FM23: Arsenal - Banter FC is over

dennislauridsen · January 9, 2023

@Gilberto Silva - Great season. How was u youth intake?

I just recived that i have 2 strikers that has high PA. so i cross my fingers

Gilberto Silva · January 9, 2023

44 minutes ago, dennislauridsen said:

@Gilberto Silva - Great season. How was u youth intake?

I just recived that i have 2 strikers that has high PA. so i cross my fingers

Oh yeah - youth intake was tremendous. I have a goalkeeper that’s already rated at 2*, plus a right-winger, central midfielder and I think a right-back that are all 5* potential. Will add screens of them next time I’m at the computer.

dennislauridsen · January 9, 2023

10 minutes ago, Gilberto Silva said:

Oh yeah - youth intake was tremendous. I have a goalkeeper that’s already rated at 2*, plus a right-winger, central midfielder and I think a right-back that are all 5* potential. Will add screens of them next time I’m at the computer.

Thats sounds sweet. My target for RB was Livramento, but i hope i can sign Max Arons for free

hasdgfas · January 9, 2023

END OF 2024/25 SEASON:

All right, I've just finished 24/25, and got over a couple humps!

OVERVIEW:

A Treble! Way above expectations, I thought it was about a season too early for the League and the CL, but wanted a domestic cup this season. I was able to get all of them.

Now to delve into some specifics:

PREMIER LEAGUE:

I was worried in Feburary after the two away losses in Machester, but we only dropped 4 points from March to May.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

We qualified directly to the round of 16 after placing top 8 in the League Phase. I was worried about hitting United first, especially with a brutal loss away in the first leg.(we were leading until the 84th minute and they went ahead at 90+4), but we got them back in the return leg with a 90+3 goal by Martinelli to progress. And from there we just took care of business defensively, giving up a single goal for the rest of the campaign.

FA CUP:

Again a tricky path, particularly with two replays while I was playing youngsters, but City were just too much in the final. It was a week before the CL final, so I was worried we were just going to lose two finals in a row.

CARABAO CUP:

The trickest match being away at Bristol Rovers was unexpected, but I was happy with a penalty win in the finals.

SQUAD AND STATS:

A good haul from a lot of the front lines, and some good performances from most of the squad, even if the attackers were either good or REALLY bad in any particular game. I can't get my strikers to be consistent for some reason.

TRANSFERS:

This is the ins and the January outs. A very busy January, honestly. Much more so than my usual.

Waetjen is a versatile youngster who I'm hoping to see develop a little bit on loan next season before seeing where to slot him in.

Moukoko is a name FM players probably recognize. With Almoez Ali leaving in January to Marseille, Nketiah kicking up a fuss, and Jesus really struggling this season, I wanted reinforcements. He popped up with 12 goals in all competitions, which is pretty good for arriving in January!

Gvardiol is another big name, and I needed one to replace Saliba. He was a big 88M, but getting 125M for Saliba(and all the other sales this season) meant I'm way in the black on transfers still.

------

At this point, I'm not really sure what my plan is! I've won everything I care about, so at this point it's probably trying to develop and bring through youngsters. Norton-Cuffy is coming into the side next season for sure, Patino probably too, and we'll see who else!

Gilberto Silva · January 9, 2023

Best of the youth intake highlighted below. Really excited about Matt Thomas and Steven Moran (look at that finishing attribute!) in particular.

ThanatosAFC · January 9, 2023

@hasdgfasNice transfers mate, Enzo Fernandez for only 36.5 million is a steal.

@Gilberto SilvaYou got some future corner stones there, i like the view of Uwa & Nabil alot.

Gilberto Silva · January 9, 2023

1 hour ago, ThanatosAFC said:

@hasdgfasNice transfers mate, Enzo Fernandez for only 36.5 million is a steal.

@Gilberto SilvaYou got some future corner stones there, i like the view of Uwa & Nabil alot.

I think Uwa could work out to be a nice conservative full-back in the future.

dennislauridsen · January 10, 2023

@Gilberto Silvagood youngsters u got there :).

@hasdgfas what a great season. :applause:

dennislauridsen · January 10, 2023

UPDATE 1.1

As i mentioned i disable transfer in the first window. The winter transfer is now over and what a window. The plan was to keep the team as it was, because it goes very good. but the other teams want it diffrent.

Eddie Nketiah - The Plan was not to sell him, but when city came with and offer i raised the bid to 400mio and the accept it. so the offer is very good for my second striker.
Granit Xhaka - He was not i my plans next season, and when Real Madrid offer me that amount of money for him i accept straight away.
Mohamed Elneny - almost 200mio for 30 years old reserve. its fine for me.

With the outgoing transfers i need to think fast. These 2 players was my main target from the beginning of the save. Man utd wants Declan Rice, so when they bid i just bid more, and thats why he end in Arsenal. The same story with Bellingham. Man City wants him, and they offer first, but got rejected so i just bid his clause.

So 3 outgoing and 2 was coming in. Normal i dont buy players in Januar, and only let trash goes in that window, but when the other clubs want diffrent, then i need to be fast. but okay, i have my 2 main targets so im happy.

So my Team look like this right now.

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

In the league we doing just fine. Top of the league and only lost 2 games. Im a happy man at the moment.

All my reserves got playtime in the EHL, and the other CUPS in England.

Edited January 14, 2023 by dennislauridsen

Sysiphus · January 11, 2023

Season 1 review

After skipping managing Arsenal in the last edition, I've returned to my favourite team this edition. This time, it's not as much of a challenge but as I don't like a big overhaul of the squad, I think it suits me better this time, where I can focus on bringing in fewer players each year, and have them fit my exact needs. I am not overly fond of huge spending -- but I am coming a bit round to it as that is the trend of real life football and it is not and will not be a big outlier for a team like Arsenal to spend about £60m on a player. I will deliberately not be going for Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in this save, at least for the first 5 years at least, as I feel the team will be a little too complete for my liking by bringing them in right away.

I finished the first season yesterday. I had the first transfer window turned off and only made a single acquisition in January -- keeping my powder mostly dry for the upcoming summer. I felt the wings could do with a bit more cover, especially the right side, and it would be nice if that player could step in for Odegaard and/or allow Odegaard to take Xhaka's starting place now and then. Fabio Vieira had not exactly set the world alight but I'm keen to give him chances to impress and with the extra body in Marco Asensio (£3.2m), I could shelter him a bit from the very important games while still giving him minutes in the smaller games and off the bench. Asensio was really good for me, operating as an inverted winger on the right side when Saka needed rest and as an attacking mezzala in the right half space in midfield when needed (Odegaard's usual position).

No silverware in season one, but I am still quite happy with it. 3rd place in the league nearing 80 points, a healthy progress from last season. Next time on we are aiming to pressure the top sides a little more while dealing with the added pressure of the Champions League. We lost in the final of the Europa League and in the quarter finals of the FA cup against Man Utd, who are quite good in this version of the game. Liverpool were our banes in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, so the only teams to knock me out of competitions or finish above me in the league were Man Utd and Liverpool, who are both off to a good start to the summer of 2023 making impressive additions to their squads.

This is the tactic I use for most of my games, tweaking it a bit here and there and in-game, depending on opposition, their formation and game state. I wanted to use an inverted left back but then I get done a lot on the counter in that space, even though I put Gabriel on stay wider.

We have some expected outgoings in the summer, as Xhaka has handed in a transfer request on the basis that he feels like he has done everything he can at the club. Fair enough, it is also a policy of mine to not keep unhappy players so he will leave if we find a suitor who is willing to pay up to £20m. Elneny wanted to find a new challenge as well and will join Inter at the end of the season on a free. It is clear that I will need to bring in at least two players for them, a starter in the CM-s spot and a cover for Partey who can take over the mantle in the next few years. Some names that I've extensively scouted for the CM role are Moises Caicedo, Youri Tielemans and Lorenzo Pellegrini. For the Partey cover I am keen on Mikel Merino (who can also play CM), Manuel Ugarte, Manu Kone, Khephren Thuram, Joao Palhinha and Anton Stach. Romeo Lavia may also be available as Southampton were relegated but he needs a couple of years.

Cedric left in January for a minimal fee (£4.3m). Rob Holding made some noises about first team football a couple of times in the season so I may take the opportunity to move him on to a team that gives him a bigger role while bringing in a left-footed player who can compete with Gabriel. I have my eyes on Evan N'Dicka, Goncalo Ignacio, José Marsa, Piero Hincapie, Arthur Theate and a Brazilian prospect named Robert Renan. As I mentioned above, Southampton were relegated so I may take the opportunity to sign Mohamed Salisu, who is a very good player, but I am a little concerned about his ball playing ability.

I doubt I'll have more money in the coffers than for those three players, but it will also be supplied by a few sales of the returning loan players, for example Nuno Tavares, Nicolas Pepe, Pablo Mari and Runar Runarsson.

dennislauridsen · January 11, 2023

@SysiphusIts sounds like a great save u doing. I love the way u think about your transferspolicy. Every time i start a new save, i think like you, but when the right transfer comes i go for it, and sometimes i hate it. i just can't stop doing it. But my transferpolicy in this save, is to focus on national players and youngsters, but not saying that i not will bring in other players from another country, but the main focus is that.

But now i look at which players u have eyes on, Evan fx. Leverkusen wants 900 mio for him. for that amount of money i can bring in worldclass defender for that price. what do u do about that, when teams demands overprice for there players?

Sysiphus · January 11, 2023

27 minutes ago, dennislauridsen said:

@SysiphusIts sounds like a great save u doing. I love the way u think about your transferspolicy. Every time i start a new save, i think like you, but when the right transfer comes i go for it, and sometimes i hate it. i just can't stop doing it. But my transferpolicy in this save, is to focus on national players and youngsters, but not saying that i not will bring in other players from another country, but the main focus is that.

But now i look at which players u have eyes on, Evan fx. Leverkusen wants 900 mio for him. for that amount of money i can bring in worldclass defender for that price. what do u do about that, when teams demands overprice for there players?

I try not to overpay. If I cannot get a high price down by declaring interest or trying to unsettle the player in any way or if I'm outbid by another club, I move to the next target. I try to think well in advance about first team upgrades so I have a chance to assign a scout to the target to get constant reports and declare interest to unsettle them over time, if they are coming from a smaller club. I haven't been able to with N'Dicka as he signed a contract early on in the save, so he's moving down the list of my targets, due to Leverkusen's asking price.

dennislauridsen · January 11, 2023

15 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

I try not to overpay. If I cannot get a high price down by declaring interest or trying to unsettle the player in any way or if I'm outbid by another club, I move to the next target. I try to think well in advance about first team upgrades so I have a chance to assign a scout to the target to get constant reports and declare interest to unsettle them over time, if they are coming from a smaller club. I haven't been able to with N'Dicka as he signed a contract early on in the save, so he's moving down the list of my targets, due to Leverkusen's asking price.

Okay. that makes sense. Im looking forward to see how your save going

dennislauridsen · January 11, 2023

Season 1 review

What a season. We won the league with 99 points, 9 point ahead of Liverpool. We also won the Europe League. We almost lost the semi-finals to Lazio. Behind 0-2 but Emile Smith Rowe want it diffrent. 2 goals in the 82' and the 90+2, so we go into overtime, and the i make an assist to nelson 3-2. Amazing feeling to turn the game around. In the final we beat Benfica 3-0. We where also Runner up in the FA Cup, im not friends with Liverpool. but overall amazing season. every player was amazing.

some player stats for the season. just the best one.
Gabriel Jesus - 32 games, 32 goals and 3 assist in the league. - Overall - 42 games, 42 goals and 6 assist. - 2nd in ballon d'or.
Martin Ødegaard - 34 games, 11 goals and 16 assist in the league. - Overall - 42 games, 13 goals and 19 assist.
Gabriel Martinelli - 34 games, 13 goals and 9 assist in the league. - Overall - 40 games, 16 goals, and 13 assist.
Bukayo Saka - 32 games, 12 goals and 15 assist in the league. - Overall - 38 games, 17 goals and 17 assist.
William Saliba - 34 games 13 goals and 0 assist in the league. - Overall - 42 games, 14 goals and 1 assist.
Emile Smith Rowe - 4(28) games, 4 goals and 8 assist in the league. - Overall - 22(33) games, 10 goals and 22 assist.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE 2.0

The new season has just started and holy ****. The transfers are going crazy. All transfers out was a bidding war. Partey and Lokonga was not planing to sell. i wanted them as back-up for Rice and Bellingham, but alot of club bid and u just accept the first offer, reject the same offer from another club, and they come back with a bigger offer, reject the old offer, etc. The other 4 was not in my plans overall thats why the left.

This is my transfer in + some other that are under last year. dont ask me why. Sergej just because he is amazing and with him and bellingham rotating around dream midfield. Max Aarons he is national player and for "free" is a no brainer. The other i got.

Datro Fofana, 30 mio - Wonderkid from molde. my scout found him, and i think 30mio. its a very good deal.
Morten Thorsby, 25 mio - Just back-up for Rice. Very cheap, but amazing skills
Cristian Paniagua, 80 mio - Regen player, that has amazing potential i hope. Great stats for his age.

Frist and second team

As u can see Gabriel goes again on both, thats because im after a young player, that not are willing to go to Arsenal right now, but he will soon i hope. Overall i happy with the team, the only place i would say i need some upgrades, is defence. Saliba is amazing, but Gabriel is not world-class. World class defender cost to much, there for i wants to sign a very good youngster to cover the position.

Hope i enjoy my post, and i will come back with another update, when we are half ways through the new season.

Edited January 14, 2023 by dennislauridsen

dennislauridsen · January 14, 2023

UPDATE 2.1

I'm halfway through season 2. and we are doing just fine, as u can see. In the beginning of the season i was not sure about the tactic. I was not happy with the play, and yeah, it didn't feel right. So i have made some tweaks, and im more happy with the play now, i still play 4-5-1 dm wide.

This is top 5, and this was my Champions league group.

I dont expect big changes in the team, but some players needs to leave because the sqaud i to big.

Dofana - Liepzig bid 265 mio, i cant say no to that.
Tavares - Fulham bid 92 mio. 3 choice on the left back, so he goes.
That was it. No Incoming transfer. i was trying to sign some youngsters, but the reject me because the cant move they say.
I will try again to summer.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I found out that i NEED a world class defender. Gabriel is not good enough. Its all ways in his side the play through. So i have some defender in sight.

Alessandro Bastoni

Matthijs de Ligt

They are my to targets for the summer. I hope i can get the price down on both, right now they ask over 1mia. so i hope i can make the unhappy, and force a tranfer away.

I will come with an update when the season is finish.

Edited January 14, 2023 by dennislauridsen

dennislauridsen · January 17, 2023

Season 2 finished.

We won everything this season. the results are unmistakable, but i was not satisfied with the way we play. I made some tweaks all the season and still im not 100% happy with the play, but i hope the play will be better next season.
Here is some screenshots from season 2.

What an incredible season for the boys.

I will update you, when the transfer window is closed.

dennislauridsen · January 18, 2023

Update 3.0

The transfer windows is now closed, and im very happy with the team. First lets talk about our results to now.

Im very happy with the results. Our play is much better than last year, and the only bad thing is losing to Liverpool. That game i hit the woodwork 3 times, so it could also have been a win.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TRANSFERS:

Fábio Vieira - 700 mio. is a nobrainer for me. He was reserve and will not be near to be a starter for me, as long i have Saka. ESR is taking over as backup on the right wing.
Reiss Nelson - don't ask me what Real madrid want with him, but i don't say no to almost 300 mio. he was third choice on the left wing, and with a new incoming he would again be third choice.
Folarin Balogun - With a new signing i let him go. He would never become a player for the first team.
A. Maitland-Niles - The same here as Balogun.
R. Rúnarsson - He is just not good enough.

And now to the fun part.

Luis Guilherme - A young attacking midtfielder. He is 16 when the games start, so i had my eyes on him, and hope he will develop good and be useful for the team in the furture.
Matthijs de Ligt - As i mentioned last update, i need a world class defender, and i got it. I hope he will be the last piece to bring the defence together.
Luke O'Toole - He is a regen. he chose barcelona over me 2 times last season. In the beginning of the season and in the Januar. to this season i finaly got him. I have big hopes to this man.
Steven Cross - Also a regen. he was free, and maybe i can make some good money on him in the furture.
Endrick - From the beginning of this save, i have tried to unsettle him, and now his finaly here. PLS GOD BE WITH ME. LET ENDRICK BE THE NEXT SUPER STAR!

So thats my transfers and im very happy with them. I hope my intake will be better this year with a new HOYD. I sign Pep Boada, with good attibutes for the role, and he is model professional, so i hope he will bring in some good youngters.

Edited January 18, 2023 by dennislauridsen

dennislauridsen · January 21, 2023

Update 3.1

The transfer window is now closed, and then we can do status on how its going, and how the squad looks like.

If we start with the results.

As u can see on the picture under, we doing pretty good. We not just crusing through the games, we have some bumps here and there, but overall im okay.

Some of our pointlost is where we still are the best team, but we cant get the ball into goal. I think that's how football is. sometimes its just hard to win. In the Champions League, we second as u can see. The only point loss is, where i draw against Juventus. i got a red card early in the game, so its fine. I hope i will end up winning it all again. That will be sweet.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TRANSFER OUT:

Not much to see. I got a new feeder club, thats my team in Denmark, so why not try to get them some good players, and hopefully they can fight for the title. and in the future produce some good youngsters.

Max Aarons: Bayern München was interested in Max, and Max want the transfer, so he moved.

TRANSFER IN:

Michael McAteer: A young regen that maybe could end up being a star.
Bryan Fiabema: Just because i can. I bought him only to loan him out, and maybe earn some money in the future.
Roony Bardghji: Knowing him fra FCK in denmark, so i know he could end up being good, but he is only a backup to a small amout of money. My big transfer target cost me over 1 mia, and he will only be backup for the next 2-3 year maybe 4. so thats gonna be a NO.
Tino Livramento: Max is gone, and i need a new rotation player on the right back, so why not go for someone that can develop. He is good enough to start, and he is fantastic rotation player.

That was all for me now. I wil update u later, when the season is finish.

Edited January 21, 2023 by dennislauridsen

Sysiphus · January 28, 2023

Season 2 review

Before the season I wanted to strengthen my midfield with a Partey cover (half back) and a Xhaka replacement (CM-a or -s). I went with Mikel Merino (£39m release clause) as my Partey cover who can also play in the Xhaka role, and then for the other spot I bought one of my favourite young players in the PL, Moises Caicedo (£61m), for much needed energy, speed and agility along with passing and defensive skills. I thought I had overspent a bit for Caicedo at the time, but Arsenal yesterday bid the same amount for Caicedo in real life so I won't worry too much about that! Xhaka and Elneny both left for West Ham and Inter, respectively. Other notable departures were Nicolas Pépé, Nuno Tavares, Pablo Marí, Maitland-Niles and Rúnarsson.

We had a rocky start to the league and halfway through only had 36 points, sitting in 6th place. Rob Holding left in January as he wanted more playing time and I used the opportunity to bring in a left sided, ball playing, central defender. Micky van de Ven (£25m release clause), who has been playing very well for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga this season. He can also play left back and has great pace and dribbling skills, along with desirable traits. I also chose him over some of my other targets (Gastón Ávila, Piero Hincapié, Castello Lukeba and José Marsá partly because of his height. Signings in the spoiler below (including Asensio who was signed in Jan last season for £3.2m).

Spoiler

The second part of the season we were imperious, collecting 53 points to finish on 89, which was unfortunately not enough to topple City. We went out in the semis of the Carabao Cup and early in the FA cup, against oppositions I would have liked to win. In the Champions League however, we managed to go all the way and bring the first big-ears to Islington. Overall delighted with the season.

For next season, I am keen to add a quality right sided central defender. This season I rotated White, Saliba and Tomiyasu for the DC and DR positions (Tomi only in DR though) and those minutes were too many for them, so we need an extra body there. White plays much better as a right back for my so I want to play him there in rotation with Tomi and bring in a player to compete with Saliba. Unfortunately, Saliba has not developed a lot for me despite the playing time and his performances have not raised any roofs, so instead of bringing Zach Awe into the mix as his understudy (developing quite well on loan, may come into the fold later in the save) I want to bring in a good player. I am looking at Giorgio Scalvini from Atalanta and António Silva from Benfica whose price tags are currently not prohibitive (around £45m–£55m)—I would love Pierre Kalulu, who is one of my favourite players, but AC Milan want over £150m for him.

dennislauridsen · January 31, 2023

Season 3 finished.

The season is over and its has been a great season unfortunately a big loss to FC Bayern in the Champions league. it was tough.

But as u can see we still manage to win 4 trophys. We miss the Champions league trophy. We lost 5-3 to FC Bayern over 2 games. We won the first game 3-0 and then got destroyed 5-0 away. Never had i played so bad. But thats the game.

I will update again when the new season begin and the transfer window is closed

dennislauridsen · February 4, 2023

Update 4.0

The new season is here. Last season i was struggling with the tactic. everytime i think i found the right one, then there was something i was unhappy with. But now i have build 2 tactic that i stick with.
Tactic 1

Spoiler

This tactic will i use when playing home or against weaker teams. Last season i felt that the 4-5-1 was not agressiv enough, so thats why i make this.

Tactic 2

Spoiler

This tactic will i use when playing away or against stronger teams. This is more safe so thats why i choose this one.

The first trophy is already home. We won the Club-VM. Played with my new tactics so im very happy with the results.

Transfer out
Up to the new season i have trimmed the team a bit. I felt that was time to something new there for a lot of players are now gone.

Quit happy with the transfer, because all of them was squad players, so quite happy that i got so much money for them.

Transfer in

All the new players are newgen. The only player that goes in to the first team is George Lucas. He will rotate with Jude Bellingham.

Spoiler

I dont think i will do much more to the squad, but who knows. i think the players i have is very good, so the only players im looking for is youngsters that can develop into first team players in the future.

I will update i again when the winter transfer is over.

jborges · February 6, 2023

Hey all,

Started a save with Arsenal, and allthough its far from bad its proving difficult, resultwise.

So, first season came second in the league, but won nothing. Second season i won Carabao Cup, and was second again (1 point behind Liverpool!!! aarrgghhh it hurts!!)

About o start season three.

My team is: Rammsdale, Zinchenko, Tomyiasu, António Silva and Saliba, Enzo Fernandez, Camavinga and Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka and Jesus.

I play a 433, with 2 segundo volante and a CM.

Ok, so im allmost there, i think the team is good... but its lacking something... i cant get the rifgt feel from the tactic.

Can someone help recommending a tactic that delivers? I usually struggle against the big sides, like Liverpool, City and the likes...

Thank you,

Have fun!

KingLara · February 6, 2023

FM23 Season 1 – Arsenal

A bit late to get started but I finally am underway with FM23.

[PRE SEASON]

Pre-season began with the usual staff culls. I improved most areas of the first team as well as a more varied scouting network. Wilshere is still Under 18s manager and looks promising going forward but Mehmet Ali was sacked and replaced by Bryan Klug in the under 21s.

[TRANSFERS]

I looked at a few options but ultimately only made one loan signing in the form of Eden Hazard on the penultimate day. His debut will be against Chelsea. I was tempted by Asensio for 18m but his contract is expiring in a year so I might go back for him in January for Season 2 unless something better comes along.

Outgoings saw Cirjan, Sweet, Graczyk, H-Francis, Lewis and Edwards all go out in loan. Nobody was sold.

[SQUAD]

I will stick to White as a Centre back for now. Marquinhos will have a season in the under 21s unless he is loaned out.

GK – Ramsdale – Turner

DL – Zinchenko – Tierney

DR – Tomiyasu – Cedric

DC – Gabriel – Holding

DC – Saliba – White

DMC – Partey – Elneny

MC – Xhaka – Vieria – Lokonga

AMC – Odegaard – S-Rowe

AML – Martinelli – Hazard

AMR – Saka – Nelson

ST – Jesus – Nketiah

[Pre-Season Fixtures]

We got off to a dreadful start as a near full strength eleven lost at RB Salzburg. We picked it up from there winning four in a row including a 4-1 thumping of Barcelona at the Emirates before a mishmash team lost at Celtic just a few days before the league opener.

RB Salzburg (A) – 0-2

AYR United (A) – 3-1 – Marquinhos x2 Gabriel

Hartlepool (A) – 5-0 – Tierney, Vieria, Jesus, Saka, Nketiah

Anderlect (A) – 2-0 – Marquinhos Jesus

Barcelona (H) – 4-1 – Jesus (x3-2pen) S-Rowe

Celtic (A) 1-3 – Saka

[August}

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 1 – Odegaard 22

FULHAM 0

We began the season at home to Fulham. We put in a good display having 23 attempts and 72% possession but only got the one goal. Jesus went off injured and would need an injection to play at Man City the next game.

PREMIER LEAGUE

MAN CITY 2 – Haaland 62 Akanji 71

ARSENAL 2 – Jesus 55 S-Rowe 83

It wasn’t the easiest fixture for the second game of the season. City were held at Leicester in their opening fixture but had won the community shield 2-0 against Liverpool at Wembley. I named an unchanged team with City at full strength. The game was pretty even in terms of possession and XG and a draw a deserved and good result even if the performance wasn’t the best.

PREMIER LEAGUE

NOTTINGHAM FORREST 0

ARSENAL 1 – Saka 90

Nketiah replaced Jesus in the only change from the City draw. We put in a better performance but need a defensive error to score the winner in the third minute of added time. Saka coming to life for the first time this season.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3 – Saka 45pen, 76 Jesus 88 – Xhaka s/o 55

WOLVES 2 – Nunes 41 Jimenez 54

We again needed a late winner but the game was more of a rollercoaster. We had nearly a +4 XG over wolves who had passing stats of 59% and 26 possession. However woeful finishing from our clear cut chances nearly cost us as wolves twice took the lead. Xhaka getting a red card also didn’t help but luckily he would only miss one game. Jesus back from injury to stab home the late winner. Saka excellent again.

PREMIER LEAGUE

BRENTFORD 0

ARSENAL 1 – Raya o.g 46

A third 1-0 win to finish the first month of the season. Jesus’s hit the post and fumbled in by Raya. Zinchenko finally made his debut after pulling his ankle ligaments before the opening game to Fulham.

Premier League Table

1. Tottenham Played 5 Points 13 Goal Difference +5

2. Arsenal P 5 P 13 GD 4

3. Aston Villa P 5 P 12 GD 4

4. Chelsea P 5 P 12 GD 4

5. Man City P 5 P 11 GD 7

Not a nice looking table with Spurs at the top if it. Liverpool 8^th, Man United 10^th with Crystal Palace bottom with just a solitary point from a draw to Southampton having lost their first four games.

Global Transfers

Pavard to Liverpool was the biggest transfer story of a quiet summer.

Europe

We drew Monaco, Freiberg and Zurich in a tricky Europa League group. Man United draw was kinder (Surprise, surprise) with Lech, Rennes and Apol Limassol.

Over in the Champions League all the English clubs got draws that should see them go through. Chelsea have the toughest ask with Dortmund Marseille and Milan.

Carabao Cup

We will play Birmingham at home in November. Man United travel to Brighton and Stoke Host Liverpool.

September/October Fixtures

14 fixtures in a busy two months especially October.

Chelsea (H)

Monaco (H)

Tottenham (A)

Freiberg (A)

Leeds (H)

Liverpool (A)

Zurich (H)

Newcastle (H)

Zurich (A)

Southampton (A)

Villa (H)

Palace (A)

Freiberg (H)

West Ham (H)

Edited February 6, 2023 by KingLara

hasdgfas · February 7, 2023

On 06/02/2023 at 07:41, jborges said:

Hey all,

Started a save with Arsenal, and allthough its far from bad its proving difficult, resultwise.

So, first season came second in the league, but won nothing. Second season i won Carabao Cup, and was second again (1 point behind Liverpool!!! aarrgghhh it hurts!!)

About o start season three.

My team is: Rammsdale, Zinchenko, Tomyiasu, António Silva and Saliba, Enzo Fernandez, Camavinga and Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka and Jesus.

I play a 433, with 2 segundo volante and a CM.

Ok, so im allmost there, i think the team is good... but its lacking something... i cant get the rifgt feel from the tactic.

Can someone help recommending a tactic that delivers? I usually struggle against the big sides, like Liverpool, City and the likes...

Thank you,

Have fun!

two Segundo Volante feels like it might expose you at the back a little bit. I usually only like to play a single Segundo Volante, because if both players roam so far forward it can be a struggle. I usually pair an SV with a BWM or a DM or an HB who stays back.

hasdgfas · February 8, 2023

JANUARY 2026

A strong first half of the season. First place in the Premier League, already clinched top 8 in the CL League Phase, into the Carabao quarters, and a winnable third round of the FA Cup.

PREMIER LEAGUE:

Really strong. The Villa draw was a track meet, I was worried about the season after that one, but we've recovered and looked VERY strong consistently. Liverpool just smashed us at Anfield though.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

Really solid first six matches, and two we should win to finish off the Phase. I was worried about the big chunk of away matches in the middle here against tough opposition, but we've done what we needed to do.

TRANSFERS:

A lot of fringe players out, along with Thomas Partey, who was getting old and his performances were getting worse and worse. Marquinhos out for 20M is a HUGE coup for me, I think. I didn't see him finding a path to the first team, and Rayo spending 20M on him after the loan last season is great for me.

Now let's look at the players who came in.

Moises Caicedo is a name you definitely heard about in January if you paid attention to Arsenal transfer rumors, but a few seasons into the game and Brighton were more willing to part with him. A physical and technical monster. He's not quite performing as incredibly as I had hoped, but he's improving over time as he gets more comfortable with the squad.

Jose Suarez looked like a massive prospect from Colombia and I snapped him up for 1.8M. I let him see out the Colombian season on loan, but he's just arrived in England. I think I'll try to get him a six month loan and then re-evaluate.

Canadian Lewis Johnson has a full 20 Determination, and that with 19 Technique had me VERY interested. Toronto FC wouldn't budge for anything but his release clause, but that's fine. I'm letting him stay loaned there until the end of calendar year 2026, but then he'll be integrated into the squad immediately.

-----

There are a few academy/young players who I am attempting to integrate into the squad this season.

Norton-Cuffy has come back from a few loans to become the starting DL for me. He's just consistent, even if he's not outstanding yet.

I brought Patino in to fight for a place, but he just isn't quite what I'm looking for yet, and I intend to try to loan him out again.

Flores is very similar to Patino, I hoped that he would get more time(and he's performed ok when he has!), but I just haven't found the spots for him with the large squad I like to have. Another loan would be great.

-----

We'll see how the second half of the season shakes out, but I'm feeling good about it, especially after last season's successes. I have some directions for the future.

KingLara · February 10, 2023

FM23 ARSENAL SEASON 1 – SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

A busy two months but going well.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 1 – Nketiah 82

CHELSEA 0

Our first game of September saw us host Chelsea at the Emirates. It was Hazards first game as an arsenal player so naturally he had to start due to it being against his former club. Sadly he recorded only a 6.7 in an overall poor display from the team. Xhaka was suspended after having his one match ban for getting sent off in August at Wolves extended. A team average rating of 6.96 is not what I want to see in a big game at home. Fortunately for us Ramsdale was in good form and Nketiah came off the bench to grab a late underserved winner. A fourth 1-0 win in the first six games.

EUROPA LEAGUE

ARSENAL 4 – Nketiah 1, 14, 40, 49

MONACO 2 – Ben Yedder 26 Boadu 80

Cards on the table, I don’t care about the Europa League. I forgot to add Matt Smith, Marquinhos, M’Hand, Ibrahim and Sousa to the squad registration so all were ineligible for the group stages. I did like all the glossy indents though and look forward to seeing the champions league version next season. Our tournament began at home to Monaco. Xhaka due to being suspended domestically started as did Gabriel and Odegaard as I wanted to get off to a good start and Monaco have some dangerous players. Nketiah struck all four goals in a perfect 10 display. Zach Awe made is debut late on. A good performance and win.

PREMIER LEAGUE

TOTTENHAM 0

ARSENAL 0

We headed down the road for the first north London derby of the season. After his four goal haul Nketiah kept his place. Both teams combined to hit the woodwork five times but Spurs missed the only two clear cut chances of the game. I was happy to come away with a point.

EUROPA LEAGUE

SC FREIBURG 0

ARSENAL 1 – Nelson 39

A fifth 1-0 win of the season. Midfield and defence excellent, attack apart from nelson not so much.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3 – Hazard 18 Nketiah 54, 59

LEEDS 1 – Harrison 9

We had a good response against Leeds in our next game as Eden Hazard got his first goal for the club. A commanding display saw more attacking intent as we had 28 shots on the Leeds goal but only three managed to go in.

PREMIER LEAGUE

LIVERPOOL 2 – Salah 66 Thiago 87(pen)

ARSENAL 1 – Nketiah 25

Our first game post international break saw us travel to Anfield. We were dreadful and suffered our first defeat of the season. Even though Thiago needed a soft penalty to score a late winner Liverpool dominated the game.

EUROPA LEAGUE

ARSENAL 5 – Jesus 25 41 53 75(pen) Elneny 72

FC ZURICH 0

We responded well to the anfield defeat with a thumping win over Zurich at the emirates. Jesus had been stuck on the bench or the treatment room recently so was good to see him find his shooting boots. Tomiyasu also returned after being injured in the win over Spurs. Elneny with one of his 30 yard specials just to add a cherry on the cake. Butler-Odeyeji and Walters the latest young guns to make their debuts late on.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 4 – Jesus 28 Xhaka 44, 78 Saka 50

NEWCASTLE 1 – Isak 66

Similar to Nketiah after his four goals against Monaco Jesus kept his place in the starting eleven. He opened the scoring in another free flowing display.

EUROPA LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3 – Butler-Odeyeji 25 72 Vieira 77

FC ZURICH 0

I wanted to try an experiment against Southampton on the Sunday so rested both strikers and started Butler-Odeyeji. A goal in each half against a very poor Zurich team. Every player scored above a 7 rating. Vieria the highest with an 8.9. Bandeira and Ideho were the latest to make debuts.

PREMIER LEAGUE

SOUTHAMPTON 1 – Armstrong 25(pen)

ARSENAL 2 – Gabriel 55 Nketiah 71 – Hazard s/o 72

I decided to pair both strikers together so played a 4-2-2-2 with two defensive midfielders and two wingers. It meant no place for Odegaard. A feisty game saw 8 yellow cards and 1 red. Despite having 75% of the ball we needed a bit of luck to get out of St Marys with a win. Gabriel scoring our first set piece goal of the season.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 2 – Nketiah 10 Jesus 28

ASTON VILLA 0

Back at home and missing Partey through suspension I played the same team but with Odegaard as a cam and Xhaka covering the centre. I felt we didn’t need a dm at home. Both strikers scored in the first half an hour and it was game management from there on in. A pretty drab midweek game.

PREMIER LEAGUE

CRYSTAL PALACE 2 – Ayew 24 Milivojevic 37

ARSENAL 3 – Gabriel 30 Xhaka 32 Nketiah 62

Odegaard was injured in training the day before the game and would be out for around 4-6 weeks. With him injured it was back to the 4-2-2-2. It worked well on the whole and we created enough chances but were hit on two counter attacks. Palace managed to score twice from just a 0.31xg. Still, we held on and recorded our sixth win in a row.

EUROPA LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3 – Hazard 8(pen) Vigar 78, 82

SC FREIBURG 1 – Griffo 31

With four wins from four just a draw would see us progress as group winners. I afforded the luxury of starting a few youngsters with Jeffcott and Walters at full back, Bandeira alongside Lokonga in midfield and Butler-Oyedeji again leading the line upfront. Despite the youth we played well and had a 4.19 xg only for flekken in the Freiburg goal to keep the score down. I had given every first team member that had played 10 matches five days off so had 12 youngsters on the bench but picked the right one Billy Vigar to come on and score a brace to give us the win.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3 – Saka 15 Vieria 74 Saliba 90

WEST HAM 1 – Cresswell 46 – Paqueta s/o 32

The final game of an exhausting October saw the visit of West Ham. I threw Vigar on the bench as a reward for his brace against Freiburg but unfortunately the nature of the game meant I couldn’t bring him on. We started well with Saka opening the scoring and then Paqueta getting himself stupidly sent off. However West Hams only shot on target of the game a cresswell free kick flew in and we couldn’t seem to get the winner until finally Vieria curled in a beauty. Saliba scored his first goal for us in stoppage time. 38 shots was a season high although 84 passing accuracy lower than the usual early nineties. It was however our eighth win in a row and a perfect October record after the defeat at Anfield.

Premier League Table

1. Arsenal Played 14 Points 35 Goal Difference +15

2. Liverpool P 14 P 32 GD 31

3. Man City P 14 P 27 GD 17

4. Man Utd P 14 P 26 GD 8

5. Tottenham P 14 P 26 GD 6

Newcastle and Chelsea trail Spurs and Man United by a single point in a tight top 7. Brighton Fulham and Nottingham Forest are in the bottom 3.

Premier League Top scorers

Haaland 14 Salah 12 Jimenez 9 Ronaldo Scamacca Trossard 8 - (=7^th Nketiah 7)

Premier League Top Assists

Silva 6 Sancho Tsimikas Salah Harrison Lingard 5 - (=7^th Odegaard 4)

Premier League Av Rating

Salah 7.81 Haaland 7.68 Foden 7.45 Keita 7.42 Nunez 7.42 (= 7^th Xhaka 7.35)

Premier League Motm

Salah 5 Haaland 4 Aubameyang Eduoard Coutinho Scamacca KUlusevski Jimenez 3 (=9^th Xhaka Odegaard 2)

Team XG Av per 90mins

Liverpool 2.42 Man City 2.22 Arsenal 1.86 Newcastle 1.83 Leicester 1.48

Team Av Possession

Arsenal 61% Chelsea 60% Tottenham 58% Man City 58% Liverpool 56%

Arsenal stats (1^st team)

Appearances (19 played)

Gabriel 15 Ramsdale, Saka 14

Xhaka, Saliba 13 Odegaard 12

Jesus 11(+5), Partey 11

Tierney Nketiah (9+4), Zinchenko 9(+3)

Martinelli 9 (+2), Cedric 9 (+1)

Tomiyasu 9, Hazard 7 (+4)

Lokonga 6 (+4), White 6 (+2)

Elneny 5 (+9), S-Rowe 5 (+6)

Nelson 5 (+4), Turner 5

Vieria 4(+4), Holding 4 (+1)

B-Oyedeji 2(+1), Walters, Bandeira 1(+1)

Jeffcott 1, Ideho 0 (+2)

Vigar, Awe 0 (+1)

Goals

Nothing for the fullbacks or Martinelli yet

Nketiah 11

Jesus 8

Saka 5

Xhaka Gabriel Vieria Hazard B-Odeyeji, Vigar 2

Odegaard Saliba S-Rowe Nelson Elneny 1

Assists

Odegaard 5

Xhaka 4

S-Rowe 3

Vieria Zinchenko Tomiyasu Nelson Martinelli Lokonga Hazard 2

Cedric Saliba Saka Nketiah Jesus Ideho 1

Man of Match

Xhaka Vieria Odegaard Saka Jesus 2

Partey Tierney Nketiah Gabriel Hazard Elneny Vigar 1

Youth Teams

The Under 21s are top of their group aided by 9 goals from Vigar and 8 from Cozier-Duberry. Matt Smith leading the team well with an average rating of 7.47. The have qualified for the next round of the papa johns but in the domestic cup have work to do after just two points from three games,

The Under 18s are second in the south group behind runaway leaders Norwich. They have won their first two matches of the cup. Omari Benjamin has 21 goals at an average rating of 7.86. Still only 16 but one to keep an eye on. Seb Ferdinand also performing well.

Europa League / Champions League Conference League

Not much to report on the Europa League. No real surprises or casualties at this stage. Man United should also qualify in first place.

In the champions League Spurs are out. Despite beating Celtic in their opening game have gone on to lose home and away to Bayern and Napoli. Celtic will finish above them if they beat them in the final matchday. All four teams can qualify from Group E with Chelsea on 8 points with AC Milan and Dortmund 7 and Marseille 6. Chelsea travel to Marseille in the final game. All the other big guns are safely through.

West Ham have qualified from their Europa Conference group.

Europe

Domestically in Ligue 1 PSG are unbeaten after 11 wins in their first 13 games. In Germany Bayern lead Hoffenheim by four points with a game in hand. Milan and Juventus are separated by a point in Italy while Real Madrid lead a tight race in Spain with 8 teams above 20 points.

November December Fixtures

Set to be a strange two months disrupted by the world cup before two tricky trips against Leicester and heading to Old Trafford on New Years Eve.

Monaco (A) – Europa League Matchday 6

Bournemouth (H)

Birmingham (H) – Carabao Cup 3^rd Round

Everton (A)

Leicester (H)

Man United (A)

Sysiphus · February 11, 2023

Anyone here ever sold Saka?

He's throwing real tantrums over moving to Real Madrid in my save... I generally have the policy that I do not want to keep unhappy players to keep it realistic – I doubt that he'd be kept against his will for multiple seasons in real life if he really wanted to leave. I'm in January in season three so I will at least keep him until the end of the season, but might need to revisit this in the summer. We're having terrible season, sitting in 8th in the league and falling out of the CLs "group" (new format) stage after having pushed City for the title last season and won the CL. Not making the CL this season will likely see Real return for Saka and make it difficult for me to reject their approaches.

hasdgfas · February 16, 2023

@KingLara you seem to be doing a lot of tactical swaps here! I've usually struggled with that, but it seems to be going fine for you.

On 11/02/2023 at 14:32, Sysiphus said:

Anyone here ever sold Saka?

not in 23, but in 22 I did(although he had stopped performing well for me at some point). Once we start to reach the 100M+ offers I start to consider it. In FM you can usually turn that 100M into players who perform just as well as your sold star.

Sysiphus · February 16, 2023

8 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

@KingLara you seem to be doing a lot of tactical swaps here! I've usually struggled with that, but it seems to be going fine for you.

not in 23, but in 22 I did(although he had stopped performing well for me at some point). Once we start to reach the 100M+ offers I start to consider it. In FM you can usually turn that 100M into players who perform just as well as your sold star.

Yeah definitely. Think I will try my best to keep hold of him, just because I like him so much and my save would be worse without him I think. Maybe in few seasons we can entertain the idea of selling him. The bid I got was 102M from Real -- I rejected that and Saka is happy with an asking price of 170M currently. January is running down so I don't think Real will manage to snap him away this window.

KingLara · February 16, 2023

FM23 SEASON 1 ARSENAL – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

World cup fever but still strong domestically.

EUROPA LEAGUE

AS MONACO 1 – Ben Yedder 18 – Camara s/o 45

ARSENAL 3 – Awe 19 Martinelli 47 Xhaka 83

The group stages concluded with on paper its toughest fixture. After five wins from five we were guaranteed top spot but the clash of the under 21s own European fixture meant I played more of a second string than a youth team. Zinchenko, Gabriel and Elneny were all one yellow card away from suspension so I left them out completely. Zach Awe was the only under 21 to feature from the start having not played in the other game. I started Martinelli upfront as he had still yet to score. Monaco struck first through Ben Yedder before Awe got a goal from a smith rowe free kick. The game was even but Camara got himself sent off and the second half was a stroll. Martinelli duly did bag his first of the campaign while Xhaka came off the bench to rocket a shot past Nubel for a 3-1 win. Six out of six in a tricky group stage well negotiated. Freiburgs 2-0 win against Zurich in the final game meant they progressed and Monaco dropped down to the conference league. Zurich finish bottom with 1 goal scored and 20 conceded.

1^st ARSENAL 9 Points 2^ndFreiburg 9 3^rd Monaco 9 4^th Zurich 0

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 4 – Nketiah 4, 77 Vieria 36 Saka 46

BOURNEMOUTH 1 – Rothwell 77

We eased to a win at the emirates against Bournmouth with two goals being scored in the same minute. Rothwells came first.

CARABAO CUP 3^RD ROUND

ARSENAL 4 – Jesus 16 54 Elneny 27 79

BIRMINHAM 1 – Sanderson 15

Our Carabao cup journey started at home to Birmingham. Scheduled on the same day as the under 21s youth game against Bayern I again fielded the first team fringe players. We recovered well from going a goal down to net a good win with two Elneny crackers continuing his good form. There is usually one casualty and it was Liverpool who lost 2-1 at stoke. Newcastle nearly joined them in being knocked out but overcame Norwich on penalties. We would face Aston Villa away in the fourth round. Chelsea vs Spurs the pick of the ties.

PREMIER LEAGUE

EVERTON 0

ARSENAL 1 – Hazard 49

The final match before the world cup saw us travel to Goodison Park. Despite both scoring braces in the previous game Jesus and Elneny found themselves back on the bench. It was not the most exciting game with a combined 1.05 xg but Hazards bit of quality got the winner. Lampard was sacked afterwards. Liverpools draw at Aston Villa meant we had a five point cushion heading into the world cup. Odegaard returned from injury added a further boost.

CARABAO CUP 4th ROUND

ASTON VILLA 3 – Watkins 38 Bailey 43 Ings 50

ARSENAL 3 – Xhaka 8 Martinelli 23 Smith Rowe 90 – Xhaka s/o 34

Aston villa won 8-7 on penalties.

We had two friendlies after the world cup winning 1-0 in Greece against Paok thanks to odegaard and then winning 2-0 at the Emirates to dutch team RKC Waalwijk with Jesus and Smith Rowe scoring in a very ill tempered game that saw 12 yellow cards and Elneny miss a penalty. Due to it being the first game after the world cup I played a strong side with White and Holding the only non regular starters. We got off to a great start going 2-0 up early but then Xhaka stupidly got himself sent off and despite shutting up shop Villa were back level by half time. They took the lead through Ings and that seemed to be it but I threw a few men forward late on and Smith Rowe managed to prod in a late equaliser to send the game to penalties. Villa scored all eight of their penalties with ramsdale doing a great impression of real life Petr Cech and diving the wrong way almost every time. Tomiyasu eventually missed our one. A shame to go out but at least a few less games. Chelsea hammered Spurs 4-0 in one of the other fourth round ties while Man United also suffered penalty loss away at Hull. They play Everton in the quarters while Villa are at home to Leicester. Man City vs Millwall and West Ham vs Chelsea the other ties.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 6 – Martinelli 46 Nketiah 52 Smith-Rowe 56 Lokonga 73 Jesus 77, 79

LEICESTER 0

We responded well to the villa loss with my biggest win so far. 0-0 at half time I told the players I expected more and they delivered in style. Poor Leicester just fell apart. Lokonga starting ahead of Xhaka was outstanding. Food for thought going forwards.

PREMIER LEAGUE

MAN UNITED 2 – Sancho 34 Martinez 57

ARSENAL 1 – Odegaard 50

New Years eve saw us visit Old Trafford. Lokonga kept his place and despite playing well and having 63% posession we succumbed to two soft goals and lost 2-1. Odegaard scoring just his second of the season. Not a great way to end the month and year but we still have a 2-point lead.

Premier league table

1. Arsenal Played 18 Points 44 Goal Difference + 24

2. Liverpool P 18 P 42 GD 40

3. Man City P 18 P 39 GD 26

4. Chelsea P 18 P 34 GD 10

5. Man Utd P 18 P 33 GD 8

Nottingham Forrest are 10 points below safety and look likely to go down. Fulham and Brighton also in the relegation zone. In the championship Burney and Watford look well set for promotion.

EUROPE

No real surprises in the Europa league group stages. Feyenoord finished second in their group behind Betis. Sociedad finished third but had a tough group with Fenerbahce and Lazio.

One smile to be had watching the champions league from afar. Spurs finished bottom of their group after losing the crunch final match 1-0 to Celtic in Glasgow. Chelsea went through but as runners up with Milan going above them after the final matchday. They face the other Milan, Inter in the second round. Bayern play Man City and Liverpool are up against Real Madrid.

In the conference league West Ham topped their group but Hearts and Dundee went out.

WORLD CUP

Tomiasu, Saliba and Martinelli among the surprises left out.

Arsenal players

England – Ramsdale, Nketiah, Saka, White

Ghana – Partey

Brazil – Jesus, Gabriel

Switzerland – Xhaka

USA – Turner, Balogun

Belgium – Hazard. Lokonga

Tunisia – Rekik

Group Stage

The World Cup kicked off with Holland thumping Qatar 6-0. The hosts would also concede six in the next game against Senegal. However Ecuador would pip the african champions to second spot in the group behind the dutch. England got off to a good start in Group B beating Usa 3-1 in the first game thanks to two Harry Kane Penalties. Ramsdale the only gunner to play from either side. However a 1-0 defeat to Wales thanks mostly due to a reece James red card saw the top three all finish on six points. England only managed a 1-0 win over Iran (kane again) and went home early on their head to head result with wales. Argentina, Mexico France and Denmark qualified from Groups C and D while Germany and Spain sent a tomiyasu-less Japan home in the first round. Croatia couldn’t recover from losing to Morocco in the opening game and went out. Belgium came top. Serbia finished above Brazil in Group G on goal difference despite their game finishing 4-1 to the Brazilians. Portugal failed to win a game as Uruguay and Ghana went through in group H.

Second Round

Neymar was sent off as Uruguay beat Brazil 2-0 while Serbia and Belgium needed penalties to beat Ghana and Spain. No other surprises in the other games. Holland easily dispatching the welsh.

Wales 2-4 Holland, Argentina 2-0 Denmark, France 2-1 Mexico, USA 4-3 Ecuador (AET)

Ghana 1-1 Serbia (Serbia 5-3 on pens) Morocco 0-3 Germany Brazil 0-2 Uruguay Belgium 1-1 Spain (Belgium 10-9 on pens)

Quarter-Finals

Serbia earned a superb win over Germany while Lionel Messi struck a 94^th minute winner as Argentina beat Holland. Luis Suarez hit a hat-trick and Eden Hazard was sent off as Uruguay beat Belguim in a brilliant game while France edged out USA.

Serbia 1-0 Germany, Holland 1-2 Argentina

Uruguay 5-2 Belgium, USA 1-2 France

Semi-Finals

Argentina left messi on the bench but still easily beat Serbia. While despite scoring again Suarez wasn’t able to prevent Uruguay losing to France.

Argentina 5-1 Serbia

France 2-1 Uruguay

3^rd play off/Final

The 3^rd place play off saw Serbia beat Uruguay on penalties whole had played much of the game with ten men. An Argentina vs France world cup final had a distinct déjà vu. Not quite the same spectacle though with just a 0.78xg. Lionel Messi did get his moment of magic and struck the winner in the 46^th minute.

Serbia 1-1 Uruguay (Serbia win 5-3 on penalties)

France 0-1 Argentina – Messi 46

World cup stats

Top Scorers – Suarez 8 Mbappe 5 Alvarez 4 Kane 3 Lewandowski 3

Top Assists – Tadic Nkunku 4 Stengs Vlahovic Arrascaeta 3

Top Av Rating – Vlahovic 8.02 Lewandowski 7.93 Noboa 7.75 Nunez 7.62 De Ligt 7.53

Mom – Vlahovic Suarez 3 Kane Lewandowski Zigi 2

TOTT – Guzman Acuna Molina Boyata Kounde Lazovic Messi Kante E. Ferandez Giroud Mbappe

Arsenal at the world cup

No appearances for Balogun. Jesus producing the only goals and assists in an otherwise poor tournament for our representatives.

Ramsdale Played 3 Clean Sheets 1 Conceded 2 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.87

Saka Played 1 Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.7

Nketiah Played 1 Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.4

White Played 0(+1) Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.9

Turner Played 1 Clean Sheets 1 Conceded 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 7.5

Hazard Played 4 Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.6

Lokonga Played 1(+3) Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 7.1

Xhaka Played 0(+3) Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.57

Gabriel Played 0(+3) Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.65

Jesus Played 3 Goals 1 Assists 2 Av Rating 7.10

Partey Played 3(+1) Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.93

Rekik Played 2(+1) Goals 0 Assists 0 Av Rating 6.0

January/February Fixtures

Brighton (H)

Crystal Palace (H) – FA Cup 3^rd Round

Leeds (A)

Tottenham (H)

Newcastle (A)

Liverpool (H)

Brighton (A)

Man City (H)

Fulham (A)

Edited February 16, 2023 by KingLara

KingLara · February 16, 2023

16 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

@KingLara you seem to be doing a lot of tactical swaps here! I've usually struggled with that, but it seems to be going fine for you.

I pretty much play the same system just make minor tweaks depending on personel etc. I agree with not making too many radical changes.

BnadnerB · February 16, 2023

Can’t wait for the winter update… hopefully the Arsenal researcher actually pulls his finger out for once and we see some realistic improvements!

Poddy · February 16, 2023

Hopefully he changes Jesus personality to driven or determined. I detest balanced types

nike10air · February 17, 2023

Just started season one with Arsenal and my first time playing FM23, last played FM was several years back.

This is my transfer in and out, half way through the season.

Carmi88 · February 17, 2023

Emre Tezgel all time top scorer with 249 goals in my game from 252 appearances, in February 2035 Still only 29!

hasdgfas · February 19, 2023

2025/26 Recap

A good season! CL finalists, Carabao Cup champions, and Premier League Champions.

Overall solid performances from everyone. Moukoko scored a bunch of goals but was very inconsistent. Solid seasons from Academy players Norton-Cuffy and Awe.

Really exciting new academy player from this intake:

I just unfortunately think that this is probably the end of the save. I am struggling to make progress at this point and may just wait for the winter update and start something new.

KingLara · February 22, 2023

FM23 SEASON 1 ARSENAL – JANAUARY/FEBRUARY

The good, the bad and the unlucky

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 7 – Cedric 11 Jesus 13, 45(pen) Odegaard 22 Saka 32 Martinelli 42 Elneny 77

BRIGHTON 2 – March 52 Buonanotte 78

Our last game in December had ended in a disappointing defeat at Old Trafford so I wanted to see a reaction in our next game less than 48 hours later and categorically got one. Unlikely goalscorer Cedric struck his first of the season and then turned provider two minutes later for Jesus. The other three attackers and a Jesus penalty made it 6-0 at half time. Brighton won the second half 2-1 but the players had their feet up by then.

FA CUP 3^RD ROUND

ARSENAL 0

CRYSTAL PALACE 1 – Edouard 90

With a gap of a week before the next fixture I went strong for our FA Cup opener at home to Palace. The front four attackers all started as well as Lokonga and Cedric from the Brighton game. We dominated the game and Sam Johnstone was excellent by my blasé tactics at the end to get the winner came back to bite me as with no defenders back we got hit on the break from a corner and Edouard knocked us out of the cup with one of palaces only two shots on target.

PREMIER LEAGUE

LEEDS 0

ARSENAL 2 – Jesus 40 57

We Responded well to the disappointment of going out of the fa cup with a good win at leeds. A goal in each half by Jesus taking him to double figures in the premier league.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 1 – Vieria 88

TOTTENHAM 0

After going goalless at the Tottenham Stadium back in September we hosted Spurs at the Emirates. That day we were lucky to get a draw with Tottenham having a 3.19xg but this time they set up for another 0-0. It looked like happening but up popped Vieria off the bench to poke in a late winner. Turner deputising for an Ill ramsdale was never really tested.

TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY

A quick pause in the fixture list as we entered the last few days of the transfer window. Rob Holding seemed certain to leave to either Ajax or Newcastle but ended up rejecting both. Reiss Nelson did go though in a 7.5 million move to West Ham as I didn’t wish to extend his contract.

I didn’t plan to buy anyone but a trawl though the asking prices I saw Toni Kroos for 2.8 million and couldn’t say no.

The only player I tried to sign on a pre-contract was Asensio who I was close to getting in the summer but he chose PSG. I did sign one player for next season in the form of Danilo from Porto but I think I will loan him out.

IN

Kroos 2.8m

Out

Nelson 7.5m

Smith, Vigar. Sousa, Walters. Ideho – Loan

PREMIER LEAGUE

NEWCASTLE 3 – Isak 4 Joelinton 45 Murphy 81

ARSENAL 5 – Martinelli 30, 32 Jesus 42, 48 Saka 53

A 14 day break meant we were well rested for the trip to Newcastle. Ramsdale had recovered from a virus and started in goal. Kroos was on the bench on his first appearance We got off to a terrible start with Isak giving Newcastle a 4 minute lead. Martinelli struck twice in three minutes to turn the game around and when Jesus added a third before half time it seemed job done but Joelinton gave Newcastle a lifeline going into the break. Kroos came on at half time for the injured lokonga and after Jesus gave us daylight he set up sakas goal to finally put Newcastle out of reach before Jacob Murphy added a third for the toon late on. Saka outstanding with 2 assists to add to his goal and a 9.3 rating. Kroos debut saw a solid 7.8. A good result heading into the crunch Liverpool game.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 1 – Odegaard 90

LIVERPOOL 2 – Diaz 24 Salah 65

We headed into the top of the table clash with Liverpool 4 points clear. Unfortunately we produced our worst performance of the season to deservedly lose 2-1. A very poor display. The gap cut to 1 with Man City also not far behind.

PREMIER LEAGUE

BRIGHTON 1 – Welbeck 84

ARSENAL 1 – Saka 46

News didn’t improve with Saliba ruled out for two months with a hip injury. Ben White has been very unhappy at not playing but will now get a chance. We had scored 7 at the Emirates against Brighton but found goals harder to come by at the amex. We produced a better performance than the Liverpool game though and looked like getting a vital 1-0 win only for Danny Welbeck to sucker punch us with a late equaliser. Liverpool beat Man City 2-0 at Anfield the same evening who we would play next.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 1 – Odegaard 78

MAN CITY 0

31 goal Erling Haaland was suspended for the game in a huge stroke of luck. They were also missing Grealish and Walker. City had come to the emirates off the back of two 2-0 defeats to Liverpool and Bayern Munich. They dominated the first half having 59% possession but had nobody to finish the chances. We were better in the second and pulled possession back to 50/50 by the end of the game. Odegaard striking a low shot past Ederson with 12 minutes to go. City failed to have a single effort on target from their 14 shots. Seven points clear of City with a game in hand should be enough of a lead. A big win.

PREMIER LEAGUE

FULHAM 0

ARSENAL 1 – Odegaard 47

It was Adam Websters turn to score a late equaliser for Brighton this time at Liverpools expense on the Friday night football. We took full advantage on the Saturday with a nervy win at Fulham. Odegaard again scoring the only goal from of all things a header. Just 4 goals in our last 4 games. One point clear at the top but a whopping 21 behind in goal difference.

Premier league table

1. Arsenal Played 26 Points 63 Goal Difference +35

2. Liverpool P 26 P 62 GD 56

3. Man City P 26 P 56 GD 35

4. Man Utd P 26 P 52 GD 25

5. Chelsea P 27 P 46 GD 10

Spurs are a point behind Chelsea. Fulham Wolves Bournemouth and Brighton are separated by just two points from 16^th-19^th. Nottingham Forest are 10 adrift at the bottom and will need a miracle to stay up. In the championship Burnley are 8 points clear while Watford QPR and Sheffield United are fighting for the other promotion spot. 6^th-19^th is separated by just 5 points.

Premier League Top scorers

Haaland 26 Salah 23 Jimenez 17 Ronaldo 16 Toney 14 - (=8^th Jesus 12)

Premier League Top Assists

Salah 11 Silva, Tsimikas, Saka 8 Eriksen 7

Premier League Av Rating

Salah 7.96 Haaland 7.69 Tsimikas 7.40 Foden 7.36 Mount 7.32 (7^th Xhaka 7.30)

Premier League Motm

Salah 12 Haaland 7 Ronaldo Toney 6 Goncalves 5 (=8^th Odegaard, Saka 4

Team XG

Liverpool 2.49 Man City 1.96 Newcastle 1.81 Arsenal 1.80 Man United 1.71

Team Av Possession

Arsenal 61% Chelsea 60% Man City, Tottenham 59% Aston Villa, Liverpool 56%

Arsenal stats (1^st team)

Appearances (35 played)

Saka 27 (+1) Ramsdale 26

Odegaard Gabriel 25 Martinelli 23 (+4)

Partey 23 Saliba 22

Jesus 21(+8) Tomiyasu 20

Tierney 17(+8) Zinchenko 17(+4)

Xhaka 16(+4) White Lokonga 15(+4)

Nketiah 14(+9) Cedric 14 (+2)

Hazard 10(+13) Elneny 9(+14)

Turner 9 Smith Rowe 8 (+10)

Holding 7 (+3) Vieira 5(+15)

Kroos 4(+1) Butler-Oyedeji 2(+2)

Bandeira 1(+2) Awe Walters 1(+1)

Jeffcott 1 Ideho 0(+2)

Vigar, Marquinhos 0(+1)

Goals

Jesus 18

Nketiah 14

Saka 9

Odegaard, Martinelli 6

Xhaka 5

Elneny Vieira 4

Smith-Rowe Hazard 3

Gabriel, Butler-Odeyeji, Vigar 2

Awe Cedric Lokonga Saliba Nelson 1

Assists

Saka 8

Odegaard 7

Xhaka 4 Smith-Rowe 6

Martinelli Lokonga 5

Vieria Zinchenko 4

Tomiyasu, Nelson 3

Tierney Cedric Nketiah Jesus Hazard Kroos 2

Partey 1 Saliba White Ideho 1

Man of Match

Odegaard Saka Jesus 4

Xhaka, Vieria, Tierney, Martinelli, Gabriel, Elneny 2

Awe Partey Nketiah Lokonga Hazard, Vigar 1

Europe/Other News/Transfers

Celtic were knocked out of the last 32 in the Europa league on penalties to Freiburg. The draw for the next round sees us play Frankfurt. Man united are against Nantes. It looks like us and United are among the heavy favourites to make the final. In the champions league all three English sides lost their first knockout round ties. Chelsea the only one losing at home though so nothing is over. In the conference league West Ham face a tough tie against Villarreal.

West Ham beat Man City 9-8 on penalties to win the Carabao Cup. Ake the only player to miss. Scamacca had given the hammers a 13^th minute lead only for Haaland to equalise in the 90^th minute. Two minutes into extra time Kalvin Phillips was sent off for City but West Ham couldn’t find the goal.

Both teams are out of the Fa Cup with City losing 2-1 at the Etihad to Chelsea from a 91^st minute winner from Aubameyang. Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs all kept apart in the fifth round draw. My conquerers Villa are at home to Bournemouth.

A few manager sackings and replacements in the premier league. Conte was replaced at Spurs by Luis Enrique. Neil Lennon became manager of Leicester and Mark Van Bommel joined Brighton. Eight managers replaced this season if if I am included as well.

The January transfer window was quiet on the whole. Nicolaz Gonzarlez joined Newcastle from Fiorentina for 48 million in the biggest deal. Man united signed Mac Callister from Brighton for 32m. United also signed Thauvin for 18m

March/April Fixtures

Man United (H)

Frankfurt (A) – Europa League 1^st Leg

Leicester (A)

Frankfurt (H) – Europa League 2^nd Leg

Everton (H)

Bournemouth (A)

Palace (H)

Villa (A)

Southampton (H)

West Ham (A)

Edited February 22, 2023 by KingLara

hasdgfas · February 22, 2023

Tight for you at the top! Good luck!

oze07 · February 25, 2023

so just had an amazing first season. Won the league and euro cup. jesus top scorer in both comps, saka(more on him in a bit) and viera top assisters in the prem aswell.

But saka the ***** wanted to leave, could not persuade him to stay. so sold to man ****** for 170 million. game ruined for me.

Also smith rowe is unhappy as in his new contract, i missed that i promised to play him in the amc role as an advanced playmaker, and i play 433. So im thinking of changing to a 4231 but 3 monster center mids, kone,partey and douath. plus patino is back aswell.

And another promise i missed is martinelli, to be played as an iw rather than an if, knob.

Some players are never happy!

ThanatosAFC · February 25, 2023

4 hours ago, oze07 said:

so just had an amazing first season. Won the league and euro cup. jesus top scorer in both comps, saka(more on him in a bit) and viera top assisters in the prem aswell.

But saka the ***** wanted to leave, could not persuade him to stay. so sold to man ****** for 170 million. game ruined for me.

Also smith rowe is unhappy as in his new contract, i missed that i promised to play him in the amc role as an advanced playmaker, and i play 433. So im thinking of changing to a 4231 but 3 monster center mids, kone,partey and douath. plus patino is back aswell.

And another promise i missed is martinelli, to be played as an iw rather than an if, knob.

Some players are never happy!

Saka transfer must hurt a lot, would ruin the game for me too. Yeah too many players moan for little things this years FM, it takes out the pleasure.

KingLara · February 25, 2023

On 22/02/2023 at 22:17, hasdgfas said:

Tight for you at the top! Good luck!

Thanks. Losing home and away to Liverpool hasn't helped!

hasdgfas · February 25, 2023

6 hours ago, oze07 said:

so just had an amazing first season. Won the league and euro cup. jesus top scorer in both comps, saka(more on him in a bit) and viera top assisters in the prem aswell.

But saka the ***** wanted to leave, could not persuade him to stay. so sold to man ****** for 170 million. game ruined for me.

Also smith rowe is unhappy as in his new contract, i missed that i promised to play him in the amc role as an advanced playmaker, and i play 433. So im thinking of changing to a 4231 but 3 monster center mids, kone,partey and douath. plus patino is back aswell.

And another promise i missed is martinelli, to be played as an iw rather than an if, knob.

Some players are never happy!

The Promises for specific roles in specific positions are so frustrating to me. There's just no wiggle room with them.

Nonlondoner · March 2, 2023

DATA UPDATE IS OUT!
I'd be interested to hear what you Gunners managers think of the adjustments to our players.
I'm only in season 2 at the moment and while I'm enjoying it I had to sell players who sucked in FM but are doing well in real life. No Xhaka, Partey, Tierney or Nketiah as they were very poor. While I persisted with them, Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Jesus, Zinny, Martinelli and Tommy were all bang-average when compared to their real-life performances. Jesus averaging 6.3 this season and now behind the pecking order to Balogun and a surprisingly successful panic buy, Icardi.

Carry on or start all over again. At least I'll have that lush black kit back for while if it's the latter.

josel15 · March 2, 2023

The players are really, really good. Saka is a monster, in particular.

ThanatosAFC · March 2, 2023

Defo a top 3 team in the league after the update, will start my main save tonight.

oze07 · March 2, 2023

On 25/02/2023 at 09:00, oze07 said:

so just had an amazing first season. Won the league and euro cup. jesus top scorer in both comps, saka(more on him in a bit) and viera top assisters in the prem aswell.

But saka the ***** wanted to leave, could not persuade him to stay. so sold to man ****** for 170 million. game ruined for me.

Also smith rowe is unhappy as in his new contract, i missed that i promised to play him in the amc role as an advanced playmaker, and i play 433. So im thinking of changing to a 4231 but 3 monster center mids, kone,partey and douath. plus patino is back aswell.

And another promise i missed is martinelli, to be played as an iw rather than an if, knob.

Some players are never happy!

Im tempted to start again. though my first season was amazing, losing saka after the first season ruined it for me, and with all the money i got for him, i went on a stupid spending spree. So with the updates on players etc, may be abit better.

hasdgfas · March 2, 2023

I'm excited to start again now that the update is out. Definitely going to get into it with the updates/improvements.

V3ntricity · March 3, 2023

Glad to see both Xhaka and Partey get boosted. Most players have increased potentials. Saliba, Saka and Martinelli are now (or will become) some of the best players in game.

KingLara · March 3, 2023

FM23 SEASON 1 ARSENAL – MARCH/APRIL

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 2 – Jesus 64 Saka 79

MAN UNITED 1 – B. Fernandes 53

We faced a big challenge in our first game of March but rose to it well with a very convincing win. The scoreline flattered United. We should have won by a lot more.

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 1^ST LEG

FRANKFURT 1 – Kamada 33

ARSENAL 0

Our Europa League campaign continued with a clash against Frankfurt. They were languishing in midtable domestically and I was expecting a routine victory. We played a near full strength eleven but didn’t turn up and despite Saka and Xhaka hitting the crossbar we lost a tight game by a goal. I’m still confident of going through though.

PREMIER LEAGUE

LEICESTER 0

ARSENAL 1– Odegaard 90

Sandwiched in between was a tricky trip to Leicester. Liverpool had lost the previous day at Wolves so it was a chance to extend our lead at the top of the league. I again went strong making only three changes from the Frankfurt loss. Leicester made the game bitty giving away 23 fouls but had the better chances and deserved at least a draw. However having thrown the kitchen sink late odegaard headed in the winner after a vardy goal had been ruled out moments earlier for offside. The fifth 1-0(odegaard) match of the season.

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 2^nd LEG

ARSENAL 3 – Jesus 53, 70 Martinelli 76

FRANKFURT 1 – N’dicka 55

We qualified comfortably through to the Europa League quarters as I suspected with a good display. Frankfurt kept the ball well and had 47% possession which is higher than pretty much every team we have faced especially at the Emirates but it was only us that was creating the chances. They didn’t have a single player receive a rating over 6.9. Saka went off injured and would be out for a month. We would play Lazio in the Quarter Finals. The first leg being the Emirates bringing a different challenge. Man United eased past Nantes and would play Union Berlin. The other two matches were Roma vs Marseille and an all german clash with Leipzig vs Freiburg.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 4 – Smith Rowe 44 Jesus 47 68 Odegaard 52

EVERTON 1 – Mcneil 88 – Gordon miss/pen 4

Our first game back after the international break saw us host a struggling Everton. We had a sloppy first half first giving away e penalty which was saved by Ramsdale and then despite possession being unable to create much. A goal by Smith -rowe before half time though galvanised us and in the second half we were much better and ran away with it. A goal and assist for Smith Rowe on his first start since boxing day.

PREMIER LEAGUE

BOURNEMOUTH 2 – Zinchenko o.g 14 Billing 37

ARSENAL 4 – Jesus 59 83(pen) Hazard 75 Nketiah 90

A trip to relegation threatened Bournemouth seemed like an easy three points but 2-0 down at half time I had to get the hairdryer out. It worked though as second half we were much better. Smith-Rowe rolled his ankle and joined an ever extending injury list.

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 1^ST LEG

ARSENAL 1 - Patric o.g 85

LAZIO 0

Saliba returned to the bench after two months out. In the absence of Saka and Smith-Rowe I opted for Marquinhos at right wing. Quite a game to make his first start. Lazio committed 25 fouls but came to play and narrowly had more possession. Both teams had a 90% pass accuracy in a good game just lacking chances. Hazards shot deflecting off the unlucky Patric. A good win heading to Italy for the second leg.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 1 – Martinelli 83

CRYSTAL PALACE 0 – Konsa s/o 75

I hadn’t realised Fabio Vieira could play right wing before the Lazio game so he started at home to Palace. Saliba also came in for the rested Gabriel. Marquinhos looked like he had scored his first goal for Arsenal two minutes after Martinelli but it was disallowed for offside. Saka made his return from injury late on.

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 1^ST LEG

LAZIO 1 – Immobile 28 – Pedro s/o 40 Milinkovic-Savic s/o 56

ARSENAL 3 – Hazard 10 Jesus 15 Kroos 21

I expected a tough game In Italy but never got one as we raced into a 3-0 lead to basically kill the game in the first 20 minutes. Toni Kroos ran the show with an 8.8 rating including a rocket for the third goal. Lazio players got frustrated and two terrible challenges meant they played the last 35 minutes with 9 men. I rather have my players rested so just took the win. A tricky obstacle overcome. We would be staying in Rome for the semi-finals as we drew Roma. Man United eased to a 7-0 aggregate win over Union Berlin and will play Leipzig.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ASTON VILLA 2 – Watkins 53 Bailey 90

ARSENAL 2 – Gabriel 45 Jesus 90

We headed to Villa Park on a high after the Europa League win in Rome. Villa took advantage of tired legs and played pretty well having got back level. Gabriel giving us the lead heading in a Kroos corner on the stroke of halftime. Jesus seemed like he had bagged us a late winner after pouncing on a poor touch by mcginn in the area but before my park the bus tactics could be sent out bailey had equalised for Villa. They deserved it.

PREMIER LEAGUE

ARSENAL 3 – Jesus 38 45 47

SOUTHAMPTON 1 – Adams 46 – Ryerson s/o 40

We responded well three days later with a comfortable win over Southampton at the Emirates. I took the opportunity to rest Gabriel, Kroos, Partey and Odegaard. A red card for Southampton meant the game was done by half time.

PREMIER LEAGUE

WEST HAM 2 – Soucek 49(pen) Scamacca 83

ARSENAL 0

A fourth game in nine days proved too much as we lost a poor game at the London Stadium. Despite having 70% possession we had no energy and lost easily. Only four games left and still a three point lead but can’t afford another loss with a -22 goal difference to Liverpool.

Premier league table

1. Arsenal Played 34 Points 82 Goal Difference + 43

2. Liverpool P 34 P 79 GD 65

3. Man Utd P 34 P 70 GD 40

4. Man City P 34 P 67 GD 37

5. Tottenham P 34 P 58 GD 21

The top four seems done with City 9 points above Spurs. Nottingham Forrest are all but relegated with just 19 points. Brighton are five points off Palace in 17th so seem likely to also go down. Bournemouth are just a single point adrift and Fulham are also not safe yet. With one game left in the championship Burnley are promoted. QPR are all but there with a 3 point lead and 6 goal difference over preston in third. Six other teams can still make the play offs with one game left.

Title run-in –

Liverpools much tougher on paper but I would have preferred the United and Spurs games to be away rather than at Anfield

Arsenal – Wolves (A) Nottingham Forrest (H) Chelsea (A) Brentford (H)

Liverpool – Newcastle (A) Man United (H) Crystal Palace (A) Tottenham (H)

Relegation run-in -

Brighton (25 Points) – Crystal Palace (A) Brentford (H) Newcastle (A) Chelsea (H)

Bournemouth (29 Points) – Leicester (H) Leeds (A) Southampton (H) Aston Villa (A)

Crystal Palace (30 Points) Brighton (H) Fulham (A) Liverpool (H) Southampton (A)

Fulham (34 Points) – Chelsea (A) Crystal Palace (H) Everton (A) Wolves (H)

Premier League Top scorers

Haaland 29 Salah 26 Jimenez 24 Ronaldo, Jesus 21

Premier League Top Assists

Eriksen 15 Salah 13 Damsgaard, Harrison 10 B. Silva, Tsimikas, Saka, Son 9

Premier League Av Rating

Salah 7.79 Haaland 7.55 Tsimikas, Mount 7.34 Nunez 7.31 - (8^th Xhaka 7.26)

Premier League Motm

Salah 13 Jimenez 8 Haaland, Toney, Ronaldo 7 – (=6^th Odegaard, Jesus, Saka 5

Team XG

Liverpool 2.36 Man City 1.95 Arsenal 1.84 Man United 1.69 Newcastle 1.66

Team Av Possession

Arsenal 62% Chelsea 60% Man City, Tottenham 59% Liverpool 56%

Europe/Other News/Transfers

PSG have comfortably won Ligue 1. Just the 25 points above Nice with five games left. They have won 29 games but did suffer one loss 1-2 at home to Lille. Bayern have also had it easy in Germany winning the Bundesliga. Champions League places are tight though with Dortmund in danger of missing out. Real Madrid have all but secured the title in Spain. Finally in Italy Milan hold a four point lead over Juventus in second but have played a game more. Inter in third also aren’t out of it despite being 14 points behind have played three games less. There is a Milan derby in the final round of fixtures.

In the champions league Man City recovered from a 0-2 deficit to Bayern to stun them, 3-0 at the Etihad and progress. A Lukaku brace saw Inter beat Chelsea having won the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool knocked out Ream Madrid after winning 3-0 at Anfield. Courtois with a 5.9 rating. In the Quarters Liverpool and Ac Milan drew 2-2 at Anfield before the Italians won 2-0 in Italy. Man Citys quest for a first champions league was over after getting thumped 4-1 at the nou camp after drawing 0-0 in Manchester. Benfica held their nerve to see off Juventus and Hakimi hit an 88^th minute equaliser which ended up with PSG beating inter on penalties after both games were drawn. The semi finals are Ac Milan vs PSG and Barcelona vs Benfica

In the conference league west ham were knocked out in the last 16 by Villarreal drawing 2-2 in Spain but losing 2-1 at home. The semi finals see Villarreal's conquerors in the quarters Koln play Austria Vienna and Monaco vs Real Sociedad.

The Fa Cup final will see Liverpool play Nottingham Forest.

The under 21s have won the premier division league, cup as well as the Johnsons paint trophy. Sadly in the international version they were knocked out in the group stages.

The Under 18s came 3^rd in their league and were knocked out in the premier division cup but did manage to win the fa youth cup beating Chelsea in the final.

All the regens and youth candidates came in. We have a decent five star potential striker in Pearce Dymond. The rest are ok but nothing outstanding. There were a couple of decent players that we scouted but most wouldn’t come. I did snap up five players from other domestic academies and am still on the search for more.

Edu stupidly put a 101 million minimum release clause in Sakas new contract which means he may leave in the summer if Man City as expected match it. Xhaka also wants to go.

May Fixtures

Wolves (A)

Roma (A) - Europa League Semi Final 1st Leg

Nottingham Forrest (H)

Roma (H) - Europa League Semi FInal 2nd Leg

Chelsea (A)

Brentford (H)

dido53 · March 3, 2023

What ıs your tactical opınıons after last update?ı started out new save saka and martinelli would be fun to watch but cant fıgure out how to play

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FM23: Arsenal - Banter FC is over

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