Arsenal- The Gunners Rise Back To The Top

[Dannyborofogg]

View attachment 260452Arsenal- The gunners rise back to the top!






Firstly I am a fairly new blogger and this is probably the best save I have ever had since I have been playing football manager back in 2005! I always have a save with Middlesbrough as they are my favourite club. I have also recently downloaded the transfer update (07.07.12) so thanks to LFCMarshall for that. I have tried writing a few stories before but never really thought of publishing them until one of friend’s suggested it to me. So bare with me fellow FM lovers it might not be up to the standard you are all used too! But please take your time to follow my story as it becomes very interesting. Trust me!


I took over Arsenal because I fancied the challenge of trying to persuade Robin Van Persie to stay and also I was looking forward to having the quality of Alex Song, Jack Wilshere, Lukas Podolski etc at my disposal.


So wish me luck guys and I look forward to hearing constructive criticism and positive comments in the future.

 

[Dannyborofogg]

During Pre-season I got rid of any players I thought of dead wood, trying to reduce the wage bill and make sure my finances were in good shape for me to be able to afford to bring in a few more players. I sold the likes of Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh among others. I brought in Hugo Lloris from Lyon as I believed that the main area for concern was the goalkeeper. So with my squad set and pre-season over we prepared to battle against the spending power of Manchester City and the superiority of Manchester United. Do we have enough fire power up front? Is the defence strong enough to cope?

View attachment 260479We shall see.

 

[Dannyborofogg]

August

August brought some tough away games in the premier league as well as problems off the field. The press was hot with stories linking Robin Van Persie with a move away from the club, and this was beginning to unsettle my star striker. Although I hadn’t managed to tie down a long term contract with him as yet I was eager to interact with him to try and make him happy at the club. It was a week before the first game of the season and Van Persie came to me with a written transfer request. At first I was shocked but I was not going to allow a player to stay at the club if he didn’t want to be. I know some managers would tell them ‘to rot in the reserves’ but I did not want to disrupt the harmony in the club as I was still just getting to know my players.


Offers started to flood in from the likes of Manchester United and Inter Milan. If I was to sell Van Persie it would not be for under 30m and it most definitely would not be to another English club. Soon enough the first game of the season had arrived. I had not received an acceptable offer for Van Persie yet and I was not willing to play him so he was dropped from the squad and did not travel to the Everton game. Everton I believe are a well organised side with a well disciplined manager in Moyes who I respect immensely for what he has done at Everton these many years.
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Bacary Sagna was the surprise first goalscorer! Not many would have backed that at William Hill.
Just before half-time Lukas Podolski doubled the lead before it all fell apart in the second
half, conceding 2 sloppy goals. A disappointing result considering the circumstances however I was happy with a point as a knew not many teams would walk away from Goodison Park with 3 points.

Next up was Lille away in a battle for a place in the champions’ league group stage! I took with me a strong squad as I was eager to get a good result to make the home tie more comfortable. Things started great with 2 goals inside the first half hour from Podolski and Giroud. Although they pulled a goal back in the second half I was relatively happy to go back to London with 2 away goals and a 1 goal advantage. Rumours were still flying around about Robin and I negotiated a bid with Inter Milan and I soon thought he would be on his way.

Our first home game was around the corner so I gave Robin what I thought would be his farewell game. Fulham turned up and were not hanging about, an early goal from Milan Petric had put them ahead inside 6 minutes. Ironically Van Persie equalised 3 minutes later. 1-1 at half time and we had created the better chances, the second half started slowly before Podolski fired in from close range. Petric was on top form and inside the last 10 minutes he struck again. A 2-2 draw at home to Fulham was not what I was expecting and Van Persie had faded after a promising start. Inter Milan refused to pay the 30m price for Van Persie and it looked like he was staying..... for now.

Next up was Lille at home. Because of the 2 away goals we scored I rested a couple of my key players as we faced Newcastle away on the Saturday. A comfortable 2-0 victory with goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud meant we had achieved our first clean sheet of the season and I was hoping more were to come. We travelled away to Newcastle and again I left out Van Persie hoping my team could get our first win of the season. Again we struggled conceding 2 early goals. Fortunately goals from Giroud and Walcott rescued us a point. The third consecutive 2-2 in the league. Are we missing Van Persie I asked myself?

Hopefully September would bring more clean sheets!


Star Man of the Month: Lukas Podolski- 3 goals in August and 4 assists is the perfect start to his Arsenal career.

 

[Dannyborofogg]

September

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An Indifferent Month For Arsenal
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Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd
September arrived and the biggest game of my season was just around the corner. Manchester United at home! A fixture the fans looked forward to more than most. Van Persie was happy to stay and help push Arsenal to battle within the top 4. A 2-1 victory was enough to see off the strong united outfit. Goals from Van Persie and Wilshere sealed the win. Was my season about to explode? Were we about to see what Arsenal were all about?

Arsenal 5-0 Shakhtar
4 days later Shakhtar arrived in London for the first group game in the Champions League. I rested Van Persie and started Giroud up front on his own playing my familiar formation 4-2-3-1. Wilshere just behind with Podolski and Cuenca as attacking wingers, a frightening front 4! This was reflected in an astounding 5-0 victory! Giroud (3) an own goal and a deserved goal from Cuenca secured what was thought to be a difficult first game. With West Brom in mind on Saturday I brought off Wilshere and Podolski after we had secured a 3 goal lead.

West Brom 2-0 Arsenal
We travelled north to face an ever improving West Brom side. With things on the up surely we would see a convincing victory. How wrong I was! A poor display resulted in a 2-0 loss and the United and Shakhtar games felt a long time ago.

Arsenal 1-2 Birmingham
Another midweek game the following week meant I was resting some key players again. With it being the Capital One cup most of my squad was rotated. Birmingham turned up with a strong side and by half time we were 2-0 down. My young players pressed hard but Birmingham stood firm until the 79th​ minute when Oxlade Chamberlain scored what was to be a consolation goal. A 2-1 defeat at home to Birmingham was not the sort of response I was after. But it meant I could concentrate on the league and European football so I wasn’t too hard on my young players.

Arsenal 5-0 West Ham
West Ham were next to visit the Emirates. With my first team fresh and needing a win to get over the surprising set back against West Brom, I was sure of victory. We dominated throughout and walked away 5-0 winners. Another astounding victory! Podolski, Song, Koscielny, Sagna, and Cuenca the 5 scorers.

Partizan 0-0 Arsenal
Next we faced Partizan in the last game of the month, a tougher away tie than I first thought. A few changes were made and I was happy to come back with a point. The hostile atmosphere gave Partizan their ‘12th​ man’ and my team failed to break the deadlock after numerous chances. Inconsistency was creeping in and I needed to sort this and fast. Otherwise it could be a long season ahead.


Star of the Month- Issac Cuenca - Just starting to find form. Scored a couple of goals in September, but also assisted a few goals. A player that will be key to my plans.
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[byer]

good luck to you ,guys .