Arsenal on Football Manager 2022: 10 tips when starting a new save
By Tom Gott
Mikel Arteta is working wonders with Arsenal these days, and if you fancy a piece of the action for yourself, why not take control of the Gunners in Football Manager 2022?
It's hardly a sleeping giant sort of story, but Arsenal are nowhere near where they want to be at the start of a new save and, with a core of young players, it is your job to take them back to the top of the mountain.
Here's a few tips to get you started.
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1. Re-sign Eddie Nketiah
In real life, Eddie Nketiah is as good as gone. Fortunately for Arsenal fans, you can change that on FM22.
The Englishman is ready to sign an extension as a squad player, and you should make tying him down your first order of business. If you're lucky, he'll be blessed with superstar potential in your save.
Even if he doesn't push on as expected, Nketiah is a guaranteed £20m sale to another Premier League side.
2. Offload Alexandre Lacazette
No longer good enough to start for a side with Arsenal's lofty ambitions, you should try and sell Alexandre Lacazette now before his contract runs out next summer.
He's happy to sign an extension but it'll cost you close to £150,000 a week, which just isn't worth it at all. Get his salary off the books and make some money while you still can.
The problem with this, however, is that Lacazette is your best striker at the minute. In that case...
3. Sign a new striker
Feel free to put your long-term faith in Nketiah if you want, but the smarter move is to invest in a new first-choice striker.
Arsenal aren't the biggest draw on FM22 so the top guys aren't interested, but you can still convince the likes of Duvan Zapata, Angel Correa or Luis Muriel to lead your line.
That's at least 15+ goals per season, and hopefully 20-25 in the right system.
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4. Buy a new midfielder
Thomas Partey is nice and Granit Xhaka is overwhelmingly average, but behind them, Arsenal's midfield depth leaves a lot to be desired.
In Albert Sambi Lokonga, you have a high-potential talent who probably isn't ready for heavy minutes at the Emirates. Your other deputy is Mohamed Elneny, whose contract is expiring and can therefore be sold immediately.
A new anchor man should be on your shopping list.
5. Bin off Bernd Leno
Aaron Ramsdale is not only the best English goalkeeper on the game now, but also your best shot stopper.
That means Bernd Leno has been demoted to your reserve, and realistically, he's far too valuable to be sitting around on the bench. You should sell him straight away and bring in a cool £20m.
Finding a new backup goalkeeper is no issue at all and you'll be swimming in profit once you've found your man.
6. Build around your attacking midfielders
Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli are all destined to become future stars, so they all need to get regular minutes.
A 4-2-3-1 formation appears to be your best bet as all four will get plenty of opportunities over a long season, and once they hit their potential, you'll be blessed with one of the best squads in the game.
Don't sleep on Reiss Nelson, either. He's out on loan now but also comes with some hefty potential. If you can fit him into your squad, you better do it.
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7. Go wonderkid shopping
Charlie Patino is the only guaranteed future first-teamer in the academy, but whether he'll grow into a superstar remains to be seen.
You've got a handful of players who might come good - Miguel Azeez, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Catalin Cirjan, among others - but the chances are that Patino will be the only player in the academy worth keeping around in a few years.
Set your scouts to go searching for the next big thing, and it might be worth listening to a few of their suggestions.
8. Keep a close eye on Balogun, Saliba & Guendouzi
Arsenal have an intriguing young core already at the club, but some of their best are currently out on loan.
We've already mentioned Nelson, but Matteo Guendouzi is destined for superstardom out on loan with Marseille. He's got a £9.5m option to buy, which is an absolute steal in today's market. You better hope they don't trigger it.
Marseille also have William Saliba on loan, while Folarin Balogun is plying his trade with Middlesbrough. Both can have superstar potential if you're lucky.
9. Find some quality coaches
If your players are going to reach their potential, you might have to improve your coaching setup.
Your fitness staff are pretty good, but beyond that, Arsenal's coaches aren't what you'd expect of a side trying to play in the Champions League.
A lot of your staff members have some decent potential - Carlos Cuesta and Miguel Molina are the best of the bunch - but waiting around for them to realise that could be a real problem.
10. Improve your facilities
While we're on the subject, try and sweetheart the board into improving the facilities on offer.
Your training complex is one step away from perfect, and while the youth setup and recruitment aren't bad, they could stand to improve a level or two.
If you're in it for the long haul, getting those three areas sorted could be key.