[FM17] It's Gunner Be Hard

[Lenzar]

With the FM17 Beta out, I've decided that I will be going for what I hope will be a one-club save, having spent previous years doing Journeyman or dafuge challenges.

For this first safe, I have decided that I will play as Arsenal, the team I once supported as a boy.

I'm not going to waste too much time with this opening post.

Manager Profile

 

Leagues Loaded

 

 

[BAFC]

Good luck!

[KDR]

Definitely an Arsenal manager. Everybody seems to hate you by default.
It just needs to add 'The entire sports staff of the BBC and most print media journalists, plus Sky Sports presenters and pundits' to Worst Opinion to be (somewhat) accurate. 

[clarkehwbu]

Have you got any goals/ambitions or just to finish higher than 4th each year?

 

[Lenzar]

August 2016

(PRM) Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd (Özil, Debuchy, Sánchez)
A horrible first match, but the team played well as a unit to give me my first win.

(PRM) Watford 3-6 Arsenal (Lucas (2), Sánchez (2), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Özil)
A complete goal fest against Miles' rather determined Watford side. Excellent going forward, but the defending was simply shocking at times!

(PRM) Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal (Özil)
We had the best of the play in the first half, but Klopp obviously spoke to the Scousers at half time as they came out a different team. Poor finishing and an error from Monreal on the left cost us the win here.

Champions League Draw

How on earth are the likes of Roma considered to be a fourth seed!? A little tougher than I'd have liked, but I'd definitely fancy us in the Europa League should we not make it into the top 2.

New Signings

One new attacker, and a defender and goalkeeper for the future.

 

[Lenzar]

September

(PRM) Arsenal 4-0 Middlesborough (Giroud (3), Cazorla)
Before the game I was considering dropping Giroud for his poor start to the season. He responded by knocking in a hat-trick, whilst Cazorla opened his account for the season from the penalty spot.

(CL) Club Brugge 1-2 Arsenal (Giroud, Sánchez)
The trip to Belgium was a little tougher than I hoped. The boys grabbed 2 goals in the first half, but seemed to relax almost as soon as the score went to 2-0. Brugge offered little in the way of attacking threat, but did spoil our clean sheet late on. A win is a win, but this kind of performance isn't good enough at Champions League level.

(PRM) Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace (Sánchez, Berahino)
A completely dominant performance against a very ordinary looking Palace side. The visitors had no answer for us going forward, but it took until the very end of the game to make sure of things as Berahino opened his account for Arsenal.

(LC) Arsenal 3-0 Fulham (Iwobi, Bola, Coquelin)
A full team of young Gunners easily turned over an incredibly lacklustre Fulham team. If the next generation can play like this, the future looks very bright!

(PRM) Southampton 0-2 Arsenal (Giroud (2))
We looked toothless in the first half, so I turned on the hairdryers and it wasn't long before Giroud remembered where the goal was, with the help of yet another Oxlade-Chamberlain cross. The second goal came from a fairly softly conceded penalty.

(CL) Arsenal 1-1 Roma (Peres og)
Another one of those games where we were never comfortable. Unfortunately, Roma had the skill to make the most of this. Our goal was probably a little harsh on the Italians, although poor finishing is the real culprit here.

October

(PRM) Bournemouth 3-4 Arsenal (Giroud (3), Sánchez)
We went down 1-0 and 2-1 thanks to some terrible defending, which reared its ugly head again after we managed to get 3-2 up. Giroud didn't give up for one second, slamming in his second hat trick of the season as well as setting up another goal.

(PRM) Arsenal 4-0 Sunderland (Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Koscielny, Berahino)
Cazorla's brilliant free-kick was the only highlight of the first half, and the second half was equally quiet until the 84th minute. Three goals in quick succession left the Black Cats with a perhaps undeserved thrashing, but I shan't complain!

(CL) Arsenal 1-0 Barcelona (Mustafi)
A strong defensive performance kept the biter and Neymar well away from our goal. Things were probably helped by the fact that Messi was injured, but I wasn't expecting the winning goal to come from one of my centre halves!

(PRM) West Brom 1-1 Arsenal (Giroud)
Incredibly poor defending allowed an incredibly offside looking goal to take the lead. A half-time bollocking did the trick to get the equaliser, but two points dropped here.

(LC) Arsenal 1-0 Swansea (Reine-Adelaide)
The second string came back in and saw the Welsh side off in an unconvincing performance. We were nothing special, but Swansea offered no threat whatsoever.

(PRM) Arsenal 4-1 Hull (Oxlade-Chamberlain, Özil, Sánchez, Xhaka)
The result was thoroughly deserved as we utterly swamped the opposition. Three of the goals were absolute screamers, especially Xhaka's which won goal of the month! Playing like this makes us look very, very good for the title.

 

League Table 1st November 2016

[Black and Yellow]

Strong start, with a decent gap over all of the serious contenders! 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Invincibles MK II?

[KDR]

Great start. 

Have to admit I like the look of FM17, too.

[Lenzar]

November

(CL) Barcelona 1-1 Arsenal (Sánchez)
With Messi still injured, Barca didn't seem as confident as I had expected. We took the lead, but the Spanish side immediately hit back. With two games to go in the group, I am confident that we can stay top and get a (hopefully!) easier draw in the last 16.

(PRM) Man City 0-2 Arsenal (Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain)
City have had a poor start to the season, and it didn't take long to see that they were lacking a certain something. A goal in each half, thanks to excellent passing from the midfield both times, gave us a relatively easy win.

(PRM) Everton 1-3 Arsenal (Oxlade-Chamberlain, McCarthy og, Giroud)
I always seem to struggle against Everton in FM, but a decent attacking performance leaves us walking away with all three points. These games are the kind that we need to win if I want to win the league.

(CL) Arsenal 4-1 Club Brugge (Giroud (2), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Özil)
Complete domination over the Belgian champions as we surged to a 3-0 half time lead. I'm a little disappointed that we took our foot off the pedal in the second half, especially as we conceded.

(PRM) Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham (Özil)
We were all over Spurs in the first half hour, but it was our rivals who scored first. We responded pretty quickly thanks to our usual effective link up play, but poor finishing throughout the match, particularly from Giroud, cost us two points.

(LC) Arsenal 3-1 Blackburn (Coquelin, Maylen, Mulgrew og)
Another strong performance by the youngsters (with a bit of help from a recovering Gabriel Paulista) sees us move through to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup. Once again we let things go off the boil a little once firmly in charge.

December
(PRM) Arsenal 2-0 Leicester (Berahino, Cazorla)
Leicester started the match in 17th, but that league position did not befit the way they performed. Obviously everyone knows what they're all about now, but it still proved near impossible to break through the defence. In the first half, those breakthroughs would end with Giroud wasting a chance. After he missed an easy chance in the second half, I took him off, hoping Berahino would inject something into the team. Within a few minutes, he had scored, and he also won us a penalty later on.

(CL) Roma 1-2 Arsenal (Sánchez, Berahino)
With the sixth group game a dead rubber, I gave Berahino a chance to lead the line. Cazorla had a penalty saved, leaving it up to Alexis Sánchez to break the deadlock just before half time. The Italians equalised, but Berahino, who had been working all game for an opening, slammed a rebounded Bellerín effort home, ensuring maximum points.

(PRM) Chelsea 2-5 Arsenal (Berahino (2), Koscielny, Giroud (2))
Diego Costa was in his usual fine form to score twice for Chelsea, but luckily both Berahino and Giroud bagged a brace of their own, to give us a big win in a tough game.

(PRM) Stoke 1-1 Arsenal (Ramsey)
A day later than the adage goes, but our attackers proved unable to do it on a cold Wednesday night in Stoke. Stoke are doing very well this season, and were 3rd at kick-off, so I should perhaps be grateful that we were able to get at least a draw.

(PRM) Arsenal 7-0 West Ham (Oxlade-Chamberlain, Berahino (4), Koscielny, Randolph og)
I simply cannot explain what happened here. Even when we went in at half time we were only 2-0 up. Berahino in particular came out like a man possessed, helping to give me what will probably be my biggest win for some time.

(PRM) Arsenal 3-1 Burnley (Oxlade-Chamberlain (2), Berahino)
Burnley just didn't seem interested, and we raced to a 3-0 lead. It could have been another huge scoreline, but there were no more goals, other than a Burnley consolation from the last kick of the game.

(PRM) Swansea 0-0 Arsenal
This should have been a very easy game. Swansea are bottom of the table, and our second string had already beaten them once in the EFL Cup. Instead we decided not to bother with shooting in an utterly pathetic display of football.

(PRM) Arsenal 2-1 Watford (Sánchez, Cazorla)
We ended the year with another sub-standard performance. We were 1-0 down for the majority of this match, and only through hard work in the second half did we finally break through Watford's rather thuggish defence. The goals came from an excellent team move, followed by a penalty as Watford committed one foul too many.

Cup Draws

In the FA Cup, we face League One's Bristol Rovers, whilst we'll play Championship leaders Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-final. Our Champions League draw sees us face Sporting Lisbon.

 

League Table, 1st January 2017

 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Two horse race between yourself and Utd. Good luck.

[Lenzar]

On ‎22‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 18:59, Black and Yellow said:

Strong start, with a decent gap over all of the serious contenders! 

Hoping to keep it up!

On ‎24‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 08:33, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Invincibles MK II?

With how wobbly we've been in the last few matches, I'm expecting some losses soon!

On ‎25‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 13:38, KDR said:

Great start. 

Have to admit I like the look of FM17, too.

It looks and feels pretty polished.

54 minutes ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Two horse race between yourself and Utd. Good luck.

Thanks!

[Lenzar]

(PRM) Man Utd 1-2 Arsenal (Ramsey, Cazorla)
An excellent smash-and-grab win against our biggest title rivals.
United smashed us, but Cech and the rest of the defence held firm. Ramsey opened the scoring with a fine effort from just outside the box, before Jetro Willems decided to go in with two feet; Cazorla slotted away the resulting penalty. Martial scored to make the last 15 minutes a little nervy, but we held on for another huge win.

(FAC) Bristol Rovers 0-4 Arsenal (Sánchez (3), Berahino)
An easy victory against a side in League One's relegation zone. The only real disappointment is that the margin of victory could have been greater had we taken more of the many chances that we created throughout the match

(LC) Arsenal 4-2 Newcastle (Nelson (2), Welbeck, Sánchez)
The young lads were supplemented in this game by the returns of Mertesacker and Welbeck. This didn't inspire a decent performance in the first half and we went in 1-0 down. Another one of my stern bollockings sent the team out in a much better mood and we will take a 2 goal advantage to St. James' Park.

(PRM) Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool (Koscielny, Berahino)
Liverpool can be tricky opponents so I was pleased when we took an early lead. The always dangerous Firmino equalised almost immediately, and it was only late on in the second half that we restored our advantage. Liverpool pushed for an equaliser, but the defence held on.

(PRM) Middlesbrough 1-2 Arsenal (Özil, Cazorla)
Despite being a lowly 17th, Boro gave us one hell of a game. If they hadn't given away 2 penalties, one of which Cazorla missed, I very much doubt we'd have won here.

(PRM) Arsenal 0-0 Southampton
Utterly comical attempts at finishing may have raised a smile from some, but it left me considering re-instating Giroud as our first choice striker. Of greater worry is the fact that Özil will be out for the rest of the season thanks to thuggish Southampton play.

(LC) Newcastle 2-2 Arsenal (Iwobi (2))
Arsenal win 6-4 on aggregate
My first appearence at Wembley was booked by two good team moves, though the Magpies looked very good against my 'B' team. With a bit less luck we could have easily slipped up here.

(FA) Milton Keynes 1-5 Arsenal (Sánchez (2), Berahino, Luan, Mustafi)
My dislike for Franchise FC is well known, but as much as I wish this match didn't need to happen, I'm delighted to have smashed five in, with even Mustafi getting in on the act.

League Table 1st February 2017

 

 

Mid-Season signings

With my squad already so strong, I was looking for future stars, as well as a few second stringers to strengthen the squad's depth.

 

[Lenzar]

Youth Intake 2017

 

Not much to shout about.

[Maw74]

Looks like it's Gunner be easy.

[Deisler26]

I like this very much.

[Lenzar]

12 hours ago, Maw74 said:

Looks like it's Gunner be easy.

The fact it's proving this easy means I can't guarantee how long I'll continue. Doing a virtually perfect season first time out makes for boring reading for you guys, and it's not that much more fun for me, tbh.

[Lenzar]

February

(PRM) Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth (Berahino, Sánchez, Cazorla)
We were not good enough in the first half, which despite a red card for the Cherries' Harry Arter, ended goalless. The second half saw us perform much better and score thrice, whilst our defence nipped any opposition attack in the bud long before they could even see our goal.

(PRM) Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal (Berahino)
We gave the Eagles barely any time on the ball as we recorded 63% possession, but the result reflects how incredibly wasteful we were. A very 'Arsenal' performance, but a win is still a win.

(FA) QPR. 1-3 Arsenal (Berahino (2), Luan)
Our opposition were a Championship side fighting for a playoff place, but we were clearly second best in the first half and went in 1-0 down. I turned on the hairdryer and sent the team out, but there was little in the way of improvement until Berahino's equaliser. QPR's legs ran out towards the end as we scored two more, but we certainly knew we'd had a game!

(CL) Sporting CP 1-3 Arsenal (Koscielny, Luan, Berahino)
A good win against a potentially tricky opponent should make things very comfortable at home, but I never feel safe in the Champions League.

(LC) Southampton 0-2 Arsenal (Berahino, Mertesacker)
In what was perhaps a little spineless, I only picked a couple of second string and played an otherwise full strength side. This paid off as Southampton also chose a first choice team. In the end, we brought the EFL Cup home for the first time since 1993.

March
(PRM) Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal (Sánchez, Berahino)
A poor start left us 1-0 down, but Alexis Sánchez took to going behind by upping his game. He scored the equaliser, before setting up the increasingly reliable Berahino to send us in 2-1 up at half time. In the second half, we probed for further goals, but the Black Cats' defence held firm.

(PRM) Arsenal 3-2 West Brom (Berahino (2), Oxlade-Chamberlain)
Despite our opponents' lowly 17th place in the league, they took the lead at 1-0, and later 2-1, before the team finally got their act together. Berahino's two goals against his former club probably left their manager wondering how potent a Berahino-Róndon pairing could have been.

(PRM) Hull 0-4 Arsenal (Berahino, Cazorla, Dawson og, Koscielny)
For once, we played at our best and it showed as we ran Hull completely ragged. Only the Tigers' goalkeeper prevented a bigger win, whilst our defence kept the Yorkshire outfit well away from posing any threat.

(FA) West Brom 2-4 Arsenal (Sánchez, Berahino, Cazorla, Giroud)
I'm never comfortable with away games in the cup, but once again we efficient enough with the ball to score four. West Brom came back at us late on, but we'd done enough to secure our place in the semi finals.

(CL) Arsenal 1-1 Sporting CP (Luan)
Arsenal win 4-2 on aggregate
Sporting were the better team here, frankly. They took the lead and looked to try and continue their difficult task, but the defence woke up just enough to stop any further goals going in. Our equaliser, more to spare blushes than anything else, came late on, allowing the last few minutes to peter out.

(PRM) Arsenal 1-1 Man City (Berahino)
This City team were much more familiar than the one we played earlier in the season. They took the lead early on, and, though Berahino didn't take long to equalise, there were no more goals despite plenty of chances from both sides.

League Table 1st April 2017