CallumHowey

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Callum's Guide To: Arsenal FC!
Note: This is my first guide for any club. Another note I can guarantee it will not be as good as Chris' Newcastle Guide or a lot of other you will have seen scattered around FM-Base and the internet. This guide is done for the 11.2 patch and I hope to tell you what I would do with Arsenal. The countries that should be loaded in the database are: England, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy and France.

Now to the guide.
View attachment 133856
Arsenal FC
Known As: The Gunners
Chairman: Peter Hill-Wood
Assistant Manager: Pat Rice
Last Season: 3rd (EPL)
Media Prediction: 4th
Rivals: Tottenham Hotspur; Man Utd; Chelsea
Other Rivals: Liverpool; West Ham
Derby: North-London Derby (vs Tottenham)

At The Start of the Season

Expectations
At the start of the Premier League season Arsenal is expected to qualify for the Champions League by coming 4th or higher in the Premier League. The budget you will get for each expectation is:
Continental Qualification through league finish: £15M/1.2M P/W
Title Challenge: 17.5M/1.3M P/W
Title Winner: 19M/1.4M P/W
I would recommend going for the Continental Qualification through league finish as there isn't as much pressure on you if you go through a bad period.

The Team

Goalkeeper
Manuel Almunia: Despite being a keeper who will perform amazing on somedays then abysmal on other days. Almunia is definitely the first choice keeper for Arsenal

Lukasz Fabianski: Fabianski is te obvious second choice keeper, and whenever Almunia is injured/unfit, he'll perform.

Wojciech Szczesny: He's so under rated on the game however if Almunia and Fabianski are injured he'll be a good third keeper. (You will need to promote him from the reserves)

Overall this area is pretty strong however there is room for improvement and a recommended transfer will be available later on in the guide.

Defenders
Bacary Sagna: Is one of the best and most consistent right backs on the game. I highly recommend keeping him as he is a key player in Arsenal's back line.

Thomas Vermaelan: A very important defender for Arsenal. As you can see without the command that he offers at the back Arsenal have struggled this season. He's a birlliant headerer of the ball, and if the tactics you're using use the corner glitch you can guarantee on him scoring 10-15 goals a season.

Laurent Koscielny: A good first team choice, yet there are still a lot better central defenders on the game. He's a very good back-up if you manage to buy another central defender.

Sebastien Squillaci: I feel Squillaci is completely useless in reality and in the game. Therefore I recommend trying to loan him out to get his wages off the wage bill.

Gael Clichy: Gael Clichy is a fantastic left back and is definitely a key player amongst Arsenal's back line.

Emmanuel Eboue: A great cover for Sagna if he gets injured. Not much to him really.

Kieran Gibbs: A very promising, young, ENGLISH Left back. He should be used in cup games and when Clichy is injured.

Johan Djourou: Is a decent cover for vermaelan and Koscielny and will do the job when called upon.

Once again a really strong area (it's a shame we can't say this in real life) however there is room for improvement. I would recommend putting Squillaci on the loan list as he won't be able to get transferred since he only just signed for Arsenal. A replacement for Squillaci will be explained in the transfer section further on in the guide.

Midfielders
Denilson:
I would personally say Denilson is a very good player to be a back-up or on a rotation. I don't believe he should be playing every week, however I recommend holding onto him as he is a very good back-up.

Cesc Fabregas: Arsenal's star man and captain. He leads with example and is obviously a Key Player for the Arsenal. Should be employed as a playmaker or a central attacking midfielder.

Alex Song: A fantastic ball winner. A player who isn't scared to get stuck into a challenge. He's quite pivotal to the way Arsenal play in real life and he should definitely be in your starting line up in the game.

Tomas Rosicky: He's a great player who could also be used on the wings. I don't believe he's good enough to get into the first team week in and week out however he is a great back0-up for when a player gets injured.

Abou Diaby: Once again another fantastic back-up player, I would usually use him to replace Alex Song as he is more physical than Denilson and would be better at Alex Song's role.

Aaron Ramsey: Despite being injured at the beginning of the game until about November/December/January he is the only -10 player on the game and becomes world class in 4 or 5 years time. However at the beginning of the game he starts on the reserves therefore he should be promoted to the first team and made available for the reserves until match fit.

This is probably Arsenal's strongest area and it really doesn't need strengthening at all.

Wingers
Samir Nasri: What can I say, he has been world-class for Arsenal this season and deserves a place in the starting line-up. He should be employed on the left/right wing or in the central attacking midfielder role.

Andrey Arsharvin: Another fantastic player he could be put on rotate with Nasri however I prefer playing Nasri than Arsharvin, but it's up to you on who you want to play.

Theo Walcott: Theo Walcott has been fantastic for Arsenal this season. He can play on the right side of midfield or up front as a poacher. He's still young as well so he still has time to develop into an even better player than he already is.

Jack Wilshere: Jack Wilshere has been fantastic for Arsenal this season and should be using in the first team on the right wing or in a central midfielder role. If used on the right wing make sure he is used as an inside forward support. Despite not being amazing on the game he deserves game time and he also turns out to be brilliant as he gets older. If needed Jack Wilshere could be used in the central midfield area as a box-to-box midfielder.

Another really strong area for Arsenal with really good youngsters that can play when you start the game.

Strikers
Robin Van Persie: A prolific goal scorer for Arsenal and definitely needs to be upfront. It's a shame Arsenal don't have many other World Class forwards like Van Persie. He is a first team regular and needs to be played.

Marouane Chamakh: I personally think the game has made Chamakh far too good. I don't know why but I dislike him. However he can still be played alongside Van Persie and if you can't get a replacement striker for him, then he should be in your first team.

Nicolas Bendtner: Bendtner is like an impact sub, if brought on at the right time he can really make a difference, however if you want you can sell him for extra cash.

Carlos Vela: Finally Arsenal's mexican stirker Vela. I really like Vela and with the right training he could be trained into a good forward. However if you don't thinnk that he's good enough for Arsenal then get rid of him.
Despite it being a strong area it's still area which could be improved and recommended transfers will be explained later on.

Transfers

Goalkeeper
Rene Adler:
He's a world class goal keeper and if you decide to sell Almunia then he is definately a really good replacement. The only downside is that he costs £17.5M, therefore I recommend paying £7.5M upfront and the other £10M over 48 months (4 years). I have heard that if you declare interest in Adler at the start of the season and subscribe to him, he will get offered to you for £7.5M instead of his £17.5M release clause.

Guillermo Ochoa: If Adler is too much for your liking then you should try Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa, he's fantastic and becomes a really good goalkeeper when he hits his full potential. He has a £7.25M release clause and I'd recommend paying £2M upfront with £5.25M to be paid over 48 months (4 years)

Defenders
Adil Rami:
The most reliable defender in the game in my opinion I definitely recommend signing him and he will be Squillaci's replacement. He can come straight into the first team and make an immediate impact. His price varies from £5M to £6M I recommend paying this transfer in full without any add ons.

Sime Vrsalijko: A really good prospect. If he's trained right you can more than likely get him to be a first team player in about 5 years. He's quite cheap at the beginning of the game, costing around £2.5M. I would recommend paying all of it over 48 months (4 years).

Strikers
Vaclav Kadlec:
A really good young poacher. He can be bought from around £1.4M to £2M at the beginning of the game. If he's trained correctly he could become one of the best strikers in the world.

Yaya Sanogo: If you do not want a poacher. You could buy Yaya Sanogo, and he works as a target man attack/support. Another way in which he could be used is by setting him to a deeplying forward support.

Edin Dzeko: A fantastic target man, but he does come with a price and a rather hefty wage bill. If you're desperate for a world class striker then I recommend Dzeko. You can probably get him for around £22.5M at the beginning of the game but he will more than likely demand wages of £125,000.

Backroom Staff

Arsenal have a fantastic setup that doesn't really need to be tampered with. However I recommend trying to keep Pat Rice at all costs as he's on of the best Assistmant Managers on the game. If you don't wish to make any changes to your backroom staff this is how good your training will be.

View attachment 133857

The staff that I consider to be dead wood are:
Mart Poom (Goalkeeping Coach)
Tony Roberts (Goalkeeping Coach)
Jon Cooke (Physio)
Simon Harland (Physio)

Staff that I recommend are:
Ebbe Sand
Robert Prosinecki
Andy Renshaw
Paul Winsper
Tosh Farrell
Robert Prosinecki
Harald Schumacher

If you sign these members of staff, go into the training section and automatically assign your coaches. If done correctly it will look really similar to this.

View attachment 133858

As you can see there is a significant difference.
If you want to find more coaches I recommend going to THIS thread and checking some of the listed ones out.

Tactics

There are loads of tactics that would fit the arsenal team. However the tactics I recommend would be:
Mr. Hough's FM11.2 unbeaten winger tactic (4-2-2-2)
Satorox's Il Devastato Tactic (4-2-2-2)
Ananasfan's midfield domination tactic (4-3-1-2)

If you don't like using downloaded tactics then you can make your own one accordingly.

Training


There are many different Training Schedules out there, however the ones I recommended are:
Dunc's Training Medium Workload V1.2
Dunc's youth training schedules V1.3

If you don't look these training schedules then just look around and find the one that suits you.

Special Thanks To

Dunc: For the fantastic training schedules
Satorox: For his amazing 4-2-2-2 Il Devastato tactic
Mr. Hough: For his fantastic 4-2-2-2 tactic
Ananasfan: For his magnificent 4-3-1-2 Midfield Domination tactic
Hellroker: For a fantastic list of coaches
Joss: For the constructive criticism in which I have used to make the guide better

If you have any advice I will take it into consideration along with constructive criticism. Remember this is my first guide to a club and it took me over 2 and a half hours to write up.

Thank you for taking your time to reading my Guide to Arsenal FC

 
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Arsenal guide from Spurs fan oO)
No I'm a newcastle fan, I just like Arsenal and Spurs, both fantastic to watch :)

great read
Thanks, means a lot.

Its a good guide mate
smile.gif
Thanks, I know it's not as good as others but it was my first, I shall learn as I write more!
 
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Nice one mate although I Don't understand why you say Walcott is good in the game :p his mental and technical are terrible
 
Thanks for crediting me for that coach list mate. (Some people really need to do that). Also a good guide nonetheless ;)
 
Thanks for crediting me for that coach list mate. (Some people really need to do that). Also a good guide nonetheless ;)
No problem, it's a great coaching list and has helped me loads of times. One of the coaches I forgot to mention was Bonini, but hopefully people will notice him on your coach list. :)
 
First of all you need better coaches and you can get it.:) Secondly Johan Djourou is way better than Koschielny, because he is 1.91 and has 16 jumping (corner swing to far post, say him attack far post and he will score --> 20 games 18 goals), hmmm.. Wilshere is better on CM, not wing.:) Arshavin is better than Nasri in first season, play him on left wing, train him to natural (all players put to train on natural where you want them to play), he was brilliant for me and after a season and half he came third on Golden Ball. (Messi and Ronaldo 1st and 2nd like always). And Theo Walcott is a new CR7 when you train him natural to right wing, dont know hoooow hi scores, hoooow he shoots, but has 70% on target and avg. rating of 7.89. That's all from me. Btw try Koflok's tactic (FIRST one, OLDER version), amazing tactic for Arsenal (first season Premier and Champions cup, second Euro super cup and Club world championship, now Im in February).
 
Chamakh is waaaaay too good in this game. First season on 11.2 he banged in 50 goals for me in 50 games. Played him as part of a big man/small man combo in a 4-4-2 with Targetman support role. Amazing player on FM 11.2 Great guide/writeup by the way!
 
Decent guide, here. Couple of issues I have:

1. Almunia isn't first choice, he isn't IRL and shouldn't be in-game. Fabianski > Almunia in both. Szczesny needs a chance, but I agree he isn't good enough in-game. Adler can be bought for £7.5 straight by the end of the season if you declare interest, or even just subscribe. In a lot of my games, he has been offered to me at the end of the season for cut-price.

2. France should surely be loaded in playable leagues as well? Sine the majority of Arsenal's signings are young, technically gifted players from France and Central Europe.

3. Wilshere should be spelt correctly for a start; He should also be utilised in the centre of midfield. He's wasted out wide tbh, and can be played as a very useful box-to-box midfielder. If you play him wide, he should be an inside-forward support whatever the tactic you're using.

4. Similarly, Nasri (as proved this season) is better on the right or centre.

5. A young ST isn't really necessary IMO and Kadlec isn't the best one you can go for anyway. Depending on what you want, Afobe is the best young striker at the club, and Rhys Murphy has some sort of future as well. If you sign, it should probably be Yaya Sanogo IMO (Though there's probably not a huge amount of difference)

6. In terms of tactics, there are plenty of good ARSENAL tactics out there, I'd advise you not to just post exploitation tactics like Mr. Hough, a lot of people don't like using these tactics, maybe it's just me though.

I also don't think there's any need to say Tony Roberts (Arsenal's best GK coach) and Jon Cooke (A good physio) - there's not really any need to shift around the backroom staff - they're all very good.
 
Split it up a bit, just looks like a big wall of letters.
 
Split it up a bit, just looks like a big wall of letters.

This as well.

It may seem like I'm going on, I don't mean to and I didn't mean it to be an attack or at all harsh before anyone suggests this, just some constructive feedback!
 
Decent guide, here. Couple of issues I have:

1. Almunia isn't first choice, he isn't IRL and shouldn't be in-game. Fabianski > Almunia in both. Szczesny needs a chance, but I agree he isn't good enough in-game. Adler can be bought for £7.5 straight by the end of the season if you declare interest, or even just subscribe. In a lot of my games, he has been offered to me at the end of the season for cut-price.

2. France should surely be loaded in playable leagues as well? Sine the majority of Arsenal's signings are young, technically gifted players from France and Central Europe.

3. Wilshere should be spelt correctly for a start; He should also be utilised in the centre of midfield. He's wasted out wide tbh, and can be played as a very useful box-to-box midfielder. If you play him wide, he should be an inside-forward support whatever the tactic you're using.

4. Similarly, Nasri (as proved this season) is better on the right or centre.

5. A young ST isn't really necessary IMO and Kadlec isn't the best one you can go for anyway. Depending on what you want, Afobe is the best young striker at the club, and Rhys Murphy has some sort of future as well. If you sign, it should probably be Yaya Sanogo IMO (Though there's probably not a huge amount of difference)

6. In terms of tactics, there are plenty of good ARSENAL tactics out there, I'd advise you not to just post exploitation tactics like Mr. Hough, a lot of people don't like using these tactics, maybe it's just me though.

I also don't think there's any need to say Tony Roberts (Arsenal's best GK coach) and Jon Cooke (A good physio) - there's not really any need to shift around the backroom staff - they're all very good.

Thanks I've made a lot of the changes you've recommended. I've included Sanogo into recommended transfers. I've also made it less cluttered. Another things I have done is added france to the recommended database and changed spelt Wilshere's name right.
 
I wonder if Enyeama could be a cheap solution as number one goalkeeper

Maybe a section on youth players and whether they are worth developing? I think Ignasi Miquel is very bad in the game even though he is the reserve team captain, and there are other players like Jay Emmanuel Thomas in the youth team, in addition to Afobe and Rhys Murphy mentioned by Joss
 
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