ARSENAL - GLORY HUNTING
PREPARATIONS COMPLETE
Hello, welcome back to Glory Hunting, my Arsenal, Football Manager career! Today we look to play the friendly games as we build fitness leading up to the Premier League season.
I also look to see if we can improve the squad, ideally I'm hoping to bring a top quality striker to partner upfront with Giroud as I don't think he has the attributes to carry Arsenal in terms of goals. The centre-defensive midfield spot is the one other position I would like to improve. Coquelin and Elmeny can play there but, in my opinion, to be competing in the Premier League and in the Champions League, I would think that the team would benefit from a better quality CDM player.
I have some players on my Shortlist who I think are the players that I would look to sign to be key players. Every player on the shortlist is somebody who I am seriously considering bringing into my team and they are players that I feel will contribute the most to the season.
The list is very striker heavy as I feel this is the position where I will need to look to strengthen the most. Edison Cavani will be the main target, the man I will throw money at to try and persuade both Paris Saint Germain to sell and the player to accept a contract. Although he is very much like Giroud, I think Cavani will bring goals to the team much more consistantly and with having Sanchez and Walcott on the wings, pace upfront isn't a major factor and we will look to attack from down the wings and score via headers or at least from balls into the area.
Cavani, has the perfect stats for what I am looking for in a striker. His 16 composer matched with 15 finishing, makes him lethal up front! Also his physical stats are fairly good as he has 13 strength and decent pace at 16. I am hoping I can pick Cavani up for less than £40m, but PSG can be stubborn and I may end up splashing the cash for the Uruguan but I feel come the end of the season, it will be money well spent!
Matuidi from PSG and Kranevitter are the key targets for the CDM role. Matuidi is definitely the player I will look towards primarily but with hoping to sign Cavani first, PSG may not allow the signing of Matuidi. Kranevitter, is a wonderful young talent and on Football Manager is great. However, with him being young and not as good as Matuidi, he is certainly second choice but because of being young, I may still look to sign him as he will grow into a special talent!
As well as signing players and adding to the Arsenal team, players must leave. Flamini and Chambers are the only two players however that potentially would have been first team that will leave this season.
Flamini, the defensive midfielder, left to Shaktar for a fee worth £825k after the clauses have been paid off. I let him go on the basis that there are already better options within the Arsenal ranks but also because the position he played in was one I am looking to improve the quality in. This meant that when he is out of favour, I could see him coming to me and asking for more game time, something I would not be willing to give to him. I took action now so that later in the season the squad doesn't get disrupted or dishearten because of not getting football games.
Calum Chambers is a fantastic player I intend to use as he progresses through his career, however at this moment in time, I felt as though there are already better options at Arsenal with the likes of Hector Bellerin. A season loan to Newcastle where Chambers will be a valuable first team player will do the player good in his career, before returning to me looking for first team action.
Preseason friendlies went fantastically well! We managed to win comfortably in the games, all except the final friendly vs Sporting Lisbon where we humbled to a disappointing 1-1 draw.
Overall, I am very pleased with the way the preseason games went and I think the side looks in great shape as the season draws closer.
However, there is always some negativity and that for me comes in the form of an injury. And to who else but Olivier Giroud! Out for 4-5 weeks, my main striker will miss the opening weeks of the Premier League campaign which is a massive blow but also adds to the desperate need to sign Cavani.
Despite Girouds injury, we played very well and scored lots of goals. Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott impressed as they scored in plenty of the games and Walcott even managed a hattrick in the game against Getafe.
With a great preseason in the bag, my Arsenal team are looking roaring to go when the Premier League begins. With winning the FA Cup, Arsenal do have the chance to win the first piece of silverware on offer this season, it may not be a massive trophy to fill the cabinet but its still a trophy and I will look to send a strong team out at Wembley to overcome London rivals Chelsea in the Community Shield. Sanchez looks like he could be a huge part of the team, but it will be the defence I will be calling on most, hopefully they can keep the likes of Hazard and Pedro quiet and it'll be an easy victory under the arch.
Join me tomorrow, to see how we do in the Community Shield game, and I will also have made some initial advances on transfer targets. All that in tomorrows post, but for now, thanks for reading. See you soon!
Lee Harwood.
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