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

[Guest]

do you guys think Gibbs and Monreal are good enough , I normally sell Monreal and get Coentrao from Real Madrid but his wages are high , I think Gibbs is ok but he is injury prone

Should I just stick with Monreal as backup to Gibbs or get someone better than both of them?

[Yasp0]

I just started an Arsenal game and will keep Gibbs and Monreal. Will decide in season 2 if they are good enough. Their potential is not that good (2.5 stars).

[max787]

Max, how many U21 and U18 players have you tutored/developed?

I wondered how Bellerin and Eisfeld get on, although I have got plenty of cover in both positions.

Not many, I currently have:

Gnabry as backup AML getting plenty of games, tutored by Cazorla for spirited personality and the PPMs. Will tutor him again for higher determination.

Zelalem as 2nd or 3rd choice DLP, playing a lot more than I expected. Tutored by Arteta, will be tutored again for more determination.

Bellerin as 3rd choice RB, made about 10 appearances this season. Tutored by Corchia. Looks a good prospect, I don't like his low aggression and bravery though.

Jenkinson is off on loan, think I'll sell him.

I didn't bother with Akpom, Eisfeld, Afobe. I brought in a few good regens in the summer of 2014, 4 of them are currently getting occasional playing time with the first team.

do you guys think Gibbs and Monreal are good enough , I normally sell Monreal and get Coentrao from Real Madrid but his wages are high , I think Gibbs is ok but he is injury prone

Should I just stick with Monreal as backup to Gibbs or get someone better than both of them?

I bought Coentrao in January of the first season and kept Gibbs as backup, I sold Monreal. Gibbs is good to have because he can still develop and improve, and also because he's homegrown which is important for squad registration.

[Guest]

Rosso how did you get Khedira for 11m , Man city try to get him in the first window for 20.5m , lowest I can get him for is 20m , I do need a defensive addition to my squad but Behrami can be had for cheaper although Khedira looks the better of the two?

**actually it seems I cant compete with Man city as they offered him 115k wages , don't think I would pay that on top of bonuses!

[RossoneriGunner]

Yes, playing the beta. I bought him from Madrid. He was having a contract dispute, he rejected multiple offers from Madrid from January onwards, I swooped during the summer. That's probably why his price was so low.

Mitch this is the reply I got from Max787, so when I started I went and looked at Khedira more in hope than anything and was unhappy not being allowed to move clubs, so I said right £11.5m take it or leave it and they took it.

Couldn't believe it.

[Guest]

Mitch this is the reply I got from Max787, so when I started I went and looked at Khedira more in hope than anything and was unhappy not being allowed to move clubs, so I said right £11.5m take it or leave it and they took it.

Couldn't believe it.

bargain! Unfortunately for me Man City have bid 20m so dont think I can compete with wages on offer , I may look at Sven Bender or Lars Bender both simalar stats but lars has better potential , both would cost around 20m though.

Behrami is another option but I think I would be better paying more for a better player and more playing time ahead of him.

although if I go for a big signing it will deplete my kity and a new left back would have to wait

[Spiegel]

do you guys think Gibbs and Monreal are good enough , I normally sell Monreal and get Coentrao from Real Madrid but his wages are high , I think Gibbs is ok but he is injury prone

Should I just stick with Monreal as backup to Gibbs or get someone better than both of them?

I just started an Arsenal game and will keep Gibbs and Monreal. Will decide in season 2 if they are good enough. Their potential is not that good (2.5 stars).

Both have been excellent for me. I personally wouldn't read too much into the Star Rating, as long as they perform.

[RossoneriGunner]

Well here we go, injuries piling up already and we're still only playing friendlies.

Vermaelen, stress fracture of the back, 3 weeks.

Gibbs, torn hamstring, 2-3 months.

Koscielny, hernia, 4-5 weeks.

Silva, pulled hamstring, 3 weeks.

Giroud, broken ribs, 3-4 weeks.

Walcott, twisted ankle, 3 weeks.

[RossoneriGunner]

......Behrami is another option but I think I would be better paying more for a better player and more playing time ahead of him.

Just been offered Behrami by his agent.

[Guest]

Well here we go, injuries piling up already and we're still only playing friendlies.

Vermaelen, stress fracture of the back, 3 weeks.

Gibbs, torn hamstring, 2-3 months.

Koscielny, hernia, 4-5 weeks.

Silva, pulled hamstring, 3 weeks.

Giroud, broken ribs, 3-4 weeks.

Walcott, twisted ankle, 3 weeks.

what training you set? , I don't go any higher than average intensity on fitness in pre-season

[cwilcox]

Read my post about Davide Santon from Newcastle?

[RossoneriGunner]

what training you set? , I don't go any higher than average intensity on fitness in pre-season

I use Cleon's pre-season ritual and its set at Fitness/Very High. Approaching Pre-Season - My take On It

Vermaelen is already injured at the start and apart from Kossy's hernia they have all been caused in matches.

[Guest]

Arsenal season 2013/14

Transfers out: Park Chu Young £1.7m

Transfers In: Lars Bender 20.5m , Balanta 8.25m

thats my budget pretty much gone , think lars was expensive but he will be worth it in the long run.

may try to get a young striker on loan and maybe ship out Podolski.

[Guest]

I use Cleon's pre-season ritual and its set at Fitness/Very High.

Vermaelen is already injured at the start and apart from Kossy's hernia they have all been caused in matches.

yeah I still think it could be due to the fitness levels you have set , after all tiredness and over working from the training can cause injury's in a match?

[llama3]

A few things to note:

• Discussion on data changes belongs in the data forum really - the researcher is not a visitor in this thread, and we cannot influence it here, lets talk about saves etc
  
• Star ratings are not especially accurate, and the players are very similar to FM13 - only difference is the arrival of Ozil changes the basis of the star ratings in the squad. Monreal for what it is worth is a very good alternative to Gibbs, would not change unnecessarily.
  
• High fitness in pre-season is generally too fine, just make sure there is still decent recovery time and use your subs well in pre-season, do not over-do them.

[Carmi88]

Ter Stergen will be sold for 25m to Monaco at end of season, and finally made it past the first knock out round of the CL against Sporting CP, now facing Metalist in quarter finals

[llama3]

Good luck Carmi, I assume you are strong favourites?

[RossoneriGunner]

yeah I still think it could be due to the fitness levels you have set , after all tiredness and over working from the training can cause injury's in a match?

Yeah I have to agree with you there Mitch. Although during friendlies I don't pick players for 2 games in a row, at the moment I have got 30 players to choose from.

[Yasp0]

Started the 2013 season:

P.Ferreira CL playoff leg 1 (A) 3-0 Walcott, koscielny, Vermaelen

Fulham (H) 3-0 Walcott, Ox, Vermaelen

P.Ferreira CL playoff leg 2 (H) 2-1 Flamini, Balante

Ozil and Giroud performing not very well. Need to tweak them more I think.

[llama3]

Found Podolski played much better for me as an Advanced Forward than he has as a Poacher, Deep Lying Forward (Attack) or Complete Forward (Attack) - led the line well, and unlucky not to score his first goal of the season in the goalless draw at home to Tottenham. Worth considering.

[Carmi88]

Good luck Carmi, I assume you are strong favourites?

Well i beat them away 4-1 and about to face them at home, but the previous two seasons my team seemed a bit lacklustre in the home games and conceded silly away goals.

As for the league, 3 points clear of a Man Utd team being carried by Bale and Hernandez, with a superior gd to me and a game in hand, will be down to the wire in the last 5 games where i face Villa, Spurs and Derby at home, and Cardiff and Stoke away, the latter being the final game of the season!

and my luck in the CL runs out again, i've gone and drawn PSG and the other tie is chelsea vs man city, would of preferred either of them!

[llama3]

it has not run out until you actually lose mate!

[RossoneriGunner]

Just beat R. Sociedad 3-1 at the Emirates in the 1st leg of the ECL play-off thanks to an Aaron Ramsey hat-trick.:thup:

[ajw10]

Just coming up to November and I'm top of the league and unbeaten. Giroud and Ozil have been fantastic for me so far, Ramsey decent and Santi is finding some form after a horrific start to the season.

Always turn the budgets off in the first window so no real transfer activity to speak of... other than signing Gallas on a free last month! I have Honda coming in on a free too. Think that'll be all for the season, although I might just sign Vela for versatility and re-sale value. Want to keep as much money as possible as I'm desperate to sign Reus in the summer.

[Carmi88]

well i lost 2-0 defeat at home thanks to Juan Jesus getting red carded and then drew 1-1 against 10 man psg, semi finals is a great achievement for my team who have sucked in europe since i took over

howeveer heading into the final games of the season, i went along to Old Trafford to watch Man Utd play Stoke, must of put them off as they drew, keeping me clear at the top by a point, and heading off to their opponents Stoke for the final game, tense!

[ajw10]

Well, Arsenal have given me a transfer budget of £52m. How nice of them.

[Carmi88]

3-0 win, we claim back our title from Man City with Vietto, Suarez and Wilshere grabbing the goals, Man utd drew 0-0 away to Chelsea

Leicester, Sunderland and Nottm Forest all relegated on the last day!

onto the transfer window! bad news Szczesny wants to leave, so i'll rely on the "dont do anything for a month and hope he changes his mind" tactic

[lomekian]

Early days yet, having only bought FM14 on Friday,but my attempts at re-creating my lop-sided 4231 (or more like 3-2-1-3-1) based on the real set up that gave me so much success in fm13 seem to be working. I'm not sufficiently technical to really put up lots of pretty pictures, but this is the idea

---------------TM (A)---------------

------AP(S)----TQ(A)----------W(A)

--------------------BBM(S)----------

WB(A)------DLP (D)------------------

----------CD (D)-----CD ©----FB(S)

---------------SK (D)---------------

5 wins from 5 so far, and a fair amount of business in the transfer market to augment the first team.

Bendtner and Park both left for 3.2m. I was prepared to give the Dane a chance, but he wanted a pay rise to stay.

Quite a few faces arrived, but not many with real first team potential for this season.

Big signings -

Balanta from River Plate came in from 9.5 (over 48 months), so I won't need to worry about the left side of defence for a few years.

My expensive signing was Cuadrado from Fiorentina, which cost me 12m split between la viola and Udinese. A touchline hugger who can fill in at full back in emergencies, and seems happy to be trained to offer the same option on the left. Also IRL I Dick Law went to watch him last week.

Jese Came in from Madrid for 6m over 48 months

Up front I brought nemesis Didier Drogba in for 2.8m to back up Giroud, and hopefully more effectively than the Danish wonder boy - its a risk as i had negotiated Porto down to 16m for Jackson Martinez, but I hoping to pick up Lewandowski for less or on a Bosman......

Also picked up Diame to take the Diaby role, exploiting his 3.5m release clause, for those games where power might be more useful than subtlety. His future will largely depend on whether Diaby is worth trying to use after his injury....

[Carmi88]

Transfers In: none

Transfers out: Alonso and Ribery to Wigan, combined fee of 5m

AC Milan have just offered me a potential 60m deal for Vietto... think im gonna call it a night here and sleep on it, Barbosa coming back means i have 2 great strikers and i am not sure about this offer

[ajw10]

Aaaaaand I'm done. I'm top, but this is deeply unsatisfying. Most of my goals come from crosses, and I've just lost 3-0 to City because set pieces are a joke. This game desperately needs an update and fast.

[llama3]

Excellent work there Carmi, congratulations. Sounds a decent season really!

[yey]

anyone here bought another first choice striker for Arsenal here?I bought Lewandowski for 18.5million pound and rotate him with Giroud in different competitions. I use Giroud a lot in EPL since he's used to play there already, and use Lewandowski more in UCL. so far that works a treat for me. both has scored a combined goals of 14 so far ( i got a lot of goals coming from midfielders) and now I'm in December 2013.

just want to hear opinion from others on strikers they buy to rotate with Giroud.cheers

[yey]

Ozil has been brilliant for me playing as AMC with Enganche role in 4-2-3-1 formation. in 16(2) appearances, he's scored 10 goals and assisted 7 times already.really pleased with him

[llama3]

in first season i have podolski, bendtner and sanogo to rotate with giroud, and that's fine by me

[yey]

i haven't used bendtner yet cause he's been injured until Dec 2013. Used sanogo few times but he's not quite there yet in terms of quality. Podolski is a beast, that guy just don't waste any chance. good that you find you're satisfied with your strikers.

in first season i have podolski, bendtner and sanogo to rotate with giroud, and that's fine by me

[max787]

I let Bendtner rot in the reserves.

[llama3]

His wages cost you £2.5m for his final season - too expensive to let rot if I need him imo

[yey]

i'm selling him come January. tried to in the summer but no one was interested, mainly because of his wages.if I can't let him go in January, then will let him go for free

[robchamp]

Happy with my first season with Arsenal on my first FM14 save -

Premier League Winners

Champions League Semi Finals

League Cup Quarter Finals

FA Cup 3rd round

PL Table -

1. Arsenal

2. Everton

3. Man Utd

4. Chelsea

5. Spuds

6. Man City

15. Liverpool

In Serie A, AC Milan were relegated.

Play 4-2-3-1

Still tweaking tactics and roles. Cant get the perfect balance as yet.

In -

Balanta

Lewandowski

L Bender

De Sciglio

Ward Prowse (Jan)

Doria (Jan)

Mitrovic (Jan)

Out -

Sagna

Arteta

Rosicky

Fabianski

Frimpong

Park

Plus plenty of youngsters out on loan.

Was definitely a season of two halves.

Had a shocking run from December to Feb which knocked me out of both cups and gave chasing teams the opportunity to catch me up.

No player really stood out for me.

Had 6 players with 10+ goals -

Lewandowski

Giroud

Cazorla

Ozil

Ramsey

Koscielny

Didn't want to change too many things in pre season.

Deals so far -

In -

Draxler

Zouma

Ter Stegen

Corchia

L Shaw

Niang

Out -

Bendtner (Free)

Diaby

Flamini

Monreal

Jenkinson

Vermaelen

Podolski

Had a £40m bid for Ramsey from Man City which I rejected.

Happy with my squad and hope I can defend PL and win a cup. Got rotten draws in every cup competition last season.

[Conchis]

Took over at Arsenal in June 2015 after Wenger retired. Team finished 5th last season, so no CL. He also left behind a wreck as far as squad goes. Sold Ramsey to City, sold Mertesacker, filled the squad with 8-9 really trashy wingers. Only striker is Giroud. There are no central midfielders besides Arteta(33 now) and Wilshere.

I got rid of all the deadwood and aging players. Implemented 4-1DM-1-3-1. I got the following players:

ST: Matej Vydra

Winger: Bruma

DM: Lars Bender

CB: Kurt Zouma, Samuel Umtiti

LB: Luke Shaw

GK: Nicola Leali

I am still looking for a good right back. Can't grab Corchia because he's at my old club Galatasaray and they want 55m euros for him. Same reason I couldn't pick up Balanta for CB, him they are willing to depart with for 75m euros. Doria is in AC Milan and he doesn't want to come because he wants to play in CL and Wenger floored the reputation. Team is ranked around 20th in reputation.

Current ideal line up is: Leali - Sagna, Zouma, Vermaelen, Shaw - Bender - Wilshere - Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Bruma - Giroud.

Umtiti and Vydra are still a bit under developed so they rotate along with the rest of the youngsters.

Got quite a bit of a wreck to salvage but I think I am off to a good start. At least the finances of the club are not in total shambles.

EPL season just started with a 2-0 home win against West Brom.

[yey]

wow.quite surprised that he retired. what surprised me more is the fact that he sold his important players to rivals. never would have happened in real life imo. well,good luck mate!.

Took over at Arsenal in June 2015 after Wenger retired. Team finished 5th last season, so no CL. He also left behind a wreck as far as squad goes. Sold Ramsey to City, sold Mertesacker, filled the squad with 8-9 really trashy wingers. Only striker is Giroud. There are no central midfielders besides Arteta(33 now) and Wilshere.

I got rid of all the deadwood and aging players. Implemented 4-1DM-1-3-1. I got the following players:

ST: Matej Vydra

Winger: Bruma

DM: Lars Bender

CB: Kurt Zouma, Samuel Umtiti

LB: Luke Shaw

GK: Nicola Leali

I am still looking for a good right back. Can't grab Corchia because he's at my old club Galatasaray and they want 55m euros for him. Same reason I couldn't pick up Balanta for CB, him they are willing to depart with for 75m euros. Doria is in AC Milan and he doesn't want to come because he wants to play in CL and Wenger floored the reputation. Team is ranked around 20th in reputation.

Current ideal line up is: Leali - Sagna, Zouma, Vermaelen, Shaw - Bender - Wilshere - Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Bruma - Giroud.

Umtiti and Vydra are still a bit under developed so they rotate along with the rest of the youngsters.

Got quite a bit of a wreck to salvage but I think I am off to a good start. At least the finances of the club are not in total shambles.

EPL season just started with a 2-0 home win against West Brom.

[RossoneriGunner]

What a T!T I am, I have accidentally saved a test game over my new save, So have had to start again.

In my first pre-season game we played Dynamo FC (Vancouver) we won 17-0, Giroud 5, Podolski 4, Cazorla 3, Monreal 2, Ramsey, Wilshire and Khedira. Oh how I wish I could do that against the Spuds.

We had 60 shots, 30 on target and 74% possession. Stick that on MOTD Lineker.

[Guest]

What a T!T I am, I have accidentally saved a test game over my new save, So have had to start again.

In my first pre-season game we played Dynamo FC (Vancouver) we won 17-0, Giroud 5, Podolski 4, Cazorla 3, Monreal 2, Ramsey, Wilshire and Khedira. Oh how I wish I could do that against the Spuds.

We had 60 shots, 30 on target and 74% possession. Stick that on MOTD Lineker.

What I want to know is where was Hanson hiding on Saturday! lol

[Nonlondoner]

Only a little way into my Arsenal save (October international break 2013). Two losses 2-0 away to Sunderland and 3-1 at home to Man Utd.

I brought in Andrew Ayew to give us a bit more on the wings for £14m, he's not set the game alight but he is much better than playing Ryo or Podolski there and he's bagged 2 goals in 5 starts.

The revelation for me is Kurt Zouma. Signed for £15 up front, £10m over 24 months and a further £7.5m split over various add-ons. 3 centre-backs are not enough in FM14 and with Sagna only being rated 1.5 at CB, I decided to invest heavily in a youngster. I nearly pulled out when the overall value got to £25m, but with a few tweaks to budgets I just about made it.

I only anticipated using him as back-up but he's been my best defender so far, his heading and anticipation are superb and he's joint top scorer with 3 at the moment.

In the "How much did you get for Bendtner?" competition.......£2.5m from Cardiff. Suckers! It ran until 00.45 before the deadline though.

[Yasp0]

I got €5m (£4.2m) for Bendtner sold him to Fiorentina.

[RossoneriGunner]

What I want to know is where was Hanson hiding on Saturday! lol

Probably up Lineker's a$$hole.....

[max787]

what surprised me more is the fact that he sold his important players to rivals. never would have happened in real life imo. well,good luck mate!.

Um, have you been living under a rock for the last few years?

[RossoneriGunner]

Anyone heard of Josh Vela, 19yr old M© from Bolton, only Liam Brady has bought him.

[Conchis]

Um, have you been living under a rock for the last few years?

I have to admit that they really captured the Wenger AI What he did in FM14 was the final nail on the coffin. I guess he retired because they didn't renew contract. I'm having the RvP syndrome with Ozil at the moment, the guy wants to play for a club with ambitions that match his own. It's difficult to keep him under control. City is sleeping at my doorstep for both Ozil and Wilshere. They offered 50m Euros each. Apparently he sold Ramsey to City for 40m Euros.

Sorry about the Euro prices btw. I think I will switch to GBP tonight.

[stevemc]

what surprised me more is the fact that he sold his important players to rivals. never would have happened in real life imo.

Robin van Persie.