da lvbet： Out of England’s ‘Top Six’ clubs, the Arsenal hot seat is one of the more lenient positions to take in your first season as a manager on Football Manager 2019.
da betcris： There are no sudden shocks when it comes to the north London side, but Football FanCast have you covered in every aspect, so take note of what we have in store…
The board’s expectations
The Gunners board simply want to re-qualify for the Europa League via your Premier League position and reach the semi-final of the FA Cup. Of course, breaching the top four would go a long way in securing your future.
As for the Europa League itself, the board demands that you to go one better than what Arsene Wenger was able to in his final season in charge, by reaching the final of the tournament rather than bowing out in the semis.
The transfer war chest
Take the north London job and you’ll be privy to a wealthy club and with that comes a transfer budget of £68.7million. There’s a further £500,000 put aside for the weekly wage budget, so you have more than enough to strengthen the side without clearing the roster of all its talent.
Three players to buy
Faouzi Ghoulam
Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac are dependable enough left-backs, but if you have ambitions of achieving something at Arsenal then they are only worthy of a backup role.
Napoli’s Faouzi Ghoulam is earning a generous £77,000 a week in Serie A, but would show a world of difference to your defence as he is a near-on complete wing-back.
The 27-year-old has 17 crossing, 17 work rate and 15 determination, while offering 13 tackling, 14 technique and 14 teamwork.
Kostas Manolas
Laurent Koscielny remains Arsenal’s best centre-back attribute-wise, but will spend a majority of your first season out injured. You can get away with waiting it out with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi, but you would be better placed benching the German and bringing in someone of Kostas Manolas’ quality.
The AS Roma defender will set you back a sizeable portion of the transfer budget, with a £47million valuation and £86,000-a-week wage demand, but he would be a fantastic addition to your backline.
Kingsley Coman
Despite strengthening across the field in the summer, Arsenal neglected the wide positions and you have to correct this in the first season.
Bayern Munich’s versatile mega-forward Kingsley Coman is the ideal player to bring to the Emirates Stadium, as he can feature on both wings and is still only 22-years-old.
The French ace is valued at £34.5million and is on £140k-a week.
Watch the video below to check out the hilarious things footballers get up to at Christmas…
Three players to sell
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Despite one of the Gunners’ biggest weaknesses being their lack of first-team cover, Henrikh Mkhitaryan needs to be sold if you are not using the Armenian in the first team.
He has solid stats and can be deployed on the right-wing as well as in the centre, but he will not eclipse Mesut Ozil for the attacking mid spot. Nor will Mkhitaryan fulfil his £200k-a-week wage on the wing, which is far too much to spend on a second choice CAM given the depth in that position.
Danny Welbeck
Danny Welbeck is another player who you would think would be great in a squad, for he can cover multiple positions, but none of his attributes are that amazing. They’re just about strong enough that he’ll be an option from the bench, but the Englishman will never represent competition for the starting role in any of his possible positions.
Come the end of your first season and Reiss Nelson returns from loan, the teenager can take a great deal of responsibility on the wings, and a new striker would be better suited for your plans than Welbeck.
Granit Xhaka
It’s nearly a miracle that the haphazard Granit Xhaka was not sold in real life after his first few years at Arsenal, but the central midfielder remains in North London for now.
He competes with Aaron Ramsey, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira for game time in your side, but does not he have the current or potential ability to be a great at the club.
The 25-year-old will make you a tidy sum should he be sold, thanks to a £26.5million valuation and will take £100,000 off the weekly wage spend.
Three for the future
Matteo Guendouzi
Matteo Guendouzi from Poissy, France was playing French second division football a year ago and is now a worthy contender to start at one of England’s biggest clubs.
The teenager has the potential to be a world class defensive midfielder at Arsenal and should be brought into the first-team as much as possible to further develop his attributes.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
There’s always a risk when playing Ainsley Maitland-Niles that the Goodmayes-born ace could be injured, and that has certainly hampered his game time, yet he simply must be part of your side in some capacity.
His versatility is incredible as he can take on a number of positions, all to the same high standard, as he works to become a top draw player.
He is best suited to the defensive midfield spot, but can also be deployed as a full-back or wide-midfielder on either side.
Emile Smith-Rowe
Emile Smith-Rowe could do with being mentored on Football Manager 2019 by an experienced player as he struggles with determination through the infant stages his career, but has great potential on the field and should be utilised throughout the early cup matches before a January loan.