich Arsenal in 1891, and Woolwich was dropped from the name after the 1912–13 season, when the team moved its home stadium to the Highbury section of the London borough of Islington. The club played at Arsenal Stadium (commonly referred to as “Highbury”) until 2006, when it relocated to a new, 60,000-seat stadium(Emirates) in Islington’s Holloway district.

Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur; matches between the two are referred to as the North London derby. Other rivalries within London include those with Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham United.

Trophies:

UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup – 1993–94 (1)

FA Community Shield – 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 (16)

FA Cup – 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016-17, 2019-2020 (14)

First Division (until 1992) and Premier League – 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04 (13)

League Cup – 1986–87, 1992–93 (2)

 

Squad:

 

Transfers 22-23:

In:

Gabriel Jesus	Man City	£45m
Oleksandr Zinchenko	Man City	£31.5m
Fabio Vieira	Porto	£31.5m
Matt Turner	New England	£5.7m
Marquinhos	Sao Paulo	£3m

Out:

Matteo Guendouzi	Marseille	£9m
Lucas Torreira	Galatasaray	£5.5m
Bernd Leno	Fulham	£3.2m
Konstantinos Mavropanos	Stuttgart	£2.7m
Alexandre Lacazette	Lyon	Free
Hector Bellerin	Barcelona	Free

Edited December 3, 2022 by ThanatosAFC

[ThanatosAFC]

Thought such a big club deserved it's own thread, hope you Arsenal fans & people in general will spread your game expirience and love for the club. 

Edited December 3, 2022 by ThanatosAFC

[ThanatosAFC]

First vs second lineup:

recommended transfers:

Defenders : Lukeba(Lyon), Antonio Silva(Benfica), Hincapie(Leverkusen) or Esteve(Montpellier).

Midfielders: Tielemans(Leicester City), Sander Berge(Sheffield Utd), Andrey Santos(Vasco da gama) or Danilo(Palmeiras).

Wingers: Schjelderup(FC Nordsjaelland), Moleiro(Las Palmas), Chukwueze(Villarreal) or Angelo(Santos).

Strikers: Marcos Leonardo(Santos), Evanilson(Porto) or Hojlund(Atalanta).

Edited December 3, 2022 by ThanatosAFC

[hasdgfas]

Heck yeah! Happy to see specifically an FM23 thread for Arsenal. I just finished Season 1 last night and will post my results when I get back to my desktop. It was reasonably successful, but disappointing in the end.

[ThanatosAFC]

13 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

Heck yeah! Happy to see specifically an FM23 thread for Arsenal. I just finished Season 1 last night and will post my results when I get back to my desktop. It was reasonably successful, but disappointing in the end.

Thought it was strange no one would make a thread for such a popular club so i made one quickly 

[hasdgfas]

Arsenal - Season Review - 2022/23

As I said above, a successful season, even if it was a brutal ending:

3rd in the League is good, meeting expectations. Comfortable third, even, 20 points into the CL spots and only 5 points behind champions Manchester City.

Just a few blips, but enough blips that we just couldn't quite take it over the line, we were fighting all season though, never in doubt for top 4 and close to the top of the League.

The Europa League final is where it was the most brutal.

An incredibly open game, with, sadly, a De Gea masterclass and some really poor defending in a few spots to avoid us routing them, then just one penalty miss.

The less said about the Carabo and FA Cups the better, but I was rotating with the tight schedule.

-----

Stats:

Incredible seasons from a lot of players. Jesus, Saka, Martinelli, and Odegaard were the standouts.

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Tactics

I swapped between two different tactics depending on the wings I wanted to attack.

 

This was my tactic for an attacking RB, such as Ben White, making sure to protect him with the BWM on that side.

This was my tactic for an attacking LB, such as Zinchenko, similarly protecting him with the BWM on that side.

Transfers

No important outs, so these were my players brought in.

Villagra was a 6M flier, hoping to get him to develop a bit and maybe make a profit, but I don't know if he'll be good enough to play for us long-term. I think he's going out on loan next season.

Kana was brought in as a backup for the DM positions, but he just didn't really perform the way I hoped. I think I'll have to send him out on loan next season.

Dominguez was brought in as a backup for Partey in January, but by the end of the season he was my starting BWM and Partey moved to starting Segundo Volante so he could push forward more and because Xhaka stopped playing well, and that worked really well. He'll have a spot with the squad for a bit as I try to strengthen the midfield.

----

Next Season plans/thoughts/hopes:

I'd like to fight for the title again, maybe making it over the line this time.

I need to clean up the midfield more. Xhaka wants to leave, so I really need to find someone to take over that Segundo Volante role. Partey and Dominguez rotating as BWM, Elneny can go, I just need more depth here, maybe I can make a big signing, a Rice or a Bellingham or something.

Reiss Nelson is leaving on a free, he just wasn't performing well enough, so I definitely need a winger.

I'd like to clean up the backline, it feels like I'm scrambling to have players for places if I get an injury or two.

I hope to develop a few more youngsters and get them some time in the Cups(I'd say Europa, but we made CL).

 

Really, I just want to build on a successful season, I feel like a few small tweaks and a little more depth can get us there.

Edited December 4, 2022 by hasdgfas

[ThanatosAFC]

@hasdgfas I call this a more then decent season, you got a good run in the league and got unlucky in that UEL final, 4.15 xG my Lord! 

A season you can build on, just need like you said a top midfielder and maybe some quality depth at the back to push for the title next season.

Btw i see lots of people using two DM's this year and it seems to work out pretty well for you.

[hasdgfas]

10 minutes ago, ThanatosAFC said:

@hasdgfas I call this a more then decent season, you got a good run in the league and got unlucky in that UEL final, 4.15 xG my Lord!

A season you can build on, just need like you said a top midfielder and maybe some quality depth at the back to push for the title next season.

Btw i see lots of people using two DM's this year and it seems to work out pretty well for you.

yeah, a lot of scuffed 1v1s, as well as some great De Gea saves. It was a good season, but ending like that is deflating.

I've been messing with 2 DMs in FM for the past several years, trying to make the most of the Segundo Volante. It's a tough role to unlock the potential of.

[ThanatosAFC]

16 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

yeah, a lot of scuffed 1v1s, as well as some great De Gea saves. It was a good season, but ending like that is deflating.

I've been messing with 2 DMs in FM for the past several years, trying to make the most of the Segundo Volante. It's a tough role to unlock the potential of.

I always swear to a 433 with a roaming playmaker but I might switch this years fm. The Volante role is too tricky for me, it gets me frustrated and not many players suit that role imo. 

[ajw10]

I completed a season pre-patch and won the League and Europa. However, I didn't particularly enjoy it so I'm starting again on the new patch.

No signings as always, 4-3-3. Trying to get as much youth through as possible too

[ThanatosAFC]

7 minutes ago, ajw10 said:

I completed a season pre-patch and won the League and Europa. However, I didn't particularly enjoy it so I'm starting again on the new patch.

No signings as always, 4-3-3. Trying to get as much youth through as possible too

Yeah I know the feeling, sometimes I start a save over and over again cause I ain't happy with the tactics, player performances or too many transfers at once. I am a hard pleaser and want my save to be perfect. 

[FCArsenal]

In the beggining of season 4 chinese tycoon took over the club. Pumped so much money and want us to be the best team in the world

[Kieran87]

Finished season 1

Interesting season, lost opening game of season in a demolishment from Utd. then Smashed Chelsea 5 days later and it went upwards from there. 

Cruised the Europa with a 1st leg loss to Utd 3-1 and then return a 5-0 drubbing at Home with a final victory that we cantered to

Not really anything notable bar getting Xhaka and Lokonga off the wage bill in January as just didn't fit my style of play - so went out on loan with mandatory future fees set. 

Found something odd though, Odegaard player of the tournament but not in the team of the tournament. 

Onwards now though, Just bought it Tyler Adams on a rotation basis and looking at Endrick from Brazilian league with another CDM to nab to add depth as Elneny off for free and Nelson off too so perhaps another RW backup on the cards.
 

[ThanatosAFC]

@Kieran87 What's your style of play? Cause i do think Lokonga is a more then decent back up with good potential.

[ajw10]

A stupid first season in charge

 

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Not much more I can do after that. No signings until Jan, where I put in Lemar on loan to cover the wings whilst I sold Holding, Cedric and Nelson plus loaned out Marquinhos.

Nketiah won POTY. Everyone played their part though. Saka and Odegaard had brilliant half seasons. Odegaard started strong and faded, whilst Saka did the opposite.

 

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Moving forward Elneny is leaving for around £17m and Partey is in talks with Liverpool over a £69m move. I want to bring in either Camavinga or Enzo Fernandez as the DM. Might loan out Walters and try and bring through Norton-Cuffy.

Patino will get his chance this season too

[oze07]

9 hours ago, ajw10 said:

A stupid first season in charge

 

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Not much more I can do after that. No signings until Jan, where I put in Lemar on loan to cover the wings whilst I sold Holding, Cedric and Nelson plus loaned out Marquinhos.

Nketiah won POTY. Everyone played their part though. Saka and Odegaard had brilliant half seasons. Odegaard started strong and faded, whilst Saka did the opposite.

 

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Moving forward Elneny is leaving for around £17m and Partey is in talks with Liverpool over a £69m move. I want to bring in either Camavinga or Enzo Fernandez as the DM. Might loan out Walters and try and bring through Norton-Cuffy.

Patino will get his chance this season too

wow! you must have an amazing tactic?!

 

[ThanatosAFC]

@ajw10 That's an incredible season and without transfers? 

[hasdgfas]

January 2024

While it feels like it has been more of a struggle this season than last, I'm still performing well.

PREMIER LEAGUE:

Not as free scoring as last season, with a few really frustrating draws and a horrible opening season loss to Watford, but we're actually still doing well, as you can see being 2 points off the top.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

Undefeated with two draws against Bayern is really good, but we ended up second behind Bayern in the group and were not confirmed through the groups until the win against Slovan Bratislava to finish the groups off.

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TRANSFERS:

One of the weirdest summer transfer windows for me personally with my targets and budget.

d

The Outs: Cedric wasn't good enough, Pepe I could have done something with but I wanted a fresh start, Ainsley wasn't good enough, Xhaka wanted a new challenge, and a bunch of young players I didn't see a future for.

Now, the Ins:

I took a punt on Ndiaye on a free. He's not going to be good enough, but I might make a little money on him.

Ali looked reasonable as depth for the front line on a free. He's scored a few goals, and he's a reasonable backup, but definitely not performing to the level I hoped. Worth a shot at free, but I'll be moving him on next summer.

Bringing back an old Hale End boy, Yunus Musah was available for a cheap 17M. I let him stay at Valencia on loan this season, but when Elneny leaves (be it January or the end of the season), he'll be added to the midfield and I am very excited for him.

I basically never do this, especially since he's so immobile now, but having Pique here for a bit for some leadership, experience, and mentoring felt like it could be fun.

I was pretty unhappy with my midfield options at the end of the transfer window(probably should have kept Musah here, but w/e), and Juventus were happy to let McKennie go. Strong and with good stamina, he'll fit in to whichever spot in my midfield I need to fit him into. He's been fantastic.

I wanted a kinda flashy signing, as well as some front line depth behind Saka, and Olise was really good against me last season, so I splashed out on Olise, as he's young and technical. Unfortunately, he has been injured for like 3-4 months so far this season and hasn't really hit the field enough to make an assessment on him, as you can tell from his appearances, mostly as a sub. Hopefully he can get healthy and show why I was so interested in him.

I got more transfer funds in January, so I think I am going to look for a young central defender. I have high hopes for Walters or Norton-Cuffy to take the DR spot(they're already training with the first team and making some benches), so I think someone else to learn from Pique would be great.

[dido53]

ı am playıng with arsenal lookıng really good for now.Won the league euro league and fa cup first year mainly playıng 4231 wıth dm s.My main problem is my rcb or lcb play below6,6 every game no matter what and now at second season opp teams are harder to breakdown.Normally ı play lb as full back attack and ldm as half back but second season ı needed to change that.Also dont mınd the mentalıty ım stıll searchıng

[ThanatosAFC]

@hasdgfas Musah is such a bargain and Olise is a top singing. you have strong depth with him and Saka on the right now, homegrown as well.

Btw hows Marquinhos doing?

@dido53How much did you pay for Asprilla? Livramento must have cost you a ton of money, Southampton always asking like +£100 million for him.

[hasdgfas]

33 minutes ago, ThanatosAFC said:

Btw hows Marquinhos doing?

He's on loan at Nantes right now, and isn't doing super great? He still has potential, he's only 21, but I think he's going to need another season cooking in the loan oven before he can have a look with the first team.

[ThanatosAFC]

17 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

He's on loan at Nantes right now, and isn't doing super great? He still has potential, he's only 21, but I think he's going to need another season cooking in the loan oven before he can have a look with the first team.

He didn't develope that much but like  i said before, with Saka & Olise you are more then fine.

[dido53]

20 saat önce, ThanatosAFC said:

@hasdgfas Musah is such a bargain and Olise is a top singing. you have strong depth with him and Saka on the right now, homegrown as well.

Btw hows Marquinhos doing?

@dido53How much did you pay for Asprilla? Livramento must have cost you a ton of money, Southampton always asking like +£100 million for him.

ı paıd 16 for asprilla up to 18 and ı paid 70 for livramento up to 80.I signed asprilla early and loaned hım back to them.Livramento ı declared ınterest his agent saıd he ıs avaılable at the end of season and ı generate the money for hım wıth sellıng tomıyasu to barca oblıgated to buy hım for total 57 mıllıon euros 

[dido53]

By the way he plays great ın my save ı played him in the cup game and he ımpressed me so ı try to gıve tıme whenever ı can he play great as mezzala attack

[ThanatosAFC]

41 minutes ago, dido53 said:

ı paıd 16 for asprilla up to 18 and ı paid 70 for livramento up to 80.I signed asprilla early and loaned hım back to them.Livramento ı declared ınterest his agent saıd he ıs avaılable at the end of season and ı generate the money for hım wıth sellıng tomıyasu to barca oblıgated to buy hım for total 57 mıllıon euros 

Tomiyasu wasn't performing? I do like his profile a lot and he gives me decent numbers at the moment. I do need a a good second right back tho, looking at Soppy & Frimpong right now.

[dido53]

3 dakika önce, ThanatosAFC said:

Tomiyasu wasn't performing? I do like his profile a lot and he gives me decent numbers at the moment. I do need a a good second right back tho, looking at Soppy & Frimpong right now.

he was good not spectacular but good ı just wanted more attackıng threat for the space saka leavıng  and livramento can play there at least 10 years  ı use brooke norton cuffy for back up ın thıs second year but fırst year ı use ben whıte there also.I was also thınkıng use tomiyasu at dm but ı got covered there so ı let hım go.ı am lookıng for cbs actually they always play around 6,5

[Kieran87]

On 10/12/2022 at 23:13, ThanatosAFC said:

@Kieran87 What's your style of play? Cause i do think Lokonga is a more then decent back up with good potential.

[Kieran87]

On 10/12/2022 at 23:13, ThanatosAFC said:

@Kieran87 What's your style of play? Cause i do think Lokonga is a more then decent back up with good potential.

Just found Lokonga was too "safe" a player and didn't express with the ball how I like. Koop and even Patino so far are both more expansive and will move with the ball. Sambi would literally go left or right and I despise that In henderson IRL so couldn't bare to have 1 of mine doing it in game ahahaha

Been a tad busier so far this summer window now budgets are here. 

Got Pepe off the bill, plus AMN, Mari, Holding and an assortment of youth that just wouldn't get game time. I had been playing Quamina and even Lino Sousa last season but when I found some of these scandinavians I knew they wouldn't get a game on the left

Working on trying to get Balogun first team time, with Nketiah and Bierith may prove difficult so perhaps one goes back out on loan.

Walters/Brooke along with Azeez & Patino will have a place around the first team this coming season too. Also fancy seeing how I can fare with Trusty. A BIG Centreback that might be good enough for lower half games to take the strain until I decide on Ndicka/Gvardiol or Rensch

 

[ThanatosAFC]

@dido53Well 57 million for Tomiyasu is big money, would accept that too and Livramento is the better player future wise.

@Kieran87 I see, you play DM's too. Well i do play with 2 holders so Lokonga is ideal but if you want more movement and risk then i do understand why you move him.

How is Koopmeiners? Many people seem to love him this years FM.

[hasdgfas]

END OF 2023/24 SEASON:

A very similar season to the last one, with some frustrating results even if it was overall a solid season.

PREMIER LEAGUE:

Inconsistency away is the issue. If I can clean that up we can probably take the title soon.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

This was horrendous after a fantastic performance in the first leg. Just a disaster where we did nothing right.

STATS:

The striker position really struggled this season. I'm not sure why. They scored goals, but if they weren't doing that, it was 6.2s constantly.

TRANSFERS:

A couple ins:

Jean-Clair Todibo was a cheap pickup in January to fill out my defensive depth, and he took over the starting spot from Saliba by the end of it.

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Honestly, the biggest thing here is that I need better consistency and depth. Hopefully I can find that next season. This was SO frustrating at times because we would go from an oustanding performance to looking like we had necer kicked a ball before.

[hasdgfas]

I forgot about the upcoming Champions League changes and momentarily had no idea what was going on when I hit the schedule for it

[ajw10]

Finished my second season a few days ago. Sold Partey to Liverpool for £69m and replaced with Camavinga for a cheaper price. Mudryk was my other big signing.

Retained the league and it was much more comfortable than the points tally suggests. Our defence of the two domestic cups was a disgrace, losing on pens to Bournemouth in the 3rd round of the League Cup and losing at Anfield in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

CL was really straightforward mind

Alexis Mac Allister was signed in the Jan window and he made a huge difference, his partnership with Camavinga was crucial for the run in.

In the summer Xhaka wanted a new challenge so he went to Benfica for £38.5m, Tierney wanted first team football so went to Porto for £42m. Nketiah went to Fulham for £41m and I decided to cash in on Balogun after he had a great season in the Championship for Everton. He went to fellow Championship side Brentford for £30m, replacing Ivan Toney.

Only big purchase we've made is Enzo Fernandez who had a £40.5m release clause at Benfica.

Not overly enjoying this game, there's too many quirks that affect my overall enjoyment, so not sure how motivated I am to carry on, which is a shame as I've got a few promising players coming through the academy.

[hasdgfas]

JANUARY 2025

This season is feeling a lot like previous seasons so far:

PREMIER LEAGUE:

Second place right behind Newcastle, who look great. We've mostly been performing well, apart from a few away struggles and the home matches with City and Liverpool.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

We are looking pretty good in the new League Phase so far, should get a win at Trnava. Sociedad will be tough, but winnable, and I think we can end in the top 8 and skip a round.

A winnable path to the League Cup, and the FA Cup run starts soon here.

TRANSFERS OUT:

A whole big pile of people who weren't performing for me or didn't look like they were going to develop. Not super happy with all of these prices, but I'm happy with the clearout.

TRANSFERS IN:

A few to build some depth for this season and hopefully push us over a few lines.

Xavi is a right back for the future(or to flip for a profit), because at a free transfer he's not a huge investment cost.

Enzo Fernandez is a name probably familiar to World Cup viewers, and I wanted him to strengthen a midfield I wasn't happy with in previous seasons (and had a HUGE clearout between Elneny, Villagra, Kana, and Lokonga all left. He's been a great performer in a strong midfield and I'm really happy with his signing. 36.5M feels like a fantastic deal after selling Lokonga for 40M.

Oscar Gloukh was a promising player from Israel that my scouts saw, and I needed an Odegaard backup, as Vieira just...wasn't performing. In his limited minutes this season, Oscar has been incredibly exciting and aggressive. I'm really happy with his signing(at 4.1M!) and look forward to seeing his development behind Odegaard.

STATS/PERFORMANCES:

A few interesting names/performances to point out here.

Saka has been unreal, with 11 goals, 6 assists, and an AR of 7.30. Odegaard has 6 goals, 6 assists, and an AR of 7.24, but even without the assists racking up quite as much, he has been SUPER important.

You might notice, tied with Saka at 11 goals, Folarin Balogun.

He came back from a couple loans and just...started performing really well, especially in the Champions League minutes he's gotten. And his League performances are going UP. I'm really excited to see this, and have even pushed Jesus out to AML to fit Balogun in more.

Similarly, out of nowhere, Zach Awe has joined the central defender rotation:

He's a TANK at the back and has made a huge jump in development this season. He's not at starting level, but he's great as fourth choice in the rotation for the times he needs to be around, or if I can get him some sub time late.

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I've got a couple January signings in the works, and I hope they work out and help me get across the line in SOME competition this year.

[hasdgfas]

Well, I don't think I can turn this down. Anyone is replaceable at 125M + 25% of next sale (not just profit!)

[ThanatosAFC]

8 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Well, I don't think I can turn this down. Anyone is replaceable at 125M + 25% of next sale (not just profit!)

That's a big sale  

I do look at Antonio Silva or Timber if i where you...

[hasdgfas]

9 hours ago, ThanatosAFC said:

That's a big sale  

I do look at Antonio Silva or Timber if i where you...

Went a little higher-end than them to trigger a release clause, and still only spent two-thirds of what I got...

[ThanatosAFC]

@hasdgfasAlways forget about Gvardiol due his immense price tag.

Bought Ronnie Edwards(two footed) and send him straight back to Peterborough, seems to have decent potential this years FM.

Also set my eyes on Maxim Estevé or Mattia Viti, both are left footed and bags of potential. Also both cheaper then Gvardiol.

[hasdgfas]

I've made quite a few big sales, I don't mind paying for quality rather than potential.

[ThanatosAFC]

1 hour ago, hasdgfas said:

I've made quite a few big sales, I don't mind paying for quality rather than potential.

True but  i've kept Saliba and tied him up till 2028, one of those guys i bring in can grow one year behind Gabriel(who i tend to sell after season 2).

 

[hasdgfas]

14 minutes ago, ThanatosAFC said:

True but i've kept Saliba and tied him up till 2028, one of those guys i bring in can grow one year behind Gabriel(who i tend to sell after season 2).

 

Yup, that's what I was trying to do, but I couldn't turn down 125+25% for Saliba, so I needed a starter-level replacement. I do have Zach Awe coming through as a great backup though

[Carmi88]

18 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

I've made quite a few big sales, I don't mind paying for quality rather than potential.

My board now insist i spend rather than nurture talent, which i ain't too chuffed about whenever i want to upgrade youth recruitment / facilities. 

 

Won't be back to my PC with my save on it till tomorrow (cloud save never uploaded) but i'd highly recommend people take a look at Stoke's young English striker Tezgel. Whilst he does have the "doesn't enjoy big games" trait he has still been amazing and competes with Haaland for golden boot 

[Carmi88]

sorted the cloud out  

 

[hasdgfas]

3 hours ago, Carmi88 said:

Won't be back to my PC with my save on it till tomorrow (cloud save never uploaded) but i'd highly recommend people take a look at Stoke's young English striker Tezgel. Whilst he does have the "doesn't enjoy big games" trait he has still been amazing and competes with Haaland for golden boot

I had my eye on him for a bit, but he just went to Southampton. Might be able to snag him from there in a couple seasons though.

[ThanatosAFC]

Tezgel got a 4.5 star rating from my scouts, same as Marcos Leonardo, Mohammed- Ali Cho and Elye Wahi.

One of them will be my future striker, just can't decide 

[Ghost4928]

Only just noticed this post, so I might start posting what happens in my save.

I typically disable first transfer windows, so no transfers until Jan.

I also try and emulate tactics from real life in the first season, so this is what I am currently using.

Obviously, Odegaard and Saka (both injured) take up Vieira and Nelson's positions respectievly.

 

Results ain't too bad so far, but heading into October now.

 

Something else to add, I've tried to take a more analytical approach to transfers (both a personal interest of mine, and it is what Arsenal do in real life), so most of transfers will be influenced by stats.

 

And finally, even though SI said they fixed near post corners, I just wanna laugh at this game.

[dennislauridsen]

Hey Peps :).

Just started a save with Arsenal. I choose to take transfer off in the first window. I like to see the team before i go out and buy someone.

Im only 5 games into the season, but so far it has been OK. 

Arsenal VS Newcastle - 6-1 
Liverpool VS Arsenal - 4-1
Arsenal VS Aston Villa - 4-0
Tottenham VS Arsenal - 0-1
Arsenal VS Nottingham forrest - 3-0____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All in all its fine, but the defeat to Liverpool annoyes me. In that game, i saw my midfield was run over by Liverpools, Thiago, Henderson and Fabinho. I know I was outplayed because i play 4231 and they play 451 so the are always one more in the midfield, but again, Henderson was all over the field and he scores hattrick. but **** it now, im 2 in the league, 1 point behind Man City.

GK: Ramsdale 
RB: Tomiyasu - CB: Saliba - CB: Gabriel - VB: Tierney
CM: Partey - CM: Xhaka
RW: Saka - AM: Ødegaard - LW: Martinelli
ST: Jesus

 

My transfer target is Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham. i like to keep it national, but some outside its fine. Endrick is also in my sight. Partey and Xhaka is not good enough, so thats why rice and bellingham is the target. Endrick just because i like young players, and first time trying to get him, so I'm excited to see how good he will be i my game.

What about u guys? how does it goes, and where do i guys think Arsenal needs to focus on?

 

ill keep u updated when i come further

Edited January 8, 2023 by dennislauridsen

[Ghost4928]

Continuation of my post from:

 

Transfer window finished, with no notable outgoings. Nelson and Elneny will be joining Lyon and Celtic at the end of their contracts respectively.

 

For the incomings, 4 players came in, with 3 loans and the 1 permanent signing loaned straight back out to Blackburn.

 

Ashley Phillips was recommended by my scouts, and when you consider the Homegrown at Nation status, and potential to be Homegrown at club, could become a bargain for only 10m (the potential 3m are club and nation appearance clauses).

 

Now, to the other players who will play a part in the rest of the season. Like I said, since I'm taking a more statistical route of signing players, all 4 players loaned in fitted into what I wanted to see from a statistical POV.

First up is Arne Maier, my Partey backup. As the base of a midfield 3, there were two main roles I wanted from this player: 1) ability to make progressive passes from deep to advance play and dictate the tempo of the game, and 2) ability to shield the defence when we have lost possession, enough so that my defenders aren't being exposed too much.

Elneny was doing the shielding of the defence very well, but as a team that wants to dominate possession and have my midfielders on the ball, Elneny wasn't adventurous enough on the ball, and wasn't safe enough on the ball (losing possession 9.41 per 90 compared to Partey's 7.65 per 90). Hence, why Arne Maier was loaned in.

Despite playing for 18th placed Augesburg in the Bundesliga who only averages 47% possession on average (ranked 13th), Maier was making 4.38 progressive passes and 5.55 tackles + interceptions per 90. For comparison, the Premier League average for progressive passes per 90 is 3.89.

With it being the end of January, and Maier making a couple of appearances in teh FA cup, I feel like Maier fits very well into the team, considering the small sample size.

In Partey, I have my starting DM, Elneny being more of a destroyer, and Maier being more of a distributor.

 

Rebic was the next player loaned in. For this position, I wanted a wide forward that would get me goals, so focusing on stats such as non-penalty xG as well as shots on target and conversion rate, Rebic ticked a lot of the boxes I wanted. The other player that I considered loaning in was Hlozek, and looking through the stats, Hlozek was a player who dribbled with the ball more than Rebic (3.97 dribbles/90 vs 1.64 dribbles/90), whereas Rebic was a player more accustomed with the ball into their feet (1.94 open play key passes vs 0.86 open play key passes). Considering Reiss Nelson was going to be on the opposite wing, and he preferes to dribble (3.5/90) instead of pass (1.85/90), I went with Rebic who offers a little bit more variety.

Finally is Brian Brobbery. He was brought in from Ajax on loan as someone who was converting a high percentage of their chances, and was able to overperform on their xG when needed. In other words, I wanted another option who was clinical when given the chance to score.

 

And finally, an update on the season post Jan:

 

(Apologies for the lack of stats for the last two players, forgot to take screenshots lol, and their stats at their parent clubs disappeard when they signed on).

 

 

[JoOSTAR]

4 hours ago, Ghost4928 said:

Continuation of my post from:

 

Transfer window finished, with no notable outgoings. Nelson and Elneny will be joining Lyon and Celtic at the end of their contracts respectively.

 

For the incomings, 4 players came in, with 3 loans and the 1 permanent signing loaned straight back out to Blackburn.

 

Ashley Phillips was recommended by my scouts, and when you consider the Homegrown at Nation status, and potential to be Homegrown at club, could become a bargain for only 10m (the potential 3m are club and nation appearance clauses).

 

Now, to the other players who will play a part in the rest of the season. Like I said, since I'm taking a more statistical route of signing players, all 4 players loaned in fitted into what I wanted to see from a statistical POV.

First up is Arne Maier, my Partey backup. As the base of a midfield 3, there were two main roles I wanted from this player: 1) ability to make progressive passes from deep to advance play and dictate the tempo of the game, and 2) ability to shield the defence when we have lost possession, enough so that my defenders aren't being exposed too much.

Elneny was doing the shielding of the defence very well, but as a team that wants to dominate possession and have my midfielders on the ball, Elneny wasn't adventurous enough on the ball, and wasn't safe enough on the ball (losing possession 9.41 per 90 compared to Partey's 7.65 per 90). Hence, why Arne Maier was loaned in.

Despite playing for 18th placed Augesburg in the Bundesliga who only averages 47% possession on average (ranked 13th), Maier was making 4.38 progressive passes and 5.55 tackles + interceptions per 90. For comparison, the Premier League average for progressive passes per 90 is 3.89.

With it being the end of January, and Maier making a couple of appearances in teh FA cup, I feel like Maier fits very well into the team, considering the small sample size.

In Partey, I have my starting DM, Elneny being more of a destroyer, and Maier being more of a distributor.

 

Rebic was the next player loaned in. For this position, I wanted a wide forward that would get me goals, so focusing on stats such as non-penalty xG as well as shots on target and conversion rate, Rebic ticked a lot of the boxes I wanted. The other player that I considered loaning in was Hlozek, and looking through the stats, Hlozek was a player who dribbled with the ball more than Rebic (3.97 dribbles/90 vs 1.64 dribbles/90), whereas Rebic was a player more accustomed with the ball into their feet (1.94 open play key passes vs 0.86 open play key passes). Considering Reiss Nelson was going to be on the opposite wing, and he preferes to dribble (3.5/90) instead of pass (1.85/90), I went with Rebic who offers a little bit more variety.

Finally is Brian Brobbery. He was brought in from Ajax on loan as someone who was converting a high percentage of their chances, and was able to overperform on their xG when needed. In other words, I wanted another option who was clinical when given the chance to score.

 

And finally, an update on the season post Jan:

 

(Apologies for the lack of stats for the last two players, forgot to take screenshots lol, and their stats at their parent clubs disappeard when they signed on).

 

 

Great results!

 

Do you use any specific Player instructions in your tactic? And any opposition instructions?

[Ghost4928]

8 minutes ago, JoOSTAR said:

Great results!

 

Do you use any specific Player instructions in your tactic? And any opposition instructions?

Thanks!

The only player instructions I have is that the BBM moves into channels, both LW and RW stay wider, and the RW goes further forward.

Since both Martinelli and Saka want to come inside, as well as Zinchenko/Tierney and White/Tomi are playing inverted, the team is naturally quite narrow. The starting positions for my wingers are set to be wider to help with stretching the opposition defence. This helps create space for my wingers to dribble into, or for Odegaard or Xhaka/ESR to exploit by moving into channels.

Something else that I've noticed with the wingers with the Stay Wider instructions (and I'm not sure if it is directly caused by the instruction or not) is that in certain counter attacking scenarios where the opposition has pushed really high but loses possession that creates a 2v1 or 2v2 counterattacking situation (typically Jesus and one winger), Jesus would be able to drag a defender out to the wings which leaves one defender by themselves occupying the central area, and then my winger on the opposite flank still stretched wide and in acres of space. If Jesus can switch the ball in this scenario, this leaves either Martinelli or Saka in a 1v1 with the opposition keepr with no chance of any defenders to catch up.

And no opposition instructions.

[Gilberto Silva]

Finally finished my first season with Arsenal. I wanted to keep the same philosophy that Arteta has been using in terms of playing style and recruitment. This meant keeping a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hybrid of sorts. 

We managed a fourth-placed finish on the final day, with Chelsea missing out on Champion's League football in fifth. Our front four all had excellent seasons, with Gabriel Jesus topping the scoring charts with 19 goals from 34 league games (31 as a starter). The other Gabriel, Martinelli had a productive season finishing with 11 goals and two assists from 27 league starts. His season was ended by a broken ankle with a month or so left to play. Bukayo Saka was an assist machine, laying on 17 plus scoring 5 goals across 34 league appearances (he managed 20 assists and 8 goals in all competitions). Meanwhile, the orchestrator of the side Martin Odegaard finished the league season with 8 assists and 5 goals from 33 games, topping the team charts for key passes per 90. 

Aside from the starters, Eddie Nketiah had a hugely impressive season, ending with 20 goals from 47 appearances (21 as a starter). He has impressed me enough to keep him around.

All-in-all it was a fairly inconsistent league campaign despite my attacking players having very good output - just not quite good enough. Highlight of the league season was the 6-0 home battering of Spurs, whilst they did have ten-men for an entire half, we vastly outplayed them for the entire 90 minutes. Six different goalscorers as well - Xhaka, Martinelli, Jesus, Zinchenko, Elneny and Nketiah all getting on the scoresheet.

Cup competitions were incredibly painful this season. Starting with the EFL Cup, we had kind draws up to the semi-final stage but still made life difficult for ourselves. We started with an easy 3-0 win away at Brentford before squeezing past Southampton at St. Mary's on penalties after a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. The quarter-finals drew us against Championship side Watford at home, we again needed penalties to progress to the semi-finals after another 1-1 draw (thanks to a 91st minute equaliser from Asprilla for Watford). The semi-finals saw a heavyweight clash between ourselves and Liverpool with the first leg at Anfield. We fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat despite us having the better of the chances. However, we managed to overcome the deficit with a 3-1 win at the Emirates, thanks to an extra-time winner from Emile Smith Rowe.

The February final drew us against Norwich City who were currently outside the play-off places in the Championship. "Easy trophy" I thought. Wrong. After 80 minutes, we found ourselves 3-0 down thanks to a Teemu Pukki hat-trick. Grant Hanley was then sent-off which gave me a glimmer of hope, so we threw the kitchen sink at them for the final ten minutes plus stoppage time. Granit Xhaka found the top corner on 81 minutes, before Gabriel Martinelli added a second in the 89th minute. We went into complete attack-mode, which ended up being our downfall as Gabriel Sara scored a fourth for them in the 98th minute. Losing an EFL Cup final to a Championship side was no fun. 

Our FA Cup run started well, two kind home ties against Gillingham and Fleetwood respectively and we dispatched of both 3-0. The Fifth round drew us against fellow PL opposition in Fulham and we once again won 3-0, helped in part by two Fulham red cards. The quarter-final was a tight affair away at Brentford, where they gave us a much tougher game than they did in the EFL Cup, we ended up 1-0 winners with a late Jesus goal. Onto Wembley and the semi-final against old rivals Manchester United. It was a tight game, but United came out on top 2-1 after a late Antony poachers goal. 

Lastly, we had the Europa League. Our group was very, very kind when we were drawn against Qarabag, Sivasspor and Ferencvaros. We topped the group with 5 wins and a draw from the six games, the highlight being a 6-0 win at home to Sivasspor. The round-of-16 drew us against old Champion's League opponents, PSV. I was a little concerned, recalling Alex knocking us out all those years ago. The first tie was away and we fell to a 2-1 defeat. We took a 4th minute lead with a penalty dispatched by Fabio Vieira, but Cody Gakpo levelled just before half-time before they snatched a 93rd minute winner through Xavi Simons. The second leg we had no such issues, routing them 4-0. The quarter-finals drew us against Spanish opposition in Real Betis. This time we were the home side for the first leg and finished with a comfortable 3-0 victory after goals from Martinelli, Jesus and Saka. The second leg, we controlled the tie without exerting too much energy and ended with a 0-0 draw and safe passage to the semi-finals, where another Dutch side was waiting for us in Feyenoord. Another comfortable home win, 3-1 this time, we let in a late consolation. However, once again we controlled the away tie, finishing with another 0-0 draw to send us to the final where AC Milan were waiting. 

After an attempt on goal from Jesus in the fourth minute, there were literally no other highlights until extra-time. It was an extremely cagey affair with both defences on top. Sadly, we conceded two goals in a terrible five minute spell late in the second half of extra time which saw us lose our second cup final of the season. 

The season ended with a fourth-placed finish, two cup final losses and a semi-final loss. It could have been much better. 

So next on the agenda was the small matter of the summer transfer window. We hadn't really completed any notable business in January other than bringing in Thomas Lemar on loan, who flopped - ending the season with no goals or assists across eleven games. We did agree a deal to bring Albon Lafont to the club in the summer on a £7m deal. 

As we approach the start of the 2023/24 season, our business looks like this:

Ins:
Alban Lafont (Nantes - £7m)
Agustin Giay (San Lorenzo - £4m rising to £6m)
Danilo (Palmeiras - £17.5m)
Evan N'Dicka (Frankfurt - £20.5m rising to £26m)
Manu Kone (Monchengladbach - £34.5m rising to £44.5m)
Mykhalo Mudryk (Shakhtar - £48m rising to £67m)

Outs:
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Southampton - £10m)
Nicolas Pepe (FC Barcelona - £25.5m)
Matt Turner (Tigres - £9m)
Pablo Mari (Zenit - £4.6m)
Runar Alex Runarsson (Leeds United - £1m)
Rob Holding (Southampton - £11.5m)
Karl Jakob Hein (Bolton - loan)
Cedric (Wolves - loan)
Omar Rekik (Schalke 04 - loan)
Nuno Tavares (Bayer Leverkusen - loan)
Reiss Nelson (Montepellier - loan)
Marquinhos (Rennes - loan)

Leaving me with a very balanced squad, more departures could happen (mainly loans) but I think my signings are complete. The squad looks as below:

Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale, Alban Lafont, Arthur Okwonkwo

Right-backs: Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Brooke Norton-Cuffy 
Left-backs: Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney
Centre-backs: William Saliba, Gabriel, Evan N'Dicka, Zach Awe

Defensive midfield: Thomas Partey, Danilo, Mohamed Elneny
Central midfield: Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard, Manu Kone, Emile Smith Rowe, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Charlie Patino

Forwards: Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka, Mykhalo Mudryk, Fabio Vieira, Folarin Balogun

Sambi Lokonga did break his leg in pre-season so will not likely feature until 2024 at the earliest, I was looking to move him on but that will no longer happen in the short-term. I feel as though we are stacked now in the attacking positions and we have good versatility and cover in defence. I am hoping to give Awe and Patino game-time in the league cup whilst Norton-Cuffy will more than likely be loaned out provided I can find a suitable destination for him.