Arsenal - Road to glory

Champions League group stage has been played and some great display has been on the stadiums throughout Europe.


Champions League
Arsenal 4-1 Shakhtar
Anderlecht 2-2 Arsenal
PSG 2-3 Arsenal
Arsenal 3-0 PSG
Shakhtar 0-4 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Anderlecht



In the next round I'm meeting Panathinaikos, should be a good display!

The transfer window has been rounded up and some action was to be seen this time around too.
Ter Stegen handed in a transfer request and it was granted. A week left of the transfer window he left North London and forced me to start searching for a new backup between the bars. With a transfer sum of £15M, a sum witch is £6M more than what Szczęsny went for, I had the funds from the transfer alone to go hunt for a new player.

£15M Marc-Andre ter Stegen Arsenal Malaga

Loris Martini
Welcome my new young player to the club. Aspiring to be a future number 1 in the team he has secured himself a spot on the bench. On a fee of £8M and a potential worth much more, this is one to look out for and hopefully a good backup.

£8M Loris Martini Parma Arsenal

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Transfer Budget Remaining: £69.31M
Wage Budget Available: £1.12M p/w

The FA Cup has gone great and now I am standing at the semi final, the possibility of the seasons first trophy is coming close. It will not be an easy fixture with meeting Manchester City in the semi final.

FA Cup
3rd Arsenal 5-0 Watford
4th Wolves 0-4 Arsenal
5th Burnley 1-1 Arsenal
5th Arsenal e4-2 Burnley
6th Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham
Semi Manchester City Vs. Arsenal

The race in the Premier League is closing in on us and it looks to be a tight race to the finish line. With an amazing 33 games without a loss I have sneaked up and barely snatched the no 1 spot for the time being.


Premier League
Manchester City 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 4-1 Burnley
Q.P.R. 1-3 Arsenal
Wolves 0-3 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool
Arsenal 3-0 Blackpool
Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham
Swansea 2-2 Arsenal
Birmingham 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United
Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea
Blackburn 0-2 Arsenal



The race is really getting on now and Manchester United is my main contestant, so will show you what teams we have left to beat in the title race:

Arsenal:
Away Vs. Everton
Home Vs. West Brom
Away Vs. Norwich
Home Vs. Stoke
Away Vs. Newcastle

Manchester United:
Away Vs. Q.P.R.
Home Vs. Liverpool
Away Vs. Wolves
Home Vs. Blackpool

Hey @Ejay, I have loved reading this post. I stumbled across it whilst checking through tactics and the like. It has been so enjoyable and correct me if I'm wrong did you post up a saved game a while back? I'm tempted to have a go at playing from that point on. Anyway, keep up the blogging it's ace and very enjoyable on a dull working day.

Hi Nikleson! Thanks for reading my story, appreciate it. Looked around in my story and found the post where I posted those links to my save, you can see if they are still working HERE. Feel free to give it a go and let me know how it goes.

Arsenal vs Man Utd for the Premier League, how it was for a very long time. Congrats on this story reaching 200 posts and almost 30,000 views, you deserve them very much.

Hey Ejay, this is a brilliant post and FM Rookie backs up my statement :-). I'm waiting with baited breath for the next instalment. Just checked the links and alas they have both expired. Looks like I will have to start with my own little Arsenal challenge.

Thanks to both of you, The FM Rookie and Nikleson, Glad to have some dedicated readers on here, is what keeps the story alive and going. Too bad about the links, maybe I'll put out a save from where I am at now, maybe... maybe...


First lets deal with the disappointment, the Champions League didn't go close to what I expected this season. The teams inability to be dangerous in front of goal in certain matches doomed crucial in this competition witch saw me sent out early after the group stages. The positive to bring from this will be the group stage where goals were scored and points were harvested.

Champions League
Arsenal 4-1 Shakhtar
Anderlecht 2-2 Arsenal
PSG 2-3 Arsenal
Arsenal 3-0 PSG
Shakhtar 0-4 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Anderlecht
1st Panathinaikos 0-0 Arsenal
1st Arsenal 0-0p Panathinaikos


Losing against Panathinaikos felt like a blow below the belt, and with it being on penalties didn't really surprise me much with my teams for on penalty shootouts, not exactly a great performance if i may put it like that.

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Now lets move on to the Carling Cup, here we have some more success to talk of, even with a slow start with just going trough against Preston after scoring a goal in extra time to pull the team trough.

Carling Cup
3rdPreston 2-e3 Arsenal
4thArsenal 3-1 Everton
QtrArsenal 1-0 Leicester
1stSemiBlackpool 0-3 Arsenal
2ndSemiArsenal 3-0 Blackpool
FinalManchester United 1-3 Arsenal
A magnificent win for the gunners! taking the Carling Cup trophy home after running over Manchester United in the final, a true feeling of awesomeness to beat them, the main rivals throughout my whole campaign. Not much time for celebrating since we are jumping over to the next cup results.

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The last and final cup is the FA Cup, the cup with the biggest glory in England. A tough games were fought on the pitch here as well with sides like Tottenham and Manchester City having to step aside for Arsenal to gun trough. Manchester City was the tough team to beat this time around bringing it all the way to a penalty shootout where Neymar took the decisive 7th penalty missing the target by hitting the post.

FA Cup
3rd Arsenal 5-0 Watford
4th Wolves 0-4 Arsenal
5th Burnley 1-1 Arsenal
5th Arsenal e4-2 Burnley
6th Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham
Semi Manchester City 1-1p Arsenal
Final Birmingham 0-1 Arsenal

The double! Yet another domestic cup trophy is brought back home to Emirates Stadium, making it two trophies this season. With this I would like to say that the teams season goal is complete with last season ending in zero trophies. A big leap with youngsters showing what they can do and that they deserve being in the squad.

Soon the league will be determined, stay tuned for the thriller!

The season has come to an end and if you remember it was a close race between myself and Manchester United as I wrote about HERE. So to try and capture the thrill of the conclusion of the season I will be going trough the end game by game set up against Manchester United. And for a quick reminder, I was 1 point ahead of them.

Game 35
Arsenal 4-0 West Brom
Q.P.R. 0-4 Manchester United
Game 36
Norwich 1-1 Arsenal
Manchester United 3-1 Liverpool
Game 37
Arsenal 3-1 Stoke
Wolves 1-1 Manchester United
Game 38
Newcastle 0-2 Arsenal
Manchester United 4-2 Blackpool



After my draw against Norwich I was sure I threw away the title since Manchester United didn't have the toughest of opponents left. The blessing were to come from Wolves, out of all the teams that could take points from them I didn't see Wolves as a realistic team to have on that list this year, but they duly delivered and handed me the title. The treble, this season Arsenal bring home the treble, three trophies in one season is a massive leap forward compared to my trophy less season last season.

Now it is time for celebration, players have been given rewards and big stats are ready to be revealed, the season review is what will be coming up next!

A domestic clean sweep. Congratulations, ejay. You are going crazy good with your story and I hope you spend the next 15-20 days playing this save and achieving more than you have already - which doesn't sound probable because you have done enough to make Arsene Wenger very, very jealous.

Next couple of posts will be my favourite, like in every story, i.e., the transfers. With your save being so far forward, I can't imagine any real signings being made, so let's see how the regens you purchased early on take over from Wilshere and co.

This story has been going strong for a long, long time, I'm not going to find anything wrong with it, and I am going one step further and betting that you will be one of the writers setting the standard for FM13 stories.

I would have to agree with akash, again, that your story has raised the standard for FM writers quite a lot. This story is amongst the top stories on this site by far and I reckon that it would certainty for a "Story of the Year" Award, if there were one.

Yet another season is done, and what a season! Bringing home 3 trophies to make the club another to put down their name on who has taken the treble. Accomplishing this with a philosophy on that youngsters are to be part of the starting team too makes this an even bigger feature and shows that the club has a future to look ahead to.



The roughest competition in my view is the Premier League, is where I have struggled the most to climb to the top, making this victory even sweeter. So for next season I need to work even harder, that 1 point margin wont be there next season in my advantage, so the hard work must keep on going.

Premier League
Arsenal 1-1 Wigan
Aston Villa 1-3 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City
Burnley 1-3 Arsenal
Q.P.R. 0-2 Arsenal
Liverpool 2-0 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves
Arsenal 5-1 Swansea
Blackpool 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham
Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 4-0 Blackburn
Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Everton
Arsenal 2-0 Norwich
West Brom 2-2 Arsenal
Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 5-0 Newcastle
Wigan 0-5 Arsenal
Arsenal 8-0 Aston Villa
Manchester City 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 4-1 Burnley
Q.P.R. 1-3 Arsenal
Wolves 0-3 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool
Arsenal 3-0 Blackpool
Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham
Swansea 2-2 Arsenal
Birmingham 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United
Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea
Blackburn 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 4-0 West Brom
Norwich 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 3-1 Stoke
Newcastle 0-2 Arsenal



With just 2 defeats this season I have to say I am very pleased with dragging along 3-pointers, only improvement I see is the 8 draws this season witch in my opinion is way too many considering who they came against. This again comes down to being dangerous in front of goal every single game, even the ones where the team is dragging.
But now lets go to some season statistics.


PL Top scorers
40 Edinson Cavani - Manchester United
22 Daniel Sturridge - Wolves
21 Yaya Sanogo - Blackpool
20 Jack Wilshere - Arsenal
18 Leigh Griffiths - Blackburn
15 Marek Hamsik - Arsenal
14 James Dick - Arsenal

PL Top Ratings
8.19 Edinson Cavani - Manchester United
7.61 Marek Hamsik - Arsenal
7.42 David Luiz - Manchester United
7.42 Uwe Wagner - Arsenal
7.41 Gelipe Gutierrez - Manchester United
7.37 Jack Wilshere - Arsenal
7.33 Wayne Rooney - Manchester United

PL Top Assists
17 Edinson Cavani - Manchester United
16 Mark Noble - Blackburn
14 Felipe Gutierrez - Manchester United
14 Marek Hamsik - Arsenal
13 Marvin Ogunjimi - Blackpool
13 Yohan Cabaye - Newcastle
13 Uwe Wagner - Arsenal

PL Man of the Match
17 Edinson Cavani - Manchester United
12 Marek Hamsik - Arsenal
6 Daniel Sturridge - Wolves
6 Uwe Wagner - Arsenal
6 Jack Wilshere - Arsenal
6 Yaya Sanogo - Blackpool
5 Neymar - Manchester City



Golden Glove
1st Thibaut Courtois - Arsenal
2nd Jose Reina - Liverpool
3rd David De Gea - Manchester United

Golden Boot
1st Edinson Cavani - Manchester United
2nd Daniel Sturridge - Eolves
3rd Yaya Sanogo - Blackpool

Manager of the year
1st Joseph Guardiola - Manchester United
2nd Bruce Banner - Arsenal
3rd Ståle Solbakken - Birmingham

FWA Footballer of the year
1st Edinson Cavani - Manchester United
2nd Marek Hamsik - Arsenal
3rd Uwe Wagner - Arsenal

PFA Player of the year
1st Jack Wilshere - Arsenal
2nd Vladimir Weiss - Liverpool
3rd Wayne Rooney - Manchester United

PFA Young Player of the year
1st Michael Klijn - Manchester United
2nd Matias Ganarra - Manchester Unted
3rd Jan Dostalek - Wolves

PFA Premier League Team of the year
GK Thibaut Courtois - Arsenal
RB Chris Smalling - Tottenham
LB Fabio Coentrao - Manchester City
CB Marouane Fellaini - Manchester United
CB David Luiz - Manchester United
RW Jack Wilshere - Arsenal
CM Uwe Wagner - Arsenal
LW Marek Hamsik - Arsenal
CM Felipe Gutierrez - Manchester United
ST Edinson Cavani - Manchester United
ST Neymar - Manchester City



Champions League
Arsenal 4-1 Shakhtar
Anderlecht 2-2 Arsenal
PSG 2-3 Arsenal
Arsenal 3-0 PSG
Shakhtar 0-4 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Anderlecht

1st Panathinaikos 0-0 Arsenal
1st Arsenal 0-0p Panathinaikos

Champions League is the big disappointment this season, even tho it's pretty much the only one when you look at the big picture it is a big loss to have an early exit here considering the funds this tournament brings.





Goals
9 Hulk - Porto
8 Cristiano Ronaldo - real Madrid
8 Tomas Gabriel - Sparta Praha
7 Sergio Aguero - Manchester City
7 Andriy Yarmolenko - Manchester City
7 Luis Suarez - Liverpool
7 Vladimir Weiss - Liverpool

Average Rating
8.50 Diogo Souza dos Anjis - Sarajevo
8.25 Dennis Eliasson - Helsingborgs IF
8.15 Karim Bejaoui - Sparta Praha
8.00 Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
8.00 Eldin Dzafic - Sarajevo
7.92 Vladimir Weiss - Liverpool
7.82 Dalibor Takacs - Slovan Bratislava

Assists
7 Vladimir Weiss - Liverpool
6 Karim Bejaoui - Sparta Praha
6 Fabio Coentrao - Manchester City
6 Neymar - Manchester City
5 Uwe Wagner - Arsenal
5 Marek Hamsik - Arsenal
5 Felipe Gutierrez - Manchester United

Man of the Match
5 Hulk - Porto
4 Vladimir Weiss - Liverpool
3 Karim Bejaoui - Sparta Praha
3 Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
2 Julio Cesar - FC Basel
2 Tomas Necid - CSKA Moscow
2 Konrad Gul - Legia Warszawa



FA Cup
3rd Arsenal 5-0 Watford
4th Wolves 0-4 Arsenal
5th Burnley 1-1 Arsenal
5th Arsenal e4-2 Burnley
6th Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham
Semi Manchester City 1-1p Arsenal
Final Birmingham 0-1 Arsenal


An amazing road in the FA cup, certainly not an easy one with having to knock the likes of Tottenham and Manchester City, but the trophy got home to where it should be, in the cabinet on Emirates Stadium. Better makes some more room for next season too.



Goals
5 Espen Kvamme - Cardiff City
4 Danny Haynes - Ipswich Town
4 Denis Seabury - Rochdale
4 Alex Nimely - Gillingham
4 Abel Hernandez - Arsenal
4 Rob Hopkins - Torquay United
4 Uwe Wagner - Arsenal

Average rating
9.20 Hamady Tamboura - Rotherham
9.00 Gerry Byrne - Barnet
8.45 Matt Richards - Shrewsbury
8.40 Danny Haynes - Ipswich
8.40 Jonathan Webster - Rochdale
8.33 Denis Seabury - Rochdale
8.30 Ben Parker - Doncaster

Assists
4 Ian Morris - Stockport County
4 Eden Hazard - Arsenal
3 David Goodwillie - Newcastle
3 James Rodriguez - Liverpool
3 Carlos Morais - Cardiff City
3 Clayton McDonald - Northampton Town
3 Josmar Zambrano -West Brom


Man of the Match
2 Huges Ayivi - Oldham Athletic
2 Viana - Arsenal
2 Ian Morris - Stockport County
2 Anthony Lozano - Birmingham City
2 Rob Hopkins - Torquay United
2 Michael Coulson - Macclesfield Town
2 Stuart Jones - Fleetwood Town



Carling Cup
3rdPreston 2-e3 Arsenal
4thArsenal 3-1 Everton
QtrArsenal 1-0 Leicester
1stSemiBlackpool 0-3 Arsenal
2ndSemiArsenal 3-0 Blackpool
FinalManchester United 1-3 Arsenal





Goals
4 Villyan Bijev - Port Vale
4 Nejc Vrabl - Bolton
4 Gael Kakuta - Manchester United
3 Jamil Adam - AFC Bournemouth
3 Adam Rooney - Sheffield wednesday
3 Iain Hume - Preston North End
3 Matty Fryatt - Leyton Orient

Average rating
9.00 Ross Wallace - Coventry
8.80 Alan Baird - Crawley
8.80 Arif Türmen - Chelsea
8.70 Jake Bidwell - Port Vale
8.70 Kostas Vasileiou - Scunthorpe
8.50 Regionaldo - Plymouth

Assists
3 John Flech - Newcastle
3 Dean Cox - Leyton Orient
3 Roger Allen - Barnsley
3 Billy Haskins - Southampton
3 Alberto Martinez - Arsenal
2 Ganzalo Fierro - Peterborough United
2 Steven Davies - Swansea

Man of the Match
2 Sasa Kesetovic - Nottingham Forest
2 Krisztian Adorjan - Sheffield Wednesday
2 Nejc Vrabl - Bolton
1 Robin van Persie - Arsenal

Name	AAGames	AAGoal(s)	AAAssist(s)	AAAv Rat
Wishere	AA45(9)	AAA25	AAA9	AAA7.34
Dick	AA35(11)	AAA23	AAA8	AAA7.16
Wagner	AA44(7)	AAA20	AAA21	AAA7.44
Hamsik	AA43(6)	AAA20	AAA21	AAA7.56
Hernandez	AA19(11)	AAA15	AAA6	AAA7.16
Hazard	AA41(8)	AAA8	AAA12	AAA7.17
Estrada	AA14(8)	AAA7	AAA1	AAA6.66
van de Kamp	AA36	AAA4	AAA5	AAA6.83
Sakho	AA32(6)	AAA3	AAA0	AAA7.08
Gervinho	AA18(12)	AAA3	AAA9	AAA7.10
Criscito	AA24(18)	AAA3	AAA7	AAA7.09
Viana	AA5(3)	AAA2	AAA3	AAA7.36
Sliney	AA11(2)	AAA2	AAA4	AAA7.25
Solaberrieta	AA3	AAA2	AAA2	AAA7.57
Duboc	AA3(5)	AAA1	AAA0	AAA6.94
Ramsey	AA19(23)	AAA1	AAA5	AAA6.90
Martinez	AA38(8)	AAA0	AAA13	AAA7.12
Bongumba	AA35	AAA0	AAA5	AAA7.34

That is one update! Great work winning the league and cup, I hope that you will have better luck in the Champions League next season

Another fantastic update and woah what a season. Let's see how you can build on this and strengthen over the summer. I wait with baited breath.