Back in the title race!
Arsenal FC came close last year, will they go the distance this year! Time to go to war with Manchester City on FM24 and beat them to the title! Let’s go!
Welcome to the next episode of the managing Arsenal FC in the first season series on FM24. This is part two of the season guide so far and the results of the season. The previous guides you can find here:
In this guide we are going to:
- Look at the end of season league performance and individual performances.
- We will look at the tactics which have been used.
- Where the team will go next.
Read on to see how Arsenal FC pushed the Premier League on FM24!
Arsenal FC results on FM24
This is where we discuss Arsenal FC’s team performance on FM24 in the first season. While a lot of team data is general it is a good indicator to measure your team’s success against your objectives. This is where we can establish larger problems and strengths and then drill down in the data.
On first impressions, we have slipped a bit and ended up coming 5th. This is a shame as technically we have gone backwards and away from the objectives. We had a really bad start to the season and then soon switched to another formation. As you can see one of the big problems in the team is that we have conceded a lot more than the teams around us.
I would say looking at the win to loss ratio we finished roughly where we should have. We finished 4 points behind Liverpool which is gutting, missing out on Champions League football. If we had a better start and won two games we lost we would have been there.
Scoring goals is a real strength in this team, and the front 4 are a joy to play with. Our goal scoring would have easily got us into the top four. So we can see it boils down to a bad start and conceding too many goals. Let’s look at what can be done.
Individual Performances
This is where we dissect the Arsenal players and their individual performance. We can find the good, the bad and ugly through data on FM24 which gives us a better idea going forward. Additionally we can dig a bit deeper to create those strengths again and more consistently.
Straight away I love to see the amount green indicators on the average rating. To me this is so important as it is feedback to how well the player is performing in the tactic. As we can see 90% of those players are midfielders and that speaks volumes of the quality.
Looking at the Xg we have some stand out stars. Look at Odegaard who is performing at over double his XG target, Martinelli is another one. Saka is not scoring to his Xg but he is assisting like crazy. Another interesting development within this season is Nketiah, he has been insane and knocked Jesus out of the team.
Looking at the passing completion stats there are quite a few that fall short of the 85% target. This is very unusual for an Arsenal team, a team that is known for trying to walk it into the net. There is a trend here that all of the players that under the target play in AMC/AML/AMR. In dangerous positions we struggle to pass.
Arsenal FC tactics on FM24
This is where we speak about the tactics that we have used over the course of the first season with Arsenal FC on FM24. WE normally use the tactic we developed in the day one guide, and unfortunately it turned into a disaster. As a result we had to change tactic, we went from a flat 433 to a 4231 below.
As we know this tactic is designed to attack through the middle and the goals are scored by the advanced forward through passes and through balls. The inside forward helps us to overload the middle of defence like a two man forward system. The winger helps to stretch defence wide and cut balls back to the forwards or AMC.
This is a gegenpress based tactic with the highest trigger to limit the number of defensive touches. The problems with this is that most teams will resort to long through balls behind your back line. What you can do and they did at Dortmund under Klopp is play with a deeper line, one that links with the pace of your defence.
Attacking does not need any real changes at the moment, but if we were going to increase attacking penetration I would allow more freedom. This depends on the decision making of the team overall.
Conclusion
Arsenal FC have been a very fun team on FM24 in the end. I am particularly enjoying the front line with their goals and assists. Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard are literally amazing and more importantly fun. This team can go far, no doubt about it, I think we could win the league next year.
The strength of this team is the attacking midfielders. They assist, score, dribble and win games for you. Additionally they are young and have bright futures, build around this.
The weakness of this team are the strikers, Gabriel Jesus is a nightmare for injuries. Nothing against his ability, but the lack of presence is painful. Nketiah is a good player, but he has got a lot to learn and I’m not sure if I can rely on him.
The opportunity is that the team is very young and they have high potential. Build on this by replacing the players approaching 30. Get the youth coaches in the first team and maintain the great youth academy that they have.
The weakness of the team is the defence. The centre of defence especially is limited and lacks depth, get a great partner for Saliba. If the defence goes to pot, then it will be a massive problem in the seasons to come.
I hope you enjoyed this guide, now go and start your journey with Arsenal on FM24. Please comment any feedback below.
