The New Invincibles - Arsenal 4-2-3-1 Tactic

Hi,

I present you my Arsenal 4-2-3-1 Tactic.

As you can see I won all games I played so far in my save.

Schedule

I play a very fluid controlling and fast possesion game which suits Arsenal very well as I have very good passers in my team

Tactic

Team Instructions

As you can see I play with the following player instructions:

GK - Sweeper Keeper Support: With a defensive line so high up it's vital to have a sweeper keeper who can come out and get a long ball before the striker. This is essential
Instructions: Distribute Quickly

DR - Wingback Automatic: Bellerin and Kolasinac are born attacking Wingbacks but as I don't want to be too offensive and then maybe open up in defense I set the DR/DL to automatic as it is a very good mix of going forward but also responsible in defense. I don't set them to stay wider or go wide with the ball as I want my wingbacks to sometimes come inside (like in reality)
Instructions: Get Further Forward, Cross More Often, Cross From Byline

DC - Ball-Playing Defender Defend: To open up counter-attacks or fast attacks setting my defenders to Ball-Playing Defenders makes sense, my team plays a lot better this way.
Only exceptions are Mertesacker and Koscielny even though they are adept in the art of being BPD they are much better only as CDs
Instructions: DCR: Mark Tighter; DCL: Mark Tighter, Tackle Harder

MCR - Box To Box Midfielder Support: Being the player behind Özil in attack and side by side with the more defensive MCL I think playing a Box to Box Midfielder offers another player in attack as well as a defensive midfielder when not in possesion. Alternatively: Advance Playmaker Support (eg Wilshere), Deep Lying Playmaker Support (eg Cazorla)
Instructions: Get Further Forward

MCL - Deep Lying Playmaker Defend: Being the more defensive part of the midfield duo the player still has the typical creativity needed to boss the midfield but is also very competent in defending. Quite prone to yellow cards though. Alternatively: Ball Winning Midfielder Defend (Coquelin)
Instructions: Mark Tighter

AMR - Raumdeuter Attack: As I have many right footers in this position I play them as Raumdeuter as it a very attacking player with many diagonal runs inside the box. Alternatively: Inside Forward Attack (eg. Iwobi), Winger Attack (eg. AMN)

AMC - Advanced Playmaker Attack: My big surprise in positioning. As Özil has it's highest value as a supporting advanced playmaker I play him as an attacking playmaker. I saw that in RL Özil roams around on the whole pitch but couldnt in FM as his supporting role restricts roaming from position. Playing him with an attacking mind it works a lot better. And unlike other save games where my supporting Özil always sucked he plays brilliant here and leads the chart by assists as I want to be.
Instructions: Get Further Forward, Roam From Position, Move Into Channels

AML - Inside Forward Attack: Of course this is Sanchez land. Play him narrower and get the best out of him (and Iwobi and Welbeck playing identically)
Instructions: Roam From Postion, Sit Narrower

SC: Complete Forward Support: Playing Lacazette in a supporting role means, he comes back a little and meets the ball earlier which is really helpful in a possession game. He is my main goal force though leading the goad scorer charts. Alternatively: Target Man Support (Giroud)
Instructions: Move Into Channels

Results:

Team Stats

Player Stats

Need help? Ask me...
Feel free to discuss or insult me ;-)

Becks

Very nice. It works very good, sometimes i concede goals on counters over wings, but its tactic

Yes. As it is a very offensive tactic it tends to concede goals via counter attacks.

Looks interesting, will give it a go for my Arsenal game. Do you use any specific opposition instructions with this?

UPDATE:

First off, thanks for creating and sharing your tactic, always good to try new ideas & get insights from follow managers. Here's how the first few games of my new season have gone using this tactic;

- The first game was Charity Shield vs Chelski. Went 2-0 up in first half and all was looking rosy. Lost 2-3. Was devastated by their swift counter attacks
- Retried same game, same setup. Won 3-1 (goals from wide positions & Ozil, but striker played poorly)
- First league game was West Ham away, puffed to a 2-1 victory (goals from right wing & center mid, striker played poorly)
- Next up was Huddersfield at home - lost 2-3. Was wide open to every one of their counters (striker again had a poor game)
- Switched to a 5-3-1-2 formation & replayed the Huddersfield game, this time winning 5-1 with both Giroud & Lacazette running rampant getting 2 goals each (with the French national team coach watching on too!)

So, a bit of a mixed bag to date. The two main issues are that it's too exposed to counter attacks (as mentioned in other replies) and both Giroud & Lacazette under-perform in this set up. Anyone have any thoughts or tweaks on how to improve either issue?

FURTHER UPDATE!

Despite the success with 5-3-1-2 I really wanted the team to play 4-2-3-1, not least because I spent big in the summer for wide players. So for the next few games I reverted to the invicibles tactic & saw significant improvement! I put this down to the players now starting to become more familiar & comfortable with the tactic

Newcastle (A) : Won 3-2. 2-0 down at H-T and not pleased. Gave the team a rollicking and they turned it around superbly
L Moscow (A) : Won 5-2. Convincing win, 2 goals conceded were opposition forward clear through the middle
Brighton (H) : 0-0. A minor blip
Sunderland (H) : Won 5-2. Easy victory with 2nd string
Man Utd (H) : Won 4-1. Dominated from start to finish. 3-0 up inside 15 mins.

All told things are now going much better and I'm very impressed with this tactic. An interesting note is that it seems to suit Giroud significantly more the Lacazette (but this could also be due to Lacazette still finding his feet in the squad)

Thanks for your update on your savegame... Indeed it suited Giroud better than Laca in my saves too...
The exposure to counter-attacks is still a problem, I cant figure out a way against it without playing not the offensive style I want to play on the other side of the field...

I edited my tactics with Auba and Mkhiki now...

CF Attack

IF Support AP Attack IF Support

Looks fine too

I created the account just for write to you.Your tactic is amazing I’ve been searching the right tactic for arsenal for a long time (such as in fmscout,fmbase.uk,etc.)and your tactic fits perfectly for the team,many tactics that I used not come closer to your tactic your tactic not just good but also entertain to watch and realism too.
Note:In many tactics I used Özil always play like sh*t but with your tactic he is the best. I’d like to thank you for make Arsenal fan like me happy and finally found peace thank you.......:
(I play on iPad)

Hi Becks

Thx for this tactic, I love Arsenal team !!!

I downloaded your tactic but it is different from your screenshots and explanations:
DC are both Defender Ball-Playing Defender (in your screenshot DCL is CD def). Then MCR is not box to box but Advanced Playmaker Attack. Then AMC is not Advanced Playmaker Attack. Can you share your original tactic please ???

Thank you so much :-)

suitable for bilbao ?

Hey mate.

Will try the tactic to my Real team. Do you use any OI's?