[FM 21] Arsenal - Still Waiting For Arteta's Tiki Taka!

[hasdgfas]

I should probably post a review of all the young players who have broken into the first team this year after my big clearout:

John-Jules has developed incredibly well in this save and will be fighting for the AML position now that both Diogo Jota and Auba left in the summer.

Le Tien Thanh is Pepe's backup, and I am very excited about him. He came through the academy season 1 and was the Championship Young Player of the Year last year on loan at Swansea with 14 goals and 5 assists.

Martinelli finally got a work permit this season. He had been on loan the past few seasons due to permit issues and the fact that I just didn't have space for him before then.

Mora was bought for 1.6 million off of America de Cali in Colombia. I recouped the entire cost the next season sending him on loan to Benfica. Look at that 19 determination!

Rubirosa is my backup DM, bought for 1.1 million of Club America in Mexico. I'd like his tackling to increase more to be the best choice for that position, but he's a very capable backup.

 Val was another 1.1 million purchase, from a Brazilian Club this time. I was hoping to get him out on loan this season due to my crowded midfield, but he'll get some games here anyway, I guess.

King I posted above, but he looks fantastic.

[VP.]

They'd been after him most of the season so when the offer came I tried for as much as possible, didn't expect it to be that high though.

[bigman]

3 hours ago, lomekian said:

My less offensive tactic was just the first thing I put in without any thought to be honest. Gegenpressing 23221 with IF/A on each flank, PF up front, DLP (D), MEZ (A) and either DLP (S) or BBM in midfield, with a WB (A) on the right and WB (S) on the left.

Then just tweaked for the strengths of individuals - so if hector at RWB - cross from byline, if Cedric - cross from deep. Took me about 5 mins

My more offensive formation is a 4-2-3-1, with WB(s) at full back, DLP (S) & BBM in midfield, one flank has a winger the other an IF/A or IW/A depending on who's picked. AM-A. CF is just a simple AF A. All about high line, high tempo, counter pressing. Lots of overlaps, lots of crosses...mostly everything just untouched. Again, some instructions slightly tweaked for indiviudals, but not a lot. Took a bit longer to get right defensive line and cross types etc, but still quite simple

I’m going to have a look at implementing an attacking 4231

 

that other formation sounds very rb Salzburg style gegen press 

 

I currently play a positive gegen press 433. It might make more sense for aour in the cam position anyway

[Harper]

August 2021

A pleasant undefeated start to the season. One would be led to believe George Graham had returned to the helm with four consecutive victories, 1 nil to the Arsenal.

Spoiler

Community Shield (N - Wembley): Arsenal 1 - 0 Manchester City

Spoiler

Playing the same formation as our friendlies, I opted to start my second XI where possible. Marcus Thuram and Gabriel Martinelli were away at the Olympic Games, so, with no striker alternative, I opted to give Aubameyang another runout. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães were also away and would not feature. Full debuts were handed to Joelson, Jack Grealish, and Lloyd Kelly. Joelson (19') announced himself to the Arsenal faithful with the only goal of the game.

Gaetano Castrovilli also made his debut from the bench.

Premier League (A - Etihad Stadium): Arsenal 1 - 0 Manchester City

Spoiler

The Premier League campaign opened with a repeat of the Community Shield, but with the full first team. Dominik Szoboslai and Gaetano Castrovilli received full debuts in the midfield, while Aubameyang and Kelly were the only holdovers from the Community Shield squad (with the French and Brazilian squad members competing in the Olympic Games (France in the third place game, Brazil in the finals).

Aubameyang scored the only goal of the match in the 79th minute, in what appeared to be a game headed towards draw.  

Super Cup (N - Windsor Park): Arsenal 1 - 0 Manchester City

Spoiler

With the Olympics finishing and Marcus Thuram returning, Aubameyang was rested for this superfluois match. The side fully rotated, Yusuf Yazici received his full debut. Manchester City dominated possession, but we edged out on expected goals and shots on target. Substitute Bukayo Saka got on the end of a cross from Ainsley Maitland-Niles to give us the lead in the 81st minute and prevent the game from going to extra time.

Premier League (H): Arsenal 1 - 0 West Ham

Spoiler

A low scoring, but not for lack of trying. Arsenal dominated the match despite West Ham winning the possession battle. Despite 13 shots on target and 3.87 expected goals, we only found a way through via Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (31') from the spot. Martinelli and Gabriel having returned from the Olympics, got their first starts of the season, and were the only changes from the squad that won at the Etihad.

Premier League (A - King Power): Arsenal 4 - 1 Leicester

Spoiler

Naming an unchanged squad, we hit Leicester early, Martinelli opening his account for the season within the first minute. The front three were all on the score sheet in the first half. Jack Grealish scored his first for the club in the 90th minute.

 

Champions League Draw

Spoiler

As Europa League champions, our return to the Champions League return saw us in Pot A. The draw was not favorable to Arsenal, as we were drawn against Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and Başakşehir.

 

Premier League (A - Bramall Lane): Arsenal 5 - 2 Sheffield United

Spoiler

Partey had two absolute screamers (1', 35') from beyond the penalty arc to open the scoring and restore a three goal lead. Aubameyang netted another from the penalty spot, while Reiss Nelson and Jack Grealish contributed in the 

 

At the end of August, we're undefeated in the league, along with Liverpool. Liverpool claims first place on goal difference.

Spoiler

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Harper

[hasdgfas]

1 hour ago, SortitoutsiVP said:

They'd been after him most of the season so when the offer came I tried for as much as possible, didn't expect it to be that high though.

I would absolutely have snapped their fingers off for 170M

[VP.]

59 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

I would absolutely have snapped their fingers off for 170M

Money now invested.

[DatGuyKiy]

Just finished my first season of my youth only Arsenal save.

 

I managed to sell the following:-

 

We won the Premier League with a game to spare and the Europa league and Community Shield.

 

I left Willian and Ozil in the reserves as neither performed in pre season. The young players to stand out was Nelson, Saka & Smith-Rowe.

 

The following players made there debut: this season-

 

Charlie Patino, Daniel Ballard & Mark McGuinness have been promoted to the first team for next season.

 

I have added Derby and Luton as affiliate clubs with Balagon, Cottrell &  Medley going to Derby, McGuinness, Azeez & Hilton going to Luton on season loans.

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by DatGuyKiy

[BrickCommo23]

40 minutes ago, DatGuyKiy said:

Just finished my first season of my youth only Arsenal save.

 

I managed to sell the following:-

 

We won the Premier League with a game to spare and the Europa league and Community Shield.

 

I left Willian and Ozil in the reserves as neither performed in pre season. The young players to stand out was Nelson, Saka & Smith-Rowe.

 

The following players made there debut: this season-

 

Charlie Patino, Daniel Ballard & Mark McGuinness have been promoted to the first team for next season.

 

I have added Derby and Luton as affiliate clubs with Balagon, Cottrell &  Medley going to Derby, McGuinness, Azeez & Hilton going to Luton on season loans.

 

Great result that - well done

[BrickCommo23]

2 hours ago, SortitoutsiVP said:

Money now invested.

What an attacking line up that is.

Just out of interest on the Pedri deal - what are all those installments and add ons to get to £105m?

[BrickCommo23]

Just a small update from me. Work and, you know, real life gets in the way so I am just coming to the end of February in my first season. 

I've suddenly found a nice 4231 system and it's going great guns - current league picture looks like the below. 

When I was still trying to find my tactics I got bombed out of the FA Cup (MK Dons - I know) and the group stage of the Europa (on GD) so I have loads of time between matches. In a way, I would rather not win the league, have this season as progress and then do 'Operation Clean Sweep' in the summer.

Anyway, current form is good:

 

And current league table is decent - albeit Liverpool and United are smashing everyone in sight:

[BrickCommo23]

On 19/12/2020 at 11:40, Tee2 said:

May 2021

Here’s the deal. We have already qualified for the Champions League and thereby met the Arsenal board’s vision for the season. Sir Chips and his buddies are happy. Now though, we are in the driving seat for the title with none of the big teams left to face. That’s the good part. The issue is the sheer number of fixtures remaining. Seven league games, an FA Cup final against Leicester City, also the second leg of our Europa League tie with United and then a possible final in which to complete the campaign. A total of ten playing occasions between now and the end. A two-day gap between matches on some occasions. Everything is there to play for, but with so much football still to play might we burn out before the end?

2 May – we’re off to Elland Road to take on Leeds United, possibly the trickiest of the remaining league games. On paper, at least. Under Bielsa, the Whites looked as though they were heading towards good things again, but he’s left for Manchester City and they now have Mircea Lucescu in charge. The former Dynamo Kyiv manager favours a defensive approach, which plays into our favour as we’re invited to attack them again and again. Partey puts us ahead early, and we add two more through Vinicius and Aubameyang in the second half when the game becomes more open. The home side are restricted to a single off-target shot. It’s almost the perfect game from us.

4 May – Fulham at home. A heavily rotated line-up is named for what ought to be a more straightforward challenge, and another 3-0 victory. Strikes from Demiral and Lacazette bisect Willian’s penalty, as the Cottagers set up to put men behind the ball and limit the damage, and they happily concede possession also. Their attacking pair of Lookman and Mitrovic are made to look remote and cut off as our defenders keep them entirely under wraps. Jack Wilshere has a great game for us in midfield, teasing Fulham endlessly with his passing, which maybe says as much about the opposition as it does Jackie.

6 May – at the Emirates again, and this time we’re entertaining Manchester United in what should be a Europa League tie where the hard work has already been done. We are three ahead at the break thanks to Oxlade-Chamberlain, Pepe and Aubameyang. In the second half, United suddenly remember what’s on the line and take the game to us. Diallo scores a couple of quick goals as the visitors pile on the pressure, and we spend the closing stages defending our lead. It’s far too late for them, as we win 5-2 on aggregate and look forward to the final at the Energa Gdansk in Poland. Our opponents will be yet another Premier League side, the so far disappointing Manchester City. We have a great record against them this season.

8 May – a trip to the resolutely mid-table Southampton. This ought to be a comfortable game, but as it is the home side defend like dogs to keep us out. Jan Bednarek plays the game of his life at the back and Fraser Forster deals with everything we throw at him. On their wing Theo Walcott has that whiff of ‘old player scoring’ as he forces Kolasinac to defend hard and often. Somehow the Serb fails to get a booking in this one, which normally suggests he hasn’t done a lot. An otherwise bad-tempered game threatens to dribble out towards a 0-0 draw, but in injury time the Ox gets a break, sails past Walker-Peters and crosses unselfishly for Auba, who only has to slot the ball home and never cocks up chances of this sort. Phew.

11 May – we’re hosting Brighton and Hove Albion. This lot beat us earlier in the season and we owe them. Bellerin scores early and late strikes from Aubameyang (from the penalty spot) and Willian seal the deal, but this isn’t straightforward. Brighton produce more work for our defence to do than some of the more illustrious units we’ve played, and Lacazette does precisely nothing before Auba comes on to at least give us a spark in attack. Saka and Willock are the Gunner heroes who spark our 3-0 victory here; great to see homegrown players being invested in our fortunes.

13 May – at home again; this time it’s Everton. I name a strong line-up against a good team and one that sets out to keep us at bay. For a long time it works, but two second half goals from Pepe hand us a 2-0 victory. Otherwise, we’re wasteful in attack. We have twenty-five shots against a Toffees side that frankly looks as though they are already on their holidays. Pickford does his acrobatic thing however, and the win becomes harder fought than it really needs to be.

15 May – one more win will hand the league title to us, but before that there’s the little matter of the FA Cup final. We’re taking on Leicester City, a good opponent but it could have been a lot harder and they do us a favour in the twelfth minute when Ndidi is red carded for the sort of challenge on Pepe that wouldn’t look out of place in a Sam Peckinpah Western. His dismissal defines the match. Pepe and Aubameyang score to win the contest 2-0. Willock has one ruled out for an arguable offside, and Partey plays a titanic game in defensive midfield. The Foxes offer little. By the end it’s Ndidi – the one player who looked committed and up for a fight, albeit exhibiting it in a dangerous way – who comes out of it with any credit.

19 May – with the league crown on the line we’re off on our longest journey within England to face Newcastle United at the Sports Direct Arena. Potentially facing relegation, the Barcodes have to see themselves over the line but this isn’t the time to do it. They fail to register a shot on target as we run out 2-0 winners. Partey scores early. Lacazette adds a second late and otherwise we stop the opposition from causing any problems for Leno in goal. Xhaka plays, safely anonymously, while Pepe and Vinicius earn the plaudits for keeping the Geordies busy in defence. We’ve won the Premier League!

23 May – suddenly there’s nothing left to play for in the league finale at Leicester City. I resolve to save my stars for the Europa League final and field a second eleven, and it’s perhaps the irrelevance of this one coupled with sheer fatigue that allows the Foxes to rack up a 3-2 win. The side we beat at Wembley puts in the sort of performance that reminds us they should be taken seriously. Cengiz Under and a wonderful Tielemans shot put them 2-0 up. Maitland-Niles finds a response, but Vardinho’s effort places them back into a commanding lead. Chambers heads in a Nelson corner late in the game, and we think we’ve equalised deep in injury time via Vinicius, only for the goal to be ruled out for what is revealed to be a clear offside. Ah well. I can’t be too upset after the heroics we have produced recently.

26 May – I’ve saved the stars for this, the Europa League final against Bielsa’s Manchester City in Poland. It’s a frustrating occasion. We tally an xG of 1.26 against the opposition’s 0.29, but they find the breakthrough when Fernandinho nods them in front, and it’s a lead they never give up. For our part, the silky football gives way to niggly fouls and bookings. Pepe tries to produce the spark for us, but Xhaka is predictably awful and at least on this occasion he isn’t the only one as Tierney is given the run-around ceaselessly by Raheem Sterling. It’s an underwhelming end to the campaign, but I am able to put it down to tiredness. The boys have spilled their life blood for the cause in May, raised their game again and again, and there’s always a price to pay. Perhaps the leggy performance here, when there’s so little left in the tank, is a simple reflection of our fatigue levels.

All the same, if I was offered the league and FA Cup at the start of the year then I would absolutely have taken them. Arsenal are a work in progress. We’re a mixture of good players, plucky youngsters and some who are ripe for the culling – looking at you, Granit Xhaka – and to finish with these honours, not to mention two additional cup final appearances, represents a fantastic season. Bernd Leno has played in each game. That’s a total of sixty-five appearances, crammed in between mid-September and now. There’s been a lot to do, and as the players slink off to play in a European international tournament or off to Dubai, they are left with my order that they will have to do it all over again in the new campaign.

 

Great work - love to see that. Sounds like that 1-0 was pretty critical!

[hasdgfas]

JANUARY 2025 UPDATE:

A solid first half of the season. Top of the league by 3 points. Only loss away at Manchester City. Undefeated in the group stage of the Champions League in a group with Gladbach, Lazio, and Rapid Vienna. We got thrashed by Southampton in the Carabao, but that's actually fine with me, keep my players fit.

Auba, Partey, and Smith-Rowe complained about me not using my young players enough to the point they wanted to leave, so I let them. I also sent Jota on a loan-to-buy to Brighton. They'll have to buy him based on appearances, and he's well on the way to hitting that.

Martinelli is showing that he should have broken into the first team earlier and is having a fantastic first half of the year. He's starting alongside Pepe, who is injured, but is my top scorer so far this season with 12 so far. Pepe with 12, Milik with 11, Martinelli with 10. Nkeitah is not performing quite as well as last season, only 5 goals, but he is playing well still.

The young players are performing...all right. Their inexperience is showing, but hopefully the second half of the season they'll take it to another level.

Oh, this was neat though.

Mostly for his performances at Benfica, but I'll still take it.

[hasdgfas]

Unfortunately, I am getting a bug where I play some teams home or away twice in the same season, and apparently that cannot be fixed in existing saves, so I might have to scrap this save and start a new one  

[Tee2]

11 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Great work - love to see that. Sounds like that 1-0 was pretty critical!

Thank you, it was one of those edge of the seat games where we FM'd the opposition for once and showed very un-Arsenal levels of grit and determination. A moment you play the game for.

[Tee2]

Post-Season 2021 – The Players

The aim is to end my account of a rather astonishing first season with Arsenal here. Whether the game is easier this time, or I’m a tactical genius, or Nicolas Pepe is Messi in hiding, it’s gone really well and I have to feel that after making further changes over the summer we are going to be stronger still.

I’m going to finish with a couple of posts to cover the progress of my players, and the transfer movements that have been made ahead of 2021/22. Hopefully, as this is a thread primarily devoted to covering tips for managing the Gunners these details will be useful to somebody…

I’ve split the first team into separate categories.

Our Heroes

Bernd Leno (65 apps, 43 clean sheets, 6.91 rating) - played every minute of the campaign, kept a stack of clean sheets and was named the best in the division by the close of play. In truth his services were called upon infrequently, but when we really needed the big German to deliver he did just that, as in the manly performance he put in to stop Manchester United at Old Trafford when we were defending a 1-0 lead with ten Gunners left on the pitch.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles (30 apps, 1 goal, 4 assists, 7.23 rating) – I remember when he used to be a central midfielder. Now primarily a right-back, Ainsley was consistent and very good especially at supporting the attack. Perpetually under-rated, but not by me.

Rob Holding (35 apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 7.34 rating) – survived the cull of centre-backs and became a valuable defender who increasingly fought for his place, proved his quality, and ultimately earned a fat new contract.

Merih Demiral (45 apps, 5 goals, 3 assists, 7.30 rating) – new signing, brought in relatively inexpensively, and growing into a titanic presence at the back. A no-nonsense centre-back from the old school of physical play and tough tackling (though I believe this to be an art in itself), the 22 year old Turk earned a rash of bookings and was dismissed on one occasion, but he was otherwise a rock, ever-present and committed.

Gabriel (47 apps, 3 goals, 0 assists, 7.21 rating) – Merih’s regular defensive partner, in his first season as a Premier League player and the Turk’s perfect complement, the ball player to Demiral’s blunt instrument. He never let me down.

Kieran Tierney (34 apps, 0 goals, 4 assists, 7.26 rating) – started the year as the junior partner to Kolasinac at left-back; ended it as by far the better choice and rewarded with a new contract and enhanced playing time. Fewer bookings than Sead and capable of exhibiting the responsibility of knowing when to stay back and defend, and when he could become part of the attacking thrust.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (36 apps, 3 goals 9 assists, 7.19 rating) – I felt it was a risk bringing him back to the Emirates, especially considering his track record with injuries. But he was great from his central midfield role, and I played my part in wrapping him in cotton wool and using him carefully.

Nicolas Pepe (46 apps, 23 goals, 10 assists, 7.46 rating) – attained boss level over the course of the campaign, eclipsing Willian to establish a devastating partnership with Aubameyang and achieving the team’s highest individual rating. Also named Fans’ Player of the Season.

Bukayo Saka (50 apps, 10 goals, 8 assists, 7.23 rating) – a banner year, now with three England caps and still only 19. Fought Vinicius Junior for the left wing and by the end had won the role, which is all I could expect of him.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (44 apps, 35 goals, 5 assists, 7.27 rating) – Mr Reliable in front of goal, did exactly what was asked of him as he was moved from the left wing position that he was increasingly filling under Arteta to go back up-front. Greedy for chances to prove his quality, which is something every manager wants to see.

The Did Wells

Hector Bellerin (35 apps, 2 goals, 10 assists, 7.15 rating) – the only downside is his fragility, the over-use that can lead quickly to injuries. Otherwise Hector was a delight who had a good cross in his locker.

Calum Chambers (15 apps, 3 goals, 0 assists, 7.18 rating) – used sparingly but just fine at either right-back or in the centre. The competition for places could play hell with his long-term prospects as a Gunner, but he didn’t let me down when he played.

Thomas Partey (49 apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 7.02 rating) – played out of position in defensive midfield and did well enough, pretty much operating as the tank that he gives every impression of being. 2021/22 should see him moved back into the middle, and how he performs will define his future prospects.

Lewis Cook (39 apps, 4 goals, 4 assists, 6.89 rating) – named the worst signing of the season, which is utterly unfair. He’s a young guy taking his first step with a big new team, and I found him to be reliable and unawed by the standard at which he was working.

Joe Willock (24 apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 7.05 rating) – new David Platt (it says here) who is improving exponentially, and by the end of the season was wresting his place from Ceballos, which speaks volumes for his attacking instinct and willingness to go on unpredictable mazy dribbles into dangerous areas.

Reiss Nelson (33 apps, 4 goals, 3 assists, 7.04 rating) – used primarily as a right winger, Reiss continues to improve and was close to ousting Willian by the closing stages of the campaign. Absolutely one to watch.

The Could Stay, Could Goes

Sead Kolasinac (33 apps, 0 goals, 4 assists, 7.13 rating) – overtaken by Tierney as our first choice left-back, and while the numbers look well enough there are his eleven yellow cards and one dismissal to take into account. Sead has a penchant for thuggery and will need to curb this if he’s to stay in my plans.

Jack Wilshere (28 apps, 0 goals, 4 assists, 6.89 rating) – for a free signing on a low paying contract Jack did pretty much everything that was expected of him. A season-ending injury always looks just around the corner, but his homegrown status and small toll on the wage bill should protect his place.

Dani Ceballos (54 apps, 2 goals, 8 assists, 6.90 rating) – Dani was gazumped by the Ox and didn’t really do enough to make signing him permanently a viable option. He would cost £39-53 million, and my sense is that we could use the money more wisely.

Willian (38 apps, 5 goals, 8 assists, 6.90) – paled against the vast steps made by Pepe and fitful when he played. We could get great games; equally he had the capacity to vanish, and for someone earning £100,000 per week that isn’t really good enough. Now 32, and that’s another worrying sign.

Vinicius Junior (54 apps, 11 goals, 6 assists, 6.95 rating) – signed on loan to keep us ticking while Martinelli recovered and Smith Rowe improved on loan, and did quite well. Real Madrid don’t want to sell him, so bringing him back permanently would involve a massive outlay that I don’t believe can quite be justified. Good player though; at times, the ball looked like it was stuck to his feet when he was dribbling with it.

Alexandre Lacazette (36 apps, 17 goals, 4 assists, 7.01 rating) – a good goals haul should be tempered with the fact that he was often used against ‘softer’ opposition. A fine, inconsistent forward, occasionally disappearing from the action, and on vast spends while 29 years old. If I can find a better back-up for Auba then that’s likely to mark the end of his Gunners tenure.

The Zeroes

Runar Alex Runarsson (0 apps) – I didn’t rate him. There, I’ve said it. For me, a back-up goalie should be homegrown, so this single, anonymous season should be Runar’s first and last in an Arsenal shirt.

Granit Xhaka (43 apps, 3 goals, 9 assists, 6.78 rating) – there’s surely a good player lurking in there, but there’s also a tendency towards violence and a sense that he’s off the pace. He’s asked to be sold in the summer, and I’m only too happy to grant his wish.

[Tee2]

Post-Season 2021 – The Transfer Window

Goalkeepers

I’m really happy with Bernd Leno, but I think the back-up should make up the homegrown numbers, just liked Martinez used to, and that marks the end of the road for Runar Runarsson. He goes to Fenerbahce for a cut-price £1.4 million. As the new bench-warmer we end up plumping for Angus Gunn of Southampton. He costs a fee that will amount to £7.75 million ultimately. It’s more than I really want to pay, but those homegrown places count.

Right-Backs

No intention to switch from the Bellerin-Maitland axis, and while the former is coveted by a number of teams this never results in an offer. Calum Chambers is increasingly surplus to requirements while still being pretty good. Valencia provide the solution, taking him on loan and paying his wages while giving him the playing time that we are unable to.

Left-Backs

Kieran Tierney earns a dazzling new contract that puts him in the £100,000+ club. Now an important player, I’m not interested in sparking a battle betwixt him and Sead Kolasinac and transfer-list the latter. He goes to China, to Guangzhou, for £29 million. As the squad rotation back-up to Tierney, we land Junior Firpo, the Barca prospect who could develop into a good Premier League player. He’s cheap at £7.5 million.

Centre-Backs

The cull continues as David Luiz leaves at the end of his contract and Pablo Mari goes to newly promoted Bournemouth for £15 million. William Saliba is sent on loan again, this time to Cittadella who are now operating in Serie A. Chelsea have transfer listed Andreas Christensen. He counts as a ‘trained in England’ homegrown player; £21.5 million and he’s ours. The Danish international will be rotated regularly with Demiral, Gabriel and Holding, making for four good options in central defence.

Defensive Midfielders

The plan was to re-insert Lucas Torreira back into the side once his loan at Atletico finished. In the meantime West Ham got relegated, which made Declan Rice open to offers. The £55 million we pay is hefty, but Rice is a 22 year old England regular and comes at a premium. He’s also an ideal candidate for the captaincy. Torreira is sold to Milan for £17.5 million.

Central Midfielders

Granit Xhaka’s wish comes true when he swaps London for the red half of Milan. £28 million is the price, so everyone’s happy, apart from the Arsenal board who feel I’ve let him go on the cheap (I haven’t). Matteo Guendouzi returns from loan and goes to Ajax for £18.25 million. Mohamed Elneny joins Valencia in exchange for £15 million. Chelsea have pretty much made Ruben Loftus-Cheek surplus to requirements - £26 million makes him ours. Ever concerned about the Ox’s injury proneness, I draft in Aaron Ramsey on loan to lessen our dependency on him. Ramsey costs £180,000 per week in wages, but I’m loathe to pay the £20 million Zebre want to make his signing permanent, and in reality I’ve put the problem off for another year. We can now choose from RLC, the Ox, Ramsey, Partey, Wilshere and Willock, which looks healthy if slightly over-stacked.

Right Wingers

Nicolas Pepe’s rise to Godlike status means we no longer have to keep Willian around. The Brazilian is on big wages and expects to play a lot, neither of which pleases me. Norwich are back up and produce a staggering £29 million fee to capture his signature. Great. The position is now Pepe’s, with Reiss Nelson in the ‘young gun’ role.

Left Wingers

Vinicius’s loan deal ends and Smith Rowe goes back out, this time to relegated West Ham. Gabriel Martinelli is back in the side as the fringe player, capable of playing on the left or up front. Bukayo Saka is now first choice. I pay a princely £54 million to Burnley to acquire Dwight McNeil, a 21 year old who has no business playing in the Championship.

Strikers

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the star and expects to remain so, which is fine with me. Both him and Alexandre Lacazette are getting on and earning fabulous wages, and it’s my intention to ease them out over time. The latter is the first to go. Valencia find a stunning £56 million to seal the deal and his heart. As the new back-up, I draft in PSV’s Donyell Malen, a onetime Arsenal youngster who built a 7.61 average rating last season while scoring 16 goals in his 23 appearances. £44 million seems like a good price to pay for a 22 year old who can be eased into first team action. Eddie Nketiah joins Porto on loan for the season.

At the end of all this we have spent £201 million on talent and recouped £199 million. There’s still £95 million remaining in the transfer budget and £612,000 available to spend on wages. It leaves me wondering if my transfer activities could have been more ambitious, but the money’s there and things look very healthy at the Emirates. The first team now looks like this, with ‘trained at the club’ homegrown players shaded in green, and ‘trained in England’ players in yellow. It was always my ambition to increase the English presence, so I’m sanguine with the number of Three Lions lads now representing the Gunners.

 

[Tee2]

Post-Season 2021 – A Helping Hand

I’ll finish with some tips for new starters with Arsenal. These things have worked for me and ultimately it’s up to you how far you want to go with these pointers, but I’ll leave them here for your reading pleasure.

Either build the side around Mesut Ozil or sell him quickly. I know what I would rather do with Ozil, but there is doubtlessly talent still in those ageing legs and an argument to be made for accommodating him within the Arsenal set-up, if only for one final season of ‘last hurrah’ football before his ruinously large contract winds up. If you do decide to keep him around then be prepared to construct your line-up to showcase him, not only positionally but to compensate for some of the Mentality drawbacks he brings to the table; for instance everyone wants a squad that’s high in Determination, but Ozil won’t provide it so you need to find it from elsewhere.

Reduce the wage bill fast. The Gunners have a Champions League team’s salary commitment while playing Europa League football. In the long term, this isn’t sustainable and it’s why you are charged with making it back into the continent’s big competition. Meanwhile, you have a set of players where the range of wages paid is enormous. Aubameyang, Ozil, Lacazette and David Luiz lead the group in terms of eye-watering contracts, while the likes of Tierney, Saka and numerous others who will still be around for a number of years are paid rather more modestly and sensibly. Again, not a situation you want, but with several players who are close to retirement yet drawing vast wages you should be able to whittle the bill down fairly easily. That means losing a few hefty earners who you might think earn the big bucks because they deserve to, but they do not represent the team’s future. In getting rid of David Luiz, Willian, Lacazette and Ozil by the end of 2020/21 I created the best part of a million pounds’ weekly wriggle room in the budget, while losing comparatively little in the side’s playing quality.

You have great kids – use them. The big attraction in managing Arsenal is not so much the self-appointed legends but the talented group of young Gunners at your disposal – Saliba, Willock, Saka, Martinelli, Smith Rowe and Nelson are all already at or close to first team level, with several further treats waiting in the wings. These represent nothing less than Arsenal’s future, and they need to be either quickly worked into the side or developed to get them to that stage as soon as possible. Apart from the enigmatic Emile Smith Rowe, I’ve found them all to be very useful pretty much from the start.

You have a large number of centre-backs, but few good ones. Of the seven defenders I started the game under my command, just two are still first team members (after a year) with a third out on loan to aid his development. The remaining four – David Luiz, Pablo Mari, Sokratis Papajohns, Shkodran Mustafi – have all been sold, for the simple reason that they plain ain’t good enough. William Saliba has the chance to get there, but he’s very young and can use the development time elsewhere. That leaves Rob Holding and Gabriel as legitimate first team picks, with Calum Chambers – nominally a right-back but just as happy in the middle – also loitering with intent. The good thing is that if you do manage to offload your unwanted defenders you have the opportunity to rake quite a lot back in, in terms of the wage savings. A priority in the first summer should be to bring in a good centre-back – I went for Juventus’s Merih Demiral – because a bit of judicious juggling of personnel ought to transform a leaky group of largely average defenders into a sharp, stingy ‘none shall pass’ unit. With Demiral and Gabriel as my first choices I never really looked back.

Priority Two is Central Midfield. Arsenal start with Partey, Ceballos, Elneny, Willock and Xhaka as the central midfield choices. That isn’t really good enough. For me, this group is little better than average. Thomas Partey is the best and he isn’t amazing. Willock is your way for the future, to be eased in and used primarily for Europa League playing time. I have little time for Mohamed Elneny, who screams of better choices being available elsewhere, while Granit Xhaka is a long-time club associate that is best off being cut short. Personally, I begged the board to fund a package for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was transfer-listed by Liverpool and added the midfield flair that the Gunners lack (it wasn’t provided so well by Ceballos), and snapped up Jack Wilshere on a free and paying him comparatively tiny wages. Both signings are former Gunners so their arrival improves the ratio of homegrown players, and while each one has had more than his fair share of injury issues the talent is there if it’s used sparingly. The sunny upland is that Willock will develop well, while Xhaka – who really ought to be on borrowed time at the Emirates – can fetch the big bucks, which should be plunged recycled new recruits.

[VP.]

12 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

What an attacking line up that is.

Just out of interest on the Pedri deal - what are all those installments and add ons to get to £105m?

Without looking I think it's £3.5m every game for 20 appearances, they had already included it in the deal but for 10 games so I tried to switch it to lower the upfront cash amount and it worked.

[BrickCommo23]

I meant to add - I very nearly pulled off a lovely little bit of transfer business in January. 

Wijnaldum was transfer listed at Liverpool and available for loan. I offered him a loan which would have allowed me to move Xhaka on 6 months early.

In a slightly weird twist of fate - Barca agreed a deal with him for the end of the season (when his contract expired) which somehow meant I also couldn't have him on loan?

Weird - Xhaka lives on. 

[WillyBroadband]

2 hours ago, Tee2 said:

Donyell Malen

Really enjoy your updates @Tee2 - I was thinking of signing Malen as a back-up CF, too, especially with the 35% percentage future fee involved. 

[WillyBroadband]

I just thought I would see how much Özil would want if I did renew his contract, then saw this, it actually made me lol 

[RossoneriGunner]

27 minutes ago, WillyBroadband said:

I just thought I would see how much Özil would want if I did renew his contract, then saw this, it actually made me lol 

😂 Shame he doesn't feel like that IRL, he might have left ages ago

[Tee2]

43 minutes ago, WillyBroadband said:

Really enjoy your updates @Tee2 - I was thinking of signing Malen as a back-up CF, too, especially with the 35% percentage future fee involved. 

Thanks Willy - yes, that 35% was a nice surprise and I love it when a future fee gets funnelled back into the coffers.

43 minutes ago, WillyBroadband said:

I just thought I would see how much Özil would want if I did renew his contract, then saw this, it actually made me lol 

Seems about right, doesn't it? I imagine that after a couple of years being left out and criticised roundly for 'taking the money' he's happy to sit on the couch and see out his final season.

 

1 hour ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Weird - Xhaka lives on. 

Insert 'NOOOOOOOOO' GIF of your choosing here.

[bigman]

Man, I beat PSV 3-1 to progress but Pepe, my second best player is out for 7-8 months

 

good job nelson has been amazing otherwise I’d be screwed 

 

might have to recall martinelli who is on loan at villa and nketiah who is killing it at Bournemouth 

Edited December 21, 2020 by bigman

[WillyBroadband]

I'm in late February 2021 & Martinelli as a Pressing Forward/Support has been very, very good. He's keeping out Eddie & Laca (I play Auba on the left)

[hasdgfas]

5 hours ago, Tee2 said:

Lewis Cook (39 apps, 4 goals, 4 assists, 6.89 rating) – named the worst signing of the season, which is utterly unfair. He’s a young guy taking his first step with a big new team, and I found him to be reliable and unawed by the standard at which he was working.

"Signing of the Season" and "Worst Signing of the Season" are a mess. In a different save I signed Andrea Belotti on a free for Leicester, he was joint top-scorer in the league, and he was named worst signing of the season. Absolutely absurd.

[BrickCommo23]

Has anyone come across this guy? He's joining at the end of the first season for £2.5m. I'm a little worried about his aggression but otherwise he looks immense?

[Harper]

46 minutes ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Has anyone come across this guy? He's joining at the end of the first season for £2.5m. I'm a little worried about his aggression but otherwise he looks immense?

 

He's on my shortlist for Rob Holding replacements, but I haven't bought him, yet.

[hasdgfas]

55 minutes ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Has anyone come across this guy? He's joining at the end of the first season for £2.5m. I'm a little worried about his aggression but otherwise he looks immense?

oh, he looks fantastic. Even the aggression doesn't bother me that much. I've had more issues with high aggression than low aggression.

 

While on the subject of young central defenders, what have people been doing with Mavropanos? He seems like he might be serviceable, but there are so many central defenders at the club to start with

[Harper]

Just now, hasdgfas said:

oh, he looks fantastic. Even the aggression doesn't bother me that much. I've had more issues with high aggression than low aggression.

 

While on the subject of young central defenders, what have people been doing with Mavropanos? He seems like he might be serviceable, but there are so many central defenders at the club to start with

I've loaned him out again, but I don't have a long-term plan for him. Was hoping he'd help my Spanish affiliate get promoted, but he's gone and gotten injured with another groin tear.

[emmettk90]

I have a lot of young players who have great potential but their mental stats are not great, so I need some mentors.

I was thinking of signing of some older players whose careers are winding down for the sole purpose of mentoring the youngsters. Does anyone have any suggestions.

[RossoneriGunner]

Got a question guys, how long have you guys had to wait for the players to get used to a tactic ? TIA

[hasdgfas]

19 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Unfortunately, I am getting a bug where I play some teams home or away twice in the same season, and apparently that cannot be fixed in existing saves, so I might have to scrap this save and start a new one  

Yep, this save is busted. I don't want to play both Manchester Clubs away twice in a season, or have Tottenham at home twice in a season, then away twice in the next season. It doesn't get better even with holidays, so I'm going to scrap the save. I'll start a new Arsenal one at some point after my emotional attachment to this one goes away.

[BrickCommo23]

47 minutes ago, RossoneriGunner said:

Got a question guys, how long have you guys had to wait for the players to get used to a tactic ? TIA

Varies massively mate depending on how detailed the tactics and player instructions are and how far away from their 'normal' style. 

It can also increase quicker in pre season if you focus on tactical training

Sorry that's not a quick answer but you're typically looking at a few months with a very settled XI to get fully familiar. 

[BrickCommo23]

39 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

Yep, this save is busted. I don't want to play both Manchester Clubs away twice in a season, or have Tottenham at home twice in a season, then away twice in the next season. It doesn't get better even with holidays, so I'm going to scrap the save. I'll start a new Arsenal one at some point after my emotional attachment to this one goes away.

That's cr@p - never come across that before

[RossoneriGunner]

1 minute ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Varies massively mate depending on how detailed the tactics and player instructions are and how far away from their 'normal' style. 

It can also increase quicker in pre season if you focus on tactical training

Sorry that's not a quick answer but you're typically looking at a few months with a very settled XI to get fully familiar. 

The last FM I played was 2014 and it seemed they gelled a lot quicker back then 😂. I just thought it was me but, obviously the game has become a lot more involved than it was back then. Thanks mate, appreciate it.

[Harper]

6 hours ago, emmettk90 said:

I have a lot of young players who have great potential but their mental stats are not great, so I need some mentors.

I was thinking of signing of some older players whose careers are winding down for the sole purpose of mentoring the youngsters. Does anyone have any suggestions.

No specific player suggestions for FM21, yet, but I would always go for guys that had the high mental attributes and could still do a job for me.

In FM20, that was Santi, Cesc, and Arturo Vidal. 

They don’t necessarily have to be old, either, the older ones are just cheaper and can fall off a cliff quickly.
 

 

[Tee2]

16 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

"Signing of the Season" and "Worst Signing of the Season" are a mess. In a different save I signed Andrea Belotti on a free for Leicester, he was joint top-scorer in the league, and he was named worst signing of the season. Absolutely absurd.

The one saving grace is that being named worst signing of the season (Cook isn't my first ever entrant on this list) seems to make no difference whatsoever to the player's morale. You imagine in real life the guy's confidence crashing through the floor, but here nothing. 

8 hours ago, RossoneriGunner said:

The last FM I played was 2014 and it seemed they gelled a lot quicker back then 😂. I just thought it was me but, obviously the game has become a lot more involved than it was back then. Thanks mate, appreciate it.

Hmmm, never had much of a problem with this, but then my tactics are don't generally ask for anything special, indeed I'm pretty consistent with my tactics and I manage matches based on team mentality according to the strength of the opposition and how we're playing. Beyond that, I tend to sign and sell players based on how suitable I think they are, not necessarily how good they are e.g. Wilshere is a good one to have because he knows the team inside and out, and he's free. I might be reading a lot more into this than is really there, but at least I can pretend that all this makes a difference!

[RossoneriGunner]

7 minutes ago, Tee2 said:

The one saving grace is that being named worst signing of the season (Cook isn't my first ever entrant on this list) seems to make no difference whatsoever to the player's morale. You imagine in real life the guy's confidence crashing through the floor, but here nothing. 

Hmmm, never had much of a problem with this, but then my tactics are don't generally ask for anything special, indeed I'm pretty consistent with my tactics and I manage matches based on team mentality according to the strength of the opposition and how we're playing. Beyond that, I tend to sign and sell players based on how suitable I think they are, not necessarily how good they are e.g. Wilshere is a good one to have because he knows the team inside and out, and he's free. I might be reading a lot more into this than is really there, but at least I can pretend that all this makes a difference!

I watched a few YT vids and if they chose the tactics that have the 👍🏻 in game then they seemed ok, which is understandable. When they made a custom tactic or imported one then it took longer to gel, which is also understandable lol

[WillyBroadband]

15 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Has anyone come across this guy? He's joining at the end of the first season for £2.5m. I'm a little worried about his aggression but otherwise he looks immense?

 

He looks really good, man. I think the low aggression isn't a bad thing. 

[WillyBroadband]

14 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

what have people been doing with Mavropanos?

Hello mate, I had planned to sell him when he's back from loan. Should get about £10M - Daniel Ballard looks decent on my save so I will use him in his place, I reckon. 

[WillyBroadband]

10 hours ago, RossoneriGunner said:

Got a question guys, how long have you guys had to wait for the players to get used to a tactic ? TIA

Hello mate, as @BrickCommo23 said, it definitely varies. I find it helps in pre-season to put as many Match Tactics training slots in as you can or want then by the time the season starts you're nearly fluid 

[RossoneriGunner]

1 minute ago, WillyBroadband said:

Hello mate, as @BrickCommo23 said, it definitely varies. I find it helps in pre-season to put as many Match Tactics training slots in as you can or want then by the time the season starts you're nearly fluid 

Good morning mate, I've never had a problem before, it just seems to be taking a little longer. I always used to have match tactics in training and usually had 2 tactics one would be say 4231 and then I would have one for when I need to be more conservative, probably something like 442. As FM14 was the last one I played, I feel like a newbie in FM21 LOL.

[puffascruffowitz]

On 17/12/2020 at 09:32, WillyBroadband said:

That's an interesting point, mate. I always think that Teamwork & Work Rate matter more... is exactly why I couldn't get rid of Pepe quick enough.

To be fair I'm going into my 5th season with Pepe and I wouldn't trade him for anything. Club legend already, scores massive goals, and has scored at least ten Messi type worldies. 

For me his low determination his well worth his goals, Nelson just doesn't have the end product to justify him lowering others determination. 

[WillyBroadband]

34 minutes ago, puffascruffowitz said:

To be fair I'm going into my 5th season with Pepe and I wouldn't trade him for anything. Club legend already, scores massive goals, and has scored at least ten Messi type worldies. 

For me his low determination his well worth his goals, Nelson just doesn't have the end product to justify him lowering others determination. 

Tbh man, I'm not a big fan IRL - that always affects my feelings in-game, too. 

[Tee2]

So a quick question for those of you who have played FM for many years, and perhaps have managed Arsenal throughout that time also - do you have a favourite Arsenal team from all those past editions? After all, the current set-up is unlikely to warm many a Gunner's heart, is it? 

Obviously any side from the late 1990s to the Invincibles has to be a shoo-in. What a team. I loved the CM3 side, just after Anelka had left and you got to manage the old guard defence, Bergkamp, Overmars, Vieira, a certain Thierry Henry had just joined.... But I think my pick would be the FM 2009 team. This was a side constructed by Wenger when transfer funds were tight as the club's finances were tied in with their new stadium. As such it was a group of players that had mainly been developed from within. Fabregas was just about still around. Arshavin and Nasri were present, and Adebayor was still considered more of an up and coming talent than what he turned out to be. Oh, and Robin van Persie. But the real strength of that side was the sheer amount of homegrown talent on offer - from memory you had Toure, Clichy, Djourou, Gibbs, a very young Ramsey, Denilson, pre-injuries Diaby, Song, Bendtner. It was such a neat base upon which to build, and I wish he'd managed to hold that group together as they could have built up into something special. 

[WillyBroadband]

44 minutes ago, Tee2 said:

Toure, Clichy, Djourou, Gibbs, a very young Ramsey, Denilson, pre-injuries Diaby, Song, Bendtner

That is an interesting choice, dude. Out of these players only Toure & Ramsey were actually any good (IMO & IRL) the others were either not good enough or had bad attitudes. 

Diaby was an enigma, he'd go from being "the new Vieira" to a wally. I always had a soft spot for him though. 

I think my favourite was the Bergkamp, Overmars one 

A more recent one when we had Sanchez, Özil & Koscielny etc was good fun, too. 

[Sean3h]

1 hour ago, Tee2 said:

So a quick question for those of you who have played FM for many years, and perhaps have managed Arsenal throughout that time also - do you have a favourite Arsenal team from all those past editions? After all, the current set-up is unlikely to warm many a Gunner's heart, is it? 

Obviously any side from the late 1990s to the Invincibles has to be a shoo-in. What a team. I loved the CM3 side, just after Anelka had left and you got to manage the old guard defence, Bergkamp, Overmars, Vieira, a certain Thierry Henry had just joined.... But I think my pick would be the FM 2009 team. This was a side constructed by Wenger when transfer funds were tight as the club's finances were tied in with their new stadium. As such it was a group of players that had mainly been developed from within. Fabregas was just about still around. Arshavin and Nasri were present, and Adebayor was still considered more of an up and coming talent than what he turned out to be. Oh, and Robin van Persie. But the real strength of that side was the sheer amount of homegrown talent on offer - from memory you had Toure, Clichy, Djourou, Gibbs, a very young Ramsey, Denilson, pre-injuries Diaby, Song, Bendtner. It was such a neat base upon which to build, and I wish he'd managed to hold that group together as they could have built up into something special. 

Mine is similar to yours, but probably a year earlier. I was a huge, huge fan of the Rosicky - Flamini - Fabregas - Hleb midfield. If I could recreate that now I would in a heartbeat!

[WillyBroadband]

4 minutes ago, Sean3h said:

Mine is similar to yours, but probably a year earlier. I was a huge, huge fan of the Rosicky - Flamini - Fabregas - Hleb midfield. If I could recreate that now I would in a heartbeat!

Thats a great shout, man. I loved Rosicky especially, what a special player. If he wasn't so injury prone would we have signed Santi though...

[Harper]

1 hour ago, Tee2 said:

So a quick question for those of you who have played FM for many years, and perhaps have managed Arsenal throughout that time also - do you have a favourite Arsenal team from all those past editions? After all, the current set-up is unlikely to warm many a Gunner's heart, is it? 

Obviously any side from the late 1990s to the Invincibles has to be a shoo-in. What a team. I loved the CM3 side, just after Anelka had left and you got to manage the old guard defence, Bergkamp, Overmars, Vieira, a certain Thierry Henry had just joined.... But I think my pick would be the FM 2009 team. This was a side constructed by Wenger when transfer funds were tight as the club's finances were tied in with their new stadium. As such it was a group of players that had mainly been developed from within. Fabregas was just about still around. Arshavin and Nasri were present, and Adebayor was still considered more of an up and coming talent than what he turned out to be. Oh, and Robin van Persie. But the real strength of that side was the sheer amount of homegrown talent on offer - from memory you had Toure, Clichy, Djourou, Gibbs, a very young Ramsey, Denilson, pre-injuries Diaby, Song, Bendtner. It was such a neat base upon which to build, and I wish he'd managed to hold that group together as they could have built up into something special. 

I always enjoyed those 2008-2011 Project Youth Era squads. Ramsey, Wilshere, Szszesny, Vela, Denilson, JET, Lansbury, Frimpong, Armand Traore, Gibbs, Nasri, Diaby, Walcott, Bendtner, et al

I kind of have that same feeling with Saka, Nelson, AMN, Azeez, TJJ, Balogun, Willock, ESR, and Medley where I want to bring the youth at the club through, rather than completely gut the squad as I did FM12-18.

I didn't really know enough about Arsenal/Premier League/Football when I first stated playing with CM01/02 to know that was the Golden Age of the squad and most of my FM memories are from FM07 (or World Wide Soccer Manager as it was branded in the States).