FM14: Arsenal Thread - "Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent!"

[llama3]

Wow, never seen a squad that big before - what is your overall squad size?

[arsenalthebest]

March Report

02/03/14 | Barclays Premier League | Goodison Park

Arsenal 3 ( Ozil 14 , Ox 47 , Reyes 66)

Everton 0

09/03/14 | FA Cup (6th Rd) | Emirates

Arsenal 2 (Vela 23 , Giroud 65 , Vela Miss Pen 79)

Tottenham 0

12/03/14 |UEFA Chmapions League (1st K/O Rd Leg 2) | Emirates

Arsenal 1(1) ( Ox 43)

Barcelona 0(2)

5/03/14 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

Arsenal 1 ( Giroud 87)

West Ham 0

24/03/14 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

Arsenal 3 ( Ozil 33 , Mertesacker 45 , Bendtner 76)

Hull 1 ( Graham 87)

30/03/14 | Barclays Premier League | St James Park

Arsenal 1 ( Vela 76 , Vela Inj 87)

Newcastle 0

Regen William Hooker broke the league youngest player record at 15 Yrs & 332 Days when he started against Hull

Acdemy players signed: Eddie Hussey GK 4.5 * Pot , William Hooker DM 4.5* Pot , Hayati Keskin AMC/MC 4* Pot , Rowan Marshall DR/C 3.5 * Pot , Alex Bloomer AMR/MR 3.5* Pot , Ashley Warburton DC 2 * Pot , Ciaran Markey ST/AMR 2.5* Pot ,

[llama3]

You keep a massive amount of clean sheets ATB - must say I love seeing a long run of clean sheets.

[arsenalthebest]

You keep a massive amount of clean sheets ATB - must say I love seeing a long run of clean sheets.

yes well I hate cleaning

[Ben_reeson]

How have people managed to get Ozil to play ? and what position have you played him in with what instructions ?

My Game is basically going to base around him being the technician that he is feeding Giroud and Walcott from the right.

I've struggled to get a game going at the minute through enjoyment, so im starting again tonight and actually paying attention as to what is going on etc

rather than just rushing through to play the next game!!

[Vetinari]

Soon to begin my second season, and Man City put in a mammoth bid of 42.5m for Ramsey. So tempting but I don't really need the money!

[llama3]

How have people managed to get Ozil to play ? and what position have you played him in with what instructions ?

My Game is basically going to base around him being the technician that he is feeding Giroud and Walcott from the right.

I've struggled to get a game going at the minute through enjoyment, so im starting again tonight and actually paying attention as to what is going on etc

rather than just rushing through to play the next game!!

Variation between AP(S) & T(A) - depends on defensive structure tbh.

[Ben_reeson]

Variation between AP(S) & T(A) - depends on defensive structure tbh.

In the hole behind the striker then i take it ? I've struggled to get Giroud to score goals with a player behind him, Even in all roles.

Walcott on my last attempt at the game was on fine scoring form though from inside forward position on the right. 15 goals in as many games.

Defensively i've been poor, Need to read back through these forums to get ideas of tactics etc.

Thanks for your reply.

[KingLara]

Fm14 Season 3

February

Premier League

WEST HAM 1 [Nolan 20] ARSENAL 1 [Lewandowski 53]

The month started in a poor fashion with a draw at West Ham. We lacked sharpness in the first half before and after Nolan had given the hammers the lead. Nolan had two golden opportunities to double the advantage but missed both and a fine Lewandowski strike made us even. Just about fair. Toure and Walcott went off with injuries. Toure just a few days, Walcott three weeks. We would play Bournemouth in the Fa Cup after they beat Barnsley 1-0.

Premier League

LIVERPOOL 2 [Coutinho 47 Taylor 84 ARSENAL 3 [Lewandowski 37 69 Balanta 87

Having completely forgotton to change my defence in the draw at west ham Vermaelen returned. We controlled the game in the first half and should’ve taken the lead through Ozil before he turned provider to Lewandowski to finish. A fine move by Liverpool saw them equalise through Coutinho. Another smart finish by Lewandowksi restored our lead in what was becoming an increasingly even game. It looked likely to end in a draw when Neil Taylor scored but a corner was headed in off the floor by Balanta and although Liverpool hit the post and Coutinho was a whisker away with a 40 yard effort we got the three points and sent the reds further in the mire.

Premier League

ARSENAL 6 [Gomez 31 79 90 Lewandowski 45 Vermaelen 71 Mertersacker 76 STOKE 1 [ideye 42]

I gave Insigne a stern warning before the game to perform or be dropped. He made three assists but it was Gomez who stole the headlines with a fine hattrick as we hammered Stoke but only after they had threatened to derail our unbeaten season. Before the game I rested Baines and played Koscielny at left back. Gomez starting only his sixth game of the season gave us the lead before Ideye made the game level for the visitors. It seemed we would be all square at half time but Lewandowski restored our lead. Second half was tight until Vermaelen headed in a corner and then the floodgates opened.

FA Cup 5th Round

BOURNEMOUTH 3[ Stockley 54 Macguire 56 Hollands 74] ARSENAL 4 [Giroud 12 32pen 50 Insigne 67

A seaside seven goal thrille. I made another game error when I forgot to swap keepers so Zieler still hasn’t played since his man of the match display against Newcastle in the last round. Another player frozen out recently was the main difference. In the last ten matches Giroud had played just 17 minutes but started and showed his class. Bournemouth scored the pick of the goals though with an absolute stunner from Macguire. Insigne kept up his renaissance with another good display. Injuries to Gibbs and Toure slightly marred the day. Two weeks for both.

5th round news – City got revenge for their two league cup losses by beating Chelsea 4-2 at the Bridge. United were again held for the third round in a row, this time by Derby.

Quarter-Final draw – Arsenal vs West Brom.

Premier League

WIGAN 1 [Hooper 80] ARSENAL 3 [Lewandowski 25 Wilshere 31 Giroud 47pen]

With the trip to Madrid in four days I had to think carefully about my side. Giroud also retained his place but started alongside Lewandowski. Both scored in a routine win. Lewandowski gave us the lead with a good finish before a sweeping move was finished by Wilshere. Giroud added a third from the spot before Hooper pulled a goal back for wigan which was totally undeserved. Still a solid win and good vibes heading to Madrid.

Champions League 1st Knockout Round 1st Leg

ATLETICO MADRID 1 [Villa 9] Cisse s/o 88 ARSENAL 1 [baines 90] Peruzzi s/o 51

I got my tactics horribly wrong but we still escaped the Estadio de Madrid with a 1-1 draw after a last gasp equaliser from Baines. Walcott returned to the side but I started him on the bench playing a much more defensive and slow game. Villa scored after 9 minutes and we were up against it for most of the half. Giroud wasted three excellent chances before Peruzzi who was poor throughout was sent off. As the game ticked on and we escaped conceding another goal I almost settled for the narrow defeat but Cisse getting sent off for Atletico changed my mind and I went all out attack. Finally it paid off as baines playing as a left winger struck on the rebound. Good result but tie far from over. Wilshere went off injured and will miss three weeks.

LEAGUE CUP FINAL

CHELSEA 1 [Hazard 1] ARSENAL 3 [Lewandowski 27 Mertesacker 39 Pedro o.g49]

Balnta joined Wilshere on the sidelines for the league cup final. I went with the side that got us to the final which meant Vermaelen who hadn’t played a single minutes was on the bench. Hazard gave Chelsea a dream start inside a minute. We didn’t really respond and were fortunate not to be 2-0 down. We took our time Lewandowski and but Mertesacker turned the game around before half time. Zieler produced a couple of excellent saves to keep us infront while Lacazette was denied by Courtois. A comical pedro own goal put us further infront just after halftime. Chelsea continued to push but were unable to break down our defence and the third consecutive League cup was ours. Only dark note was Insigne being taken off injured. He will miss two weeks.

Chelsea – Courtois Luiz Ivanovic Moreno Shawcross Hazard Pedro Mikel Ramires Oscar Martinez

Subs: Chalobah ( Ramires 55) Mata (Oscar 67) Matip (Moreno 80] Darwin Bojan Mutumbo Cahill

Arsenal – Zieler Baines Sagna Mertersacker Koscielny Insigne Lacazette Ramsey Alonso Ozil Lewandowski

Subs: Walcott (Insigne 75) Valdes Toure Vermaelen Gibbs Gomez Giroud

Match Stats – Shots 12/13 Target 3/7 Possession 42/58 Fouls 21/7 Corners 4/12 CCC 3/3 WW 0/1 YC 0/2 RC 0/0

Man of the Match – Per Mertesacker (7.7)

League Table

Can smell unbeaten season.

1. Arsenal Played 28 Points 76

2. Tottenham Played 29 Points 59

3. Newcastle Played 29 Points 58

4. Man Utd Played 29 Points 57

5. Chelsea Played 28 Points 55

8. Man City Played 28 Points 43

15. Liverpool Played 29 Points 28

Goals

Blanks for Walcott. Six for Lewandowski. Four for Giroud

Giroud 20

Walcott 20

Lewandwoski 17

Ozil 8

Vermaelen 8

Assists

Ozil 26

Insigne 15

Lacazette 7

Toure 7

Wilshere 6

av rating

Vermaelen 7.80

Mertersacker 7.60

Koscielny 7.59

Balanta 7.57

Peruzzi 7.55

mom

Mertersacker 5

Balanta 4

Insigne 3

Ozil 3

Giroud 3

Player of the month – Robert Lewandwoski

Six goals. Mertesacker wasn’t that far away though

PL – West Ham –7.0(1)

PL – Liverpool – 8.8(2)

PL – Stoke – 9.3(1)

FA – Bournemouth – Unused Sub

Pl – Wigan – 7.2(1

CL – Atletico Madrid - 6.7 – off57

LC – Chelsea – 7.3(1)

Game of the Month – Derby vs Man United

DERBY 4 [Kiss 2 Tate 23pen 27pen Sammon 90] MAN UNITED 4 [Tate o.g 26 Rispolli o.g 32 Rooney 64pen Welbeck 71]

No five-for for Demba Ba this month but there was an 8-goal thriller with plenty of drama at Pride Park. 3 penalties 2 own goals and a last minute eqauliser. Always welcome against United. Derby were also on the receiving end of 4-0 loss at Spurs. Lamela scoring all four goals.

Stat of the Month – Magical Messi.

The winner of the world player of the year for 2015/16 has been in sparkling form recently. So far this season he has 29 goals at 8.32. It seems everytime I look at the newsfeed its another wonderful performance. Here’s his breakdown

League – Played 25 Goals 14 Assists 9 MOM 11 Average Rating 8.40

Spanish Cup – Played 2 Goals 2 Assists 1 MOM 0 Average Rating 8.20

Champions League – Played 7 Goals 9 Assists 1 MOM 3 Average Rating 8.07

International – Played 9 Goals 6 Assists 3 MOM 3 Average Rating 8.07

Scary thing is he’s probably half the player he actually is in real life!

Other News

I scooped manager of the month for the fifth time this season. Lewandwoski came second to Lamela in player of the month. Young player was Will Hughes.

Liverpool are six clear of relegation with nine games to go. They should survive.

Saunders did go on loan to Inverness. 2 in 4 so far. Zelalem went to Betis.

I haven’t updated the progress of the youth teams this season. Under 21’a are third and through to the final of the youth cup against Chelsea. The under 18’s meanwhile are 3rd but were knocked out of the cup 3-1 at West Brom.

My only real pre-contract target was Xavi. He signed a new contract at Barcelona.

A late goal by Willian rescued Chelsea in their last 16 tie with Dortmund at Stamford Bridge. Shalke and Valencia in most danger of not qualifying after losing to Sporting and Monaco both 1-0.

We announced a link with MK Dons.

Two of the top sides in Holland sacked their managers. PSV and Vitesse.

League top three’s

Goals – Ba (new) 19 Walcott 18 Hernadez (mau) 17

Assists – Ozil 14 Pizzi (new) 14 Mirallas (eve) 12

MOM – Kompany (mac) 6 Nastasic (mac) 5 Mirallas (eve) 5

AvRating – Vermaelen 7.78 Mertersacker 7.60 Walcott 7.49

Euro tables

France – 1. PSG 66 2. Monaco 63 3. Lyon 57

Germany – 1 Bayern 52 2. Freiburg 51 3. Dortmund 47

Spain – 1. Barcelona 60 2. Real M 59. 3. Atletico 57

Italy – 1. Juventus 63 2. Genoa 50 3. Milan 46

Holland – 1. Ajax 51 2. PSV 50. 3. Feyenoord 48

March Preview

March is always dominated by the regens.

On the pitch we have the second leg of the Atletico game plus probably the biggest threat to the unbeaten season by travelling to Man City.

[Mark.]

Another top update KingLara. You sure have Ozil performing well!

[Mackem742]

I started an Arsenal save last night after reading this thread. Its not very often that I play as another Premier League club other than Sunderland.

I started with a tactic that I had seen while browsing the forums and its a 3-1-4-1-1 formation. 3 central defenders, 1 defensive midfielder, 2 box to box midfielders, 2 wingers, 1 attacking midfielder and a lone striker.

Ive only played friendlies so far and won 4 out of 4 without conceding a goal and not scoring less than 3. I have only made one signing up to now which was Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid as I plan to get rid of Podolski, Bendtner etc which would only leave me Giroud.

I have what looks like an easy start in the league, Palace away and Hull at home so I will get crackign on that after work today and I will post up some pics to say how the tactic works, its new to me, Ive never just played 3 at the back before.

[llama3]

Welcome to the thread Mackem - with regard to 3 at the back there are a few ways to play it. Especially as you have no wing-backs/defensive wingers, and the fact you have a holding midfielder, I would recommend making the 2 outside central defenders "stopper" duties - they are more likely to peel wide to prevent the cross, still leaving 2 in the centre, you still have the extra cover of the DM. Mertesacker is not remotely suited to being a stopper, so cover for him in the centre, with vermaelen, koscielny & sagna the best on the outside.

[Mackem742]

Welcome to the thread Mackem - with regard to 3 at the back there are a few ways to play it. Especially as you have no wing-backs/defensive wingers, and the fact you have a holding midfielder, I would recommend making the 2 outside central defenders "stopper" duties - they are more likely to peel wide to prevent the cross, still leaving 2 in the centre, you still have the extra cover of the DM. Mertesacker is not remotely suited to being a stopper, so cover for him in the centre, with vermaelen, koscielny & sagna the best on the outside.

In the friendlies I was using Sagna as the central of the 3 as he is the quickest out of the 3 Im using, Mertesacker, Koscielny. I use him to cover any balls coming through which my defensive midfielder misses. Its hard to explain without me looking at it but ill explain in greater depth when Im finished work and back home

Whatever I am doing it seems to be working, like I said, 4 friendlies so far and no goals conceded

[Mackem742]

Decided to start again from the start as I realised my mistake in only signing a striker. Im going to spread my spending around a little this time and strengthen the squad fully.

[KingLara]

Another top update KingLara. You sure have Ozil performing well!

Cheers Mark. How's your game going?

[KingLara]

FM14 season 3

March

Premier League

ARSENAL 1 [Ramsey 30[/b] SOUTHAMPTON 0

There were plenty of tired legs following the Chelsea win. Ozil wasn’t fit enough and I rotated most of the starting eleven with Pilar getting a rare start. For the Saints it seemed like damage limitation with Ramsey’s second goal of the season the difference.

FA Cup Quarter-Final

ARSENAL 1 [Giroud 47] WEST BROM 0

With a busy schedule coming up I again rotated but kept Valdes in goal. Pilar retained his place. I knew Long and Cerri could cause us problems so I opted for a deeper system. The first half there wasn’t a single goalcoring chance. Never nice to see. Giroud scored with a fine glancing header for the only goal of the game. Back to back 1-0 wins a t home.

FA Cup Semi Final draw – Manchester United vs Arsenal, Huddersfield vs Man City or Swindon

A good test. United winning 1-0 at Cardiff. City held at home and now have to go to The County Ground.

Premier League

HUDDERSFIELD 0 ARSENAL 1 [Vermaelen 3]

Another very drab game. Vermaelen heading in an early corner. Third consecutive boring 1-0 win. Not sure what is going on at the moment.

Premier League

ARSENAL 1 [Gomez 40] DERBY 1 [Lelan 28]

A possibly landmark game as I handed a debut to 16 year old Mirco Pinotti. With the champions game midweek I rested almost all of the starting eleven completely although did have Ozil on the bench. We didn’t start very well and fell behind after a corner was turned in by Lelan. Pinotti then got in on the game and set up Gomez to equalise. After that though my shoot on sight policy didn’t really work and we created little even when Ozil was introduced. Probably a draw the fair result and fair play to Derby for getting it. Still a bit goal shy at the moment. Just four in four. Doesn’t help Walcott has gone 7 games without scoring. Highest rating of 6.9 is even more worrying.

Champions League 1st Knockout Round 2nd Leg

ARSENAL 3 [insigne 44 Ramsey 84 Gomez 90 Wilshere miss/pen 56 Atletico Madrid 0 Medel s/o 57

We saw off Atletico comfortably with a solid performance. Atletico rarely troubled us and after we had taken the lead through Insigne towards the end of the first half there was only one possible outcome. Wilshere missed a penalty before Medel was sent off for Atletico for a second yellow. Ramsey and Gomez then came off the bench to add some gloss to the scoreline.

Round up – We are the last English survivors after Chelsea were knocked out on penalties by Dortmund. No other major shocks. Shalke did well to turn their tie around against Sporting.

Quarter-Final draw – Marseille vs Arsenal

Up against the defending Champions. Elsewhere Barca host Dortmund PSG play Bayern and in the battle of the smaller teams Shalke drew Monaco.

Champions League quarter-Final 1st Leg

MARSEILE 1 [Payet 2] ARSENAL 0

In a strange twist of fate our next game actually ended up being the champions league match. We were due to play City but it was postponed adding to a highly challenging April on the cards. I opted for a very narrow and rigid system playing all four central midfielders and trying to stifle Marseille. We created a decent chance in the first minute but by the time the third had come we were a goal down. A 30 yard shot from Payet going through the crowd and past Valdes. After that neither side created much. With twenty minutes to go I brought on the two wingers Insigne and Gomez but didn’t have much effect and we suffered our first loss of the season. Wilshere will miss the second leg.

Quarter final round up – three surprises. Dortmund won 1-0 in Barcelona. Monaco won by the same scoreline at Shalke while PSG thumped Bayern 4-1.

League Table

All over bar the shouting. United in danger of missing out on top four (sounds familiar huh?!)

1. Arsenal Played 31 Points 83

2. Chelsea Played 32 Points 67

3. Newcastle Played 32 Points 67

4. Tottenham Played 32 Points 66

5. Man Utd Played 31 Points 58

11. Man City Played 30 Points 44

14. Liverpool Played 32 Points 32

Goals

Poor month for goals. Just 8 in 6 matches. Zero for Walcott and Lewandowski.

Giroud 22

Walcott 20

Lewandowski 17

Insigne 8

Ozil 8

Assists

Ozil 28

Insigne 15

Lacazette 7

Toure 7

Wilshere 6

av rating

Vermaelen 7.71

Balanta 7.57

Mertersacker 7.53

Peruzzi 7.51

Koscielny 7.50

mom

Mertersacker 5

Balanta 4

Insigne 3

Ozil 3

Giroud 3

Player of the month – Leighton Baines

Overall a poor month. Baines wins it. Gomez Second.

PL – Southampton – UR – on77

FA – West Brom – 7.7

PL – Huddersfield – 7.1

PL– Derby - NS

CL – Atletico Madrid – 8.3

CL – Marseille – 7.0

Game of the Month – Everton vs Chelsea

EVERTON 0 CHELSEA 4 [Oscar 10 Martinez 18 Hazard 20 Matip 35]

Excellent month for Chelsea. Best result was a 4-0 romp at Everton. Also beat City 2-1 at the Etihad.

Stat of the Month – Where’s Walcott.

Another blank for Walcott who’s now in the under 21’s and may even be sold. Wouldn’t have thought that in December.

Since he last scored a penalty against Chelsea on the 26th January Here’s his ratings from the seven games he has played.

6.6 6.6 6.9 6.7 6.8 6.6 6.7 – Goals 0 Assists 1

Also he has played one under 21 game and got 6.6 and one England game and got 6.8. Stark contrast to first few months.

Other News

The regens came in and there were three very highly rated youngsters. A centre-back and two strikers which wouldn’t have been my preference with Saunders and Nelson but not too bothered.

Over Europe though It was a pretty poor batch of regens. I managed to sign a few but wasn’t the volume of the last couple of seasons.

I made one another summer signing in the form of Ravel Morrison. 600k for a player Rowley rates as having four and a half star potential.

With four wins out of four Mourinho broke the Lara/Moyes dominance and won manager of the month. Lampard won Player while Will Hughes again won the young player award.

Liverpool are now nine clear of relegation with six games to go. Merseyside derby and away at Spurs next. Win one of those and they should be ok.

Under 21’s will play Chelsea in the final of the youth cup.

League top three’s

Goals – Ba (new) 20 Hernadez (mau) 18 Walcott 18

Assists – Pizzi (new) 16 Ozil 15 Mata (che) 12

MOM – Kompany (mac) 6 Nastasic (mac) 5 Mirallas (eve) 5

AvRating – Vermaelen 7.70 Mertersacker 7.49 Peruzzi 7.43

Euro tables

France – 1. PSG 73 2. Monaco 72 3. Lyon 62

Germany – 1 Bayern 58 2. Freiburg 54 3. Dortmund 53

Spain – 1. Real M 69. 2. Barcelona 66 3. Atletico 60

Italy – 1. Juventus 70 2. Milan 56 3. Genoa 54

Holland – 1. Ajax 63 2. PSV 59. 3. AZ 57

April Preview

April starts with a home game against Fulham and then gets harder, much harder.

Fixtures: 2nd Fulham 6th (h) Marseille (h) 9th Man Utd (N) 13th Everton (a) 16th Tottenham (h) 20th Man City (a). 23rd Ipswitch (a) 30th Reading (a).

[Cesc_cil]

Well decided to have another go with the Arsenal. i am using pro's update. as far as tactics go i am using Roslers over on the tactics forum, it a 4-1-3-2 tactic.

I have completed the first season, and i can honestly say it was the wierdest season ever!

My last game of the season.

[/img]

i had to win by three clear goals to win the league, i basically had a play-off with STOKE!

[lewis999]

What formation did they play? 442?

[Cesc_cil]

[lewis999]

Is that the first season? If so whose their manager? Mark Hughes doesn't play that does he?

[Cesc_cil]

yes it was the fist season

[wwxxyyzz]

I always have trouble against Stoke, and they always finish quite high. I've had success playing narrow and exploiting the flanks, but its hit and miss.

[lewis999]

That's strange then because on his profile there his formation is 41221. So god knows why he changed.

[fatlad86]

just started my 1st game with arsenal since fm 11

signings

[Mark.]

Cheers Mark. How's your game going?

Good thanks mate. I'm doing a piece in the Tactics and Training forums on the Tactic I am running. Still only in preseason on this save, but once I clear that I will update in here as well.

Another solid run from you. Gutted to hear about Theo, I would hesitate to sell him due his unique skill set, but if you feel there are better younger options then it could be an idea.

A question for everyone. How do you resolve the random crash dumps? Something about clearing the cache?

[fatlad86]

does gnabry end up world class? i know he's highly rated in real life but not really took much notice of him til i started this arsenal save. thanks

[llama3]

does gnabry end up world class? i know he's highly rated in real life but not really took much notice of him til i started this arsenal save. thanks

Always made excellent progress with him in my saves

[Welshace]

Would love to see a screenie if you have one handy Llama?

He's a player I like very much irl but haven't had much success with in the game.

[llama3]

From old saves long since deleted I am afraid, but became a very tricky technical player - very quick and mobile, great dribbling, control etc - was not even close to fully developed. He seems to develop quickly. Great choices to tutor him too like Arteta & Rosicky.

[fatlad86]

thanks for the reply llama. ive sent him to inverness for a year then next season i will start to blood him in. look forward to him and januzaj tearing the league apart

[Anxiietyyy]

:o

[Yasp0]

How have people managed to get Ozil to play ? and what position have you played him in with what instructions ?

My Game is basically going to base around him being the technician that he is feeding Giroud and Walcott from the right.

I've struggled to get a game going at the minute through enjoyment, so im starting again tonight and actually paying attention as to what is going on etc

rather than just rushing through to play the next game!!

I turned Ozil into a beast, getting better every year. This is Ozil on january 1, 2020:

Playing him in MC position as AP(a) together with Wilshere BBM(s).

Also lots of assists from this lad from the own academy:

Chelsea, who the **** are Chelsea? I was on top of the table together with Chelsea, both won 14, draw 2, lost 0. So really loved this win.

[Anxiietyyy]

Oh my word!! Stark contrast to me - I released him mid-way through the 2019/20 season as he was getting no first team football and no one would take him off me - not even for free! He was absolutely unreal in the first two seasons though.

[Mark.]

Yasp0 Is that in a 4-3-3? See I love a 4-3-3 and had great success last year giving Wilshere an AP(a) role from MC. I know that Ozil isn't best suited to that position, and have created much more unorthodox tactic (basically removing a wide attacker to stick him in the middle) to accommodate him.

Its reassuring to know he can still operate well from the MC line!

[llama3]

Stunning performance that Yasp0! Congrats as well Anxiietyyy

[Yasp0]

Yasp0 Is that in a 4-3-3? See I love a 4-3-3 and had great success last year giving Wilshere an AP(a) role from MC. I know that Ozil isn't best suited to that position, and have created much more unorthodox tactic (basically removing a wide attacker to stick him in the middle) to accommodate him.

Its reassuring to know he can still operate well from the MC line!

Sort of. It's a 4 in line at the back with a DM, 2 MC, AML, AMR, ST.

[KingLara]

FM14 Season 3

April

Premier League

ARSENAL 1 [Lewandowski 35] FULHAM 0

I made several changes with the Marseille return leg to come. Walcott returned to the starting line-up but still failed to impress. Giroud though stole the limelight after missing a hatfull of chances. He was later disciplined for his 5.2 performance. In the end despite cutting Fulham to threads just Lewandwoski’s strike in the first half we had to show for a good all-round performance. The narrow win did wrap up the league title though.

Champions League

ARSENAL 3 [Walcott 44 Vermaelen 50 57] MARSEILLE 1 [Guiterezz pen36]

We knocked the holders out of the Champions League after a fine win. Whereas the Fulham game we didn’t take our chances on this occasion we made them count. Having dominated the opening 30 minutes Lewandowski missing an open goal to boot. One of six clear cut chances we missed. Marseille were awarded a penalty and took the lead. That meant we had to score three times to progress. Walcott got us rolling with his first goal for two months. In the second half it was much of the same and two headers by captain fantastic Vermaelen gave us the 3-1 advantage we needed. Take that Blue shorts at home!

Quarter Final Round up – Messi hit a 25 minutes hattrick to send Barcelona through after a 4-1 win in Germany. Bayern nearly pulled off the comeback against PSG but fell 1 goal short. An Injury time equaliser by Falcao sent Monaco through.

Semi Final draw – PSG vs Arsenal

A decent draw. Happy to avoid Barcelona. They have the first leg against Monaco in France

FA CUP Semi-Final

MANCHESTER UNITED 1 [Rooney 31] ARSENAL 3 [Ozil 1 58 Vermaelen 17]

We produced an excellent performance on the back of the Marseille game to beat United and face their neighbours City in the final. Ozil who was outstanding all game put in front after just 27 seconds. We then hit the bar twice before Vermaelen doubled the lead. United tried to foul their way back into the game( Webb was very lenient) and pulled one back through Rooney but Ozil wrapped it up by beautifully chesting a long ball forward and rounding De Gea.

Premier League

EVERTON 1 [Mirallas 48] ARSENAL 0 [Walcott 34 83 Ozil 87]

I decided to play Walcott through the middle leaving out both Giroud and Lewandwoski. Insigne had a half volley well saved by Howard before Barkley missed a sitter to give which would've given Everton the lead. Insigne missed another decent chance before Walcott finally put us ahead from Ozil’s cutback A horrific mistake from Valdes allowed Everton to level just after half-time. Walcott then made the most of a mix-up in the Everton box to retake the lead late on before Ozil blasted a Vermaelen flick on past Howard. Third 3-1 in a row. Good to see Walcott starting to hit form again.

Premier League

ARSENAL 2 [Walcott 22 Balanta 72] TOTTENHAM 1 [Rondon 36]

I rested Vermaelen and Baines for the Spurs game but kept Ozil. He didn’t really do much all game before being subbed with half an hour to go. Walcott kept up his resurgence by giving us the lead after great work from Gomez. Spurs pushed for an equaliser and got it from Rondon. The game seemed to heading for a draw before Balanta nodded in a gomez free kick to give us all three points and leave Spurs suddenly struggling to make top four. United 6 behind with two games in hand. The win sent us over the 90 point mark. Four games to go.

Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg

PSG 2 [Cavani 39 Moura 81] ARSENAL 3 [insigne 18 Gomez 45 Walcott 61pen

We put on a counter-attacking masterclass to beat PSG and put one foot in the final but a horrible mistake by Valdes gives PSG a lifeline. Insigne gave us the lead after a quiet opening 18 minutes. Cavani pulled PSG level when he beat Valdes to the ball to head in from a yard. A fabulous run and shot from Gomez restored the lead. Second half a Walcott penalty made it 3-1 but then Valdes’s horror throw went straight to Moura and into the empty net. I stayed in France and watched the first leg of the other semi the next day. Monaco completely dominated Barcelona but had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Messi was injured and ruled out for three months!

Premier League

IPSWICH 3 [Nouble 31 Gayle 44 Gardner 56] ARSENAL 5 [baines 13 Insigne 19 Walcott 28pen 42 Ozil 50]

Quite a game. I named an unchanged team. Baines free kick put us ahead and we went further infront through Insigne, Ipswich pulled one back and that seemed the pattern of the game. Everytime we extended the lead they immediately pulled a goal back. Downside to the game was injuries to Wilshere and Balanta which would keep them both out of the champions league tie and only make them available for the cup final. Alonso also went off and would be out for the rest of the season.

Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

ARSENAL 1 [insigne 50] PSG 0

Monaco stunned Barcelona 1-0 in the Nou Camp to progress to the final.

I was missing Balanta Alonso and Wilshere as well as Peruzzi and Baines who were all a yellow card from missing the final and not risked. A lack of back up meant I had to risk playing Toure who was also on a yellow. Koscienly was preferred to Mertersacker We started positively with Gomez and Walcott testing Sirigu. We couldn’t get the breakthrough though but like most European teams we’ve played this season they hardly threatened. Eventually Inisgne gave us the lead on the 50th minute and it was very comfortable. No fresh injuries. No card for Toure.

Premier League

READING 1 [Morrison 56] ARSENAL 1 [Walcott 49 ]

We were held by Reading in the final game of the month. Walcott gave us the lead but reading immediately hit back. We had plenty of chances to win but couldn’t take them and reading held on.

League Table

Champions. Two games from unbeaten season but City away next.

1. Arsenal Played 36 Points 96

2. Newcastle Played 36 Points 79

3. Chelsea Played 36 Points 75

4. Tottenham Played 37 Points 73

5. Man Utd Played 36 Points 68

7. Man City Played 35 Points 57

14. Liverpool Played 37 Points 41

Goals

Eight for a resurgent Walcott.

Walcott 28

Giroud 22

Lewandwoski 18

Ozil 12

Insigne 11

Assists

Ozil 31

Insigne 19

Gomez 9

Lacazette 7

Walcott 7

av rating

Vermaelen 7.69

Mertersacker 7.51

Koscielny 7.49

Peruzzi 7.46

Balanta 7.45

mom

Mertersacker 5

Insigne 4

Ozil 4

Balanta 4

Walcott 4

Player of the month – Theo Walcott

Fantastic comeback. Vermaelen second. Good months for Gomez, Insigne and Ozil too.

PL - Fulham – 6.8

CL - Marseille – 7.5(1)

FA - Man Utd – UR – on82

PL – Everton – 8.8(2)

PL – Tottenham -7.0(1) – Sub77

CL – PSG – 7.0(1)

PL – Ipswich – 8.6(2)

CL – PSG – 6.5 – Sub63

PL – Reading – 7.0(1)

Game of the Month – Stoke vs Everton

STOKE 3 [ideye 15 44 56] EVERTON 3 [Abidal 8 Pandev 48 64]

Can’t vote for my own 5-3 so I’ll go for the 3-3 draw between Stoke and Everton.

Stat of the Month – The Kids are alright

The under 21’s have had a very good season. They are on course to possibly match the senior side and secure the treble.

There are a number of players looking to break into the first team squad. Here’s how the table and semi finals finished and the players involved. Only under 21’s count

1. Man Utd 45 2. Man City 43 3. Arsenal 43 4. Liverpool 40

Semi finals – Man Utd 3-2 Liverpool Man City 1-2 Arsenal

Final – Man Utd 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal Players – Goals – Carter(lb) 12 Devanney 5 Zelalem 3

Assists – Carter 8 Pinotti 6 Codling 2 (League best O’Sullivan [Car] 9)

MOM – Carter 3 Pinotti 2 Devanney 2 (League Best Whitfield [sto] 4)

Av Rating – Carter 7.32(lb) Pinotti 7.14 Devanney 7.01

Remains to be seen how many get games next season.

Other News

Two games to go and no teams yet to be relegated from the league. Derby have 28 and Swansea have 27. Huddersfield Ipswich and Wigan all have 26. In an extra twist Derby and Swansea have the toughest games home to City and us. Huddersfield host Fulham, Wigan host Spurs and Ipswich travel to Stoke.

Aston Villa and QPR were promoted from the championship. Forrest Blackburn. Watford and Palace in the play offs.

Walcott won player of the month. Will Hughes again won Young Player of the month. Newcastle manager Harry Redknapp won manager of the month.

Bayern won the Budensliga. Ajax won the Eredivisie. Juventus won Serie A

As mentioned before It was a very good month for the Under 21’s who beat a Van Persie led United 3-1 to win the final of Group 1 and also won the Youth Cup beating Chelsea 5-3. They Play United again in the quarters of the Champions league next month.

League top three’s

Goals – Walcott 24 Ba (new) 20 Hernadez (mau) 20

Assists – Pizzi (new) 16 Ozil 16 Mata (che) 13

MOM – Vidic (mau) 6 Kompany (mac) 6 Nastasic (mac) 5

AvRating – Vermaelen 7.66 Mertersacker 7.46 Walcott 7.44

Euro tables

France – 1. PSG 82 2. Monaco 81 3. Lyon 71

Spain – 1. Barcelona 81 2. Real M 76 3. Atletico 65

May Preview

Two finals to try and complete our first Treble.

[fatlad86]

Sold sold walcott . Bloody useless he was

[Mark.]

Sort of. It's a 4 in line at the back with a DM, 2 MC, AML, AMR, ST.

Oh yeah, that is what I consider a 4-3-3 anyway, one variation of it anyway. What roles do you go with?

FM14 Season 3

April

Player of the month – Theo Walcott

Fantastic comeback. Vermaelen second. Good months for Gomez, Insigne and Ozil too.

PL - Fulham – 6.8

CL - Marseille – 7.5(1)

FA - Man Utd – UR – on82

PL – Everton – 8.8(2)

PL – Tottenham -7.0(1) – Sub77

CL – PSG – 7.0(1)

PL – Ipswich – 8.6(2)

CL – PSG – 6.5 – Sub63

PL – Reading – 7.0(1)

May Preview

Two finals to try and complete our first Treble.

Good to see Walcott kicking on for you again. No need to sell now!

and on that note.......

Sold sold walcott . Bloody useless he was

How were you trying to play him? I find him very useful!

[fatlad86]

tried him bloody everywhere. never been a fan anyway on the game or in real life. so the money comes in handy

[arsenalthebest]

on one of my FM13 games i'm averaging 3.2 gls/game(in-game date is Feb1st)

[Yasp0]

Oh yeah, that is what I consider a 4-3-3 anyway, one variation of it anyway. What roles do you go with?

Good to see Walcott kicking on for you again. No need to sell now!

and on that note.......

How were you trying to play him? I find him very useful!

Will look into the roles asap.

Walcott played 2 good seasons for me, before I sold him to Chelsea for € 45M. He played like 10 matches for them in 3 seasons .

[error]

Has anyone here tried playing Classic mode? I've been giving it a go recently and I'm finding it much easier to get a save going and managing Arsenal is turning out to be a considerably less stressful experience when I don't have to have fight with press conferences and team talks. I'm enjoying playing FM again, which I've struggled to do since I got the bloody thing on release day.

I decided to bring in three players to strengthen the depth of the squad. Eric Dier came in for a total near £10mil, with at least 50% of that going towards buying the rights off his agent, and £4.2mil going towards the release clause he had at Sporting. I've used him in other saves and know he's going to turn into a solid defender. I signed Javier Pastore for £14.5mil since I wanted a midfielder who could offer us some more individualism without sacrificing technical ability or good decision making, and he was pretty much perfect for that. Finally, Carlos Vela came back for £3.4mil. He was probably entirely necessary, but at that price you can't really not do it.

Things are going really well. We've won five out of our opening seven league games, with one goalless draw away to Liverpool on the opening day and a 3-2 defeat away to Chelsea a couple of weeks afterwards. The best wins so far have been a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, where we had to come from behind, and a 7-2 thumping of Swansea at home, in which Giroud scored four and Özil scored twice and set-up three others. We beat Red Bull Sulzberg 4-0 on aggregate in our Champions League qualifier, and have since beaten Ajax and Shakhter in our group with a game against Anderlecht to come.

So with any luck, this will keep up and I'll be back posting regularly again.

Yeah I gave it a go this year after struggling with the game last season and almost giving up on the series. I thought it might not be as enjoyable but bar a few little bits I wish were there it is so much more enjoyable and I am actually winning things! Also can get through a season in a week. Would highly recommend to everyone

[arsenalthebest]

Hey anyone/s want a versus match we can have it as a cup or league for 2-8 players

[KingLara]

FM14 season 3

May

Premier League

MANCHESTER CITY 2 [sigurdssen 14 Eriksen 36 ARSENAL 2 [Nastasic o.g 8 Lewandowski 87]

The biggest test to a potential unbeaten season was overcome but only just. We started well and took the lead through a Nastasic own goal. City replied soon after and from that point for the first 80 minutes we faced a barrage. Somehow though we found ourselves just 2-1 down. I brought on Lewandowski and Lacazette. The former sweeping home with three minutes left to earn a draw we didn’t really deserve. Swansea at home to complete the unbeaten season.

Premier League

ARSENAL 2 [Lewandowski 14 Walcott 22] SWANSEA 0

We completed the unbeaten season (my first ever!) with a comfortable win against Swansea. Walcott was paired with Lewandowski and both scored early on. It was only down to Vorm in the Swansea goal that made the scoreline stay the same. Still I’m not too bothered. 100 points for the season. Just the two cup finals left.

FA Cup Final

ARSENAL 3 [Walcott 7 Baines 25 Vermaelen 70] MANCHESTER CITY 2 [Aguero 12 Zabaleta]

We completed part two of the treble by beating City in the FA Cup Final at Wembley. Balanta was just passed fit but I kept faith with Koscielny. I opted for Ramsey over Insigne to protect the middle more. Ozil pushed out wide. Walcott’s 30th of the season gave us the lead before City turned it around in the space of three minutes. A Baines free kick made it 2-2 and then Vermaelen scored another header to give us the victory.

Arsenal – Valdes Baines Peruzzi Vermaelen Koscielny Wilshere Ramsey Gomez Alonso Ozil Walcott

Man City – Hart Kolarov Zabaleta Kompany Natastic Lucas Rodwell Erikssen Sigurdsson Aguero Sturridge.

Subs: Sagna (Gomez 74) Balanta (Wilshere 89) Zieler Gibbs Insigne Lewandowski Giroud

Subs: Batra (Zabaleta 42) Assamoah (Roswell 67) Chamberlain (Sigurdsson 73) Pantilimon Milner Sinclair Dzeko

Match Stats – Shots 20(7)/15(4) Possession 51/49 Fouls 8/16 Corners 14/3 CCC 1/1 WW 1/1 YC 0/2 RC 0/0

Man of the Match – Leighton Baines (8.3)

Champions League Final

MONACO 2 [Falcao 15 Sanchez 46] ARSENAL 3 [Peruzzi 54 Walcott 84 Insigne 89]

We achieved the remarkable quadruple with a fantastic comeback against Monaco at the Millenium Stadium. Balanta returned for the unfortunate Koscielny. Insigne was brought in for Gomez and Lewandowski for Ramsey as I played two upfront. Falcao gave Monaco the lead from their first shot with a fine finish. Griezman then hit the post as they looked for a second. We had hardly created anything although a quartet of corners at the end of the first half gave me signs of hope. Sanchez then made it 2-0 to Monaco and it seemed to be curtains. Peruzzi offered us a lifeline when his long range shot squirmed under the keeper. It still looked like we were heading for defeat until Lewandowski crossed for Walcott to volley in. Insigne curled in a free kick to win us the cup. Harsh on Monaco but we just about shaded it.

Monaco– Tropeano Sandro Azpilicueta Umtiti Doria Schneiderlin Moutinho Griezmann Sanchez Rodriquez Falcao

Arsenal – Valdes Baines Peruzzi Vermaelen Balanta Wilshere Toure Insigne Walcott Ozil Lewandowski

Subs: Kondogbia (Rodriguez 54) Bony (Schneiderlin 90) Francesci Biyik Chiriches Stanciu Kurzawa

Subs: Gomez (Ozil 68) Sagna (Baines 84) Giroud (Lewandowski 84) Zieler Koscielny Ramsey Lacazette

Match Stats – Shots 11(5)/19(6) Possession 48/52 Fouls 7/9 Corners 4/20 CCC 2/2 WW 1/2 YC 1/0 RC 0/0

Man of the Match – Gino Peruzzi (7.5)

Do tables and goalscorers in end of season review.

Player of the month – Thomas Vermaelen

Tempted to give it to Koscielny for three plus 7 performances but Vermaelen gets it

PL – Man City – 6.8

PL – Swansea - 7.2

FA - Chelsea – 7.9(1)

CL - Norwich – 7.2

Game of the month – Derby vs Man City

DERBY 1 [sammon 86} MAN CITY 0

Only a handful of games but Derby survived thanks to beating Man City 1-0 with a late goal.

Stat of the month – The freebies

Same as last season. A team of free agents in the summer. Don’t think any will be coming in though. Not even Buffon. Every year it will get better. Look forward to Messi and Ronaldo being on there.

Gk – Buffon, Taiwo Reveillere Lucio Lugano Cambiasso Babel Sessegnon Rafinha Klose Villa

Subs Villar, Ricketts, Pogatetz Bennayoun Polak Torres Pizzaro

Other News

There was no final monthly awards. Not quite sure why.

David Moyes was sacked at Man United manager.

Having guided Newcastle to a runners up spot, Harry Redknapp retired.

John Terry and Ashley Cole both announced they will retire at the end of the season. Giggs still playing on.

The under 21’s won the under 19’s Champions League. They beat Ac Milan 3-1 in the final.

Man City won the Euro Cup. They beat HSV on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

This year’s Emirates Cup will be the contest of champions. The winners from England Spain Italy and Germany.

.

[Mark.]

Top work mate. Really looking forward to your end of season review. Would also love a recap of the tactics you used, sounds like you were pretty flexible, switching between one or two up top?

[arsenalthebest]

April Report

Sorry for the wait but I've been doing some fm13

07/04/14 | Barclays Premier League | Villa Park

Arsenal 2 ( Ox 47 , Özil 67)

Aston Villa 1 (Abonglahor Inj 12, Parr 32)

12/04/14 | FA Cup (S/F) | Wembley

Arsenal 1 ( Ox 113)

Hull 0

16/04/14 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

Arsenal 1 ( Vermaelen PEN 13_

Chelsea 0 ( Azpillicueta S/O 90+3)

20/04/14 | Barclays Premier League | Emirates

Arsenal 2 (Flamini 45+2 , Giroud 67)

Spurs 0

23/04/14 | Barclays Premeier League | Liberty

Arsenal 0

Swansea 0 ( Lamah Inj 75)

26/04/14 | Barclays Premier League | Etihad

Arsenal 3 ( Ox 39 , Giroud 63 , Walcott 70)

Man City 1 ( Nasri 83)

May Fixtures

3rd: Livepool - H- PRM

11th: Stoke - A - PRM

17th: Southamton - N - FA Cup(final)

[Mark.]

Ox putting in some impressive performances for you there.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

With the new data update on it's way, I will be starting my annual long-term Arsenal save!

Will have to check a few things about the Arsenal squad - particularly the potential and attributes within the development squads - but I can't wait to get going.

[Carmi88]

for anybody starting a new save, hernandez of man utd can be snapped up for 14.5m and Sturridge hands in a transfer request and gets listed for about 20m if you are looking for another striker

Had already signed hernandez when Sturridge handed in his transfer request so missed out

Transfers in - Javier Hernandez - £14.5m

Ashley Williams - £5.5m

Antoine Griezmann - £19.5m

Transfers out - Fabianski - £2m

Eisfeld - loan

Miyaichi - loan

Hayden - loan

August

Results - Hull (H) 3-0 Koscielny, Giroud, Walcott

PSV (H) 3-0 Giroud x2 Ozil

Aston Villa (A) 1-0 Giroud

PSV (A) 2-0 Walcott, Podolski

Sunderland (H) 3-2 Ox, Arteta, Giroud

September

Fixtures - West Ham (A)

Celtic (A) CL

Liverpool (A)

Aston Villa (H) COC

Man City (H)