FM20 Team Guide & Tactic - Arsenal

Here is a brief team guide of the Arsenal squad in FM20, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.

Here is a brief club analysis of the Arsenal squad in FM20, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.

About the club

Firstly, Arsenal are a top side who are regular competitors for the EPL title. They are the only English team to never have been relegated from top tier football since the league’s inception in 1919. Arsenal, however, have never won the UEFA Champions league and winning that will be a crowning addition to any potential manager. Arsenal are also without the league title for over 10 season, will you as a manager be able to make a difference?

The board's expectations

Arsenal are in the Europa League this season, so the minimum requirements from the board would be;

1. Qualify for the Europa League (automatic qualification to the Europa League/required)
2. Making the final of the Europa League (minimum/preferred)
3. A SF< finish in the FA cup (minimum/preferred)

There will not be any specific football philosophies required from the manager as Arsenal are under transition. The transfer budget should be around £10m as Arsenal have already spent heavily on transfers this season. The wage budget 351k p/w should be enough to adjust and get in a couple of players.

The club are also blessed with excellent training facilities and a very solid youth setup that churns out league ready players every season. The 60k Capacity Emirates stadium could be made into a fortress with the right approach and under the right manager.

Squad, Formation and Tactical Style

The Arsenal squad are a blend of young players and seasoned campaigners with most of their players having the potential to be best players in FM20.

There are quite a few tactical setups you could deploy with Arsenal, however the best suited ones will be controlled possession/vertical Tiki Taka. This should provide the fast paced attacking football that the fans demand and could make use of all the fine attacking talent at your disposal.

However, against quality attacks or tough away games, one could go with a fluid counter attack formation.

Wing play might not be suited for Arsenal as they lack depth and quality on the left wing. A 4321 or a 4231 is the ideal formation for Arsenal, but this would mean sacrificing Aubameyang, your best player on the left wing. This is a two Way Street as you’ll get to play record signing Nicolas Pepe on his favoured right wing as an inside forward. This would also mean you can deploy Cebellos/Ozil in an attacking midfielder role either from central midfield or as a No:10.

A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-3-2-1 formation is as follows,

• Bernd Leno as a sweeper keeper.
• Bellerin as a Right Back, David Luiz as a Ball Playing Defender with Defense/stop role, Sokratis as a Central Defender and new signing Keiran Tierney as a Left Back with increasing crossing instructions.
• Granit Xhaka to play as a defensive midfielder in a deep lying midfielder (Defend) role or a regista role.
• Lucas Torreira as a Box to Box midfielder or a ball winning midfielder depending on your preference & Dani Cebellos as an attacking midfielder/AP/Mezzala.
• Aubameyang on the left win as an inside forward with instructions to stay narrow, Nicolas Pepe on the right wing as an inside forward.
• Alexander Lacazette as a lone forward in a complete forward role or deep lying forward role.

Alternatively, when you change to a 4231 you can use Mesut Ozil as the no:10, in a central attacking midfielder position and when you deploy 2 strikers, Bukayo Saka could play on the left wing as a winger.

Aubameyang could be the best poacher in game and you could turn to him if and when you need quick goals.

Key Players

1. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang



Aubameyang is your star striker who is lightning quick with high acceleration and pace stats. You could use this and have him get behind the defensive line to wreak havoc.

2. Nicolas Pepe



Pepe is a strong young right winger who bagged 22 goals & 11 assists in Ligue1 last season. At 19 you have a superstar on your hands for the foreseeable future.

3. Alexandre Lacazette



Lacazette is a fine complete forward who is devastating with his finishing. Along with Aubameyang they probably make the finest striker pairing in the league.

4. Kieran Tierney



Tierney is a fine young left back who is highly determined with good crossing stats. Having him combine with the strikers could see him rake up assists.
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Weaknesses

1. The defence is always a concerning area for Arsenal with the CB’s being erroneous and tend to make a lot of mistakes leading to very few clean sheets.
2. The overall squad depth is also quite average outside the first team with the left wing being the weakest area, so much so that we need to rely on a striker to play out of position and do a job.
3. This is overall a very young squad and could take a few seasons for the youngsters to hit their prime.

Youngsters to keep an eye on

There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks or on loan who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are;

• Edward Nketiah (ST)
• Gabriel Martinelli (ST, AML)
• Emile Smith-Rowe (CM,LM)
• Joseph Willock (CM, CAM)

FM20 Arsenal summery

To summarise, Arsenal are a solid club for most FM managers. Their blend of youth and experience can be a good mix to manage. Can you challenge yourself to end the league and Champions league draught of Arsenal?