Hello everyone!
I have been playing FM relatively recently. I had some experience playing the 21 version before. Fortunately, I finally decided to dive deeper into this wonderful game that brings a lot of emotions - especially now, during the off-season.
I will try to explain what prompted me to create this thread where I will share my save for Arsenal FC:
1. As I said, I am a beginner in FM, so perhaps some advice that I hope to get in this thread from you will help me.
2. The idea of a save seems quite interesting to me. I do not plan to do a rebuild or a road to glory. Instead, I would like to rethink the past season and try to achieve even greater success than that achieved by Mikel Arteta at the helm of the club.
3. At the moment, I see my path as follows:
- I will try to take the best from what Arteta did and try to replicate his tactical ideas. You can call it recreation. In my tactics, which I will describe later, I was helped by studying this well-known thread, many other tactical articles and analytical summaries on the topic of Arsenal's game this season, and of course, the monumental The Book Of Roles.
- At the same time, I will not lock myself into the framework of one tactical setup, for example, using Tierney in the IWB position by analogy with Zinchenko. Arteta did this at the end of the season when Zinchenko was injured, but Tierney regularly demonstrated that he is unable (at the moment) to do it successfully. In my save, you will see Arteta’s 4-3-3 recreation only as a basis for my tactical structure, but during the season, I will be more flexible and will have additional tactics to be able to be variable.
- I will try to avoid the mistakes that, in my opinion, cost Arsenal the title in the EPL and the fight in the final stages of the Europa League.
- Of course, Arsenal had an exceptional season in the EPL, and it will be difficult for me to achieve such good results since my opponents in the league, such as Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham, are unlikely to repeat the disappointing results of this season in my save. Moreover, this season almost all Arsenal players took a step forward in their development, which is not reflected in the attributes of my team in FM since I am not playing on an updated database.
- Nevertheless, I will make every effort to achieve the goal and, if not surpass Arteta's results, then come as close as possible to them.
- My priority is to perform in the EPL. This does not mean that I will approach other tournaments with less dedication, but I understand that much will depend on the draw.
- In the winter transfer window, I, like in real life, will buy Trossard, Jorginho, and Kiwior, but I will also try to acquire one or two players in positions that I consider needing reinforcement.
- Main rule: no save scum - this will be my first experience without replaying in a save.
The next post I will make when I finish the group stage of the Europa League, in which I have two matches left to play. In the next post, I will share my tactics, explain my choice of positions in the formation, and try to make some screenshots from matches for clarity of my tactics. Well, of course, I will show the first results of my save and reflect on this topic.
And for now, I suggest you share your thoughts on what Arteta personally or Arsenal as a club could have changed to not miss out on the coveted trophy in the English Premier League.
