Arsenal have spent huge money enhancing their attacking
options in recent years, splashing club-record fees
on Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
and Nicolas Pepe.
Alongside playmaker Mesut Ozil,
the result is a top-heavy squad that is difficult to get the best out of on FIFA 20.
Those four are the Gunners' top-rated outfield players,
so it's vital to have the team set up to play to their strengths.
Nobody wants to recreate the lackluster attacking football of the final days of Unai Emery's time in charge.
Here, we show you how to get the
best out of Arsenal's considerable attacking talent.
The big question with Arsenal is do you go with one striker or two? The answer, for FIFA 20,
is one, meaning Aubameyang should be played off the left,
but fear not, we can get him into the box often.
He's the side's best finisher, so making sure he's in a danger area is key.
Set the team to 4-3-3 Attacking formation, with Pepe on the right and Lacazette through the middle.
Make sure Ozil supports them in the No. 10 position. Set your defensive style to
"balanced" and your defensive width to five bars.
For defensive depth, setting it to three bars will make you
less vulnerable at the back. More importantly,
it should open up more space
for you to exploit at the other end of the pitch, allowing you to take advantage of Aubameyang
and Pepe's pace with some devastating counter-attacks.
Selecting "fast build up" as your offensive style should help with
that, too. Set your attacking width to four bars.
Auba and Pepe are the most effective cutting inside onto their strong feet,
so you need to keep things relatively narrow. Set players in box to seven bars.
You won't be pumping too many crosses into the area,
but when you do, you'll want options to aim for.
Player instructions are also vital to making Arsenal excel.
To keep Aubameyang in the right area, set his defensive support to
"stay forward," his chance creation to "cut inside"
and his support on crosses to "get into the box." Changing his support runs to "get in
behind" will help utilize his blistering pace.
The same goes for Pepe, whose chance creation should also be set to "cut inside,"
but don't place him on "stay forward."
If you find the two wingers are popping up too wide for your style of play,
don't be afraid to move them a little closer to Lacazette and the penalty area
by holding the square or X button and adjusting their position with the left stick.
As for Lacazette, instruct him to "stay central"
so he can provide a focal point to the attack
and link up with the others. Behind them, set Ozil to "stay forward."
He won't be doing much tracking back with his low defensive work rate anyways,
but it's best to keep him planted
as often as possible. Set the playmaker's positioning to "free roam"—allow him to naturally find space
and get on the ball so he can dictate with passes
in dangerous areas. Your main source of width in the final third
will come from the full-backs. Kieran Tierney is the best choice to get up
and down the left flank thanks to his
pace and stamina. Instruct him to "join the attack" with "overlapping runs".
He'll fill the space left by Aubameyang. On the right, Hector Bellerin can overlap Pepe.
Once you're ready to hop into a game, use Dani Ceballos
and Ozil to quickly move the ball up through the center of the pitch,
where you can best make use of the German's passing
and vision to thread through balls to the front three.
Utilizing quick combinations between the forwards is also an effective way of creating openings
in the opposition's defense. Arsenal's forwards have poor heading stats,
so be sure to keep the ball low in the attacking third.
This is even more true when you realize how difficult it is to score headers on FIFA 20.
Aubameyang has the best heading accuracy with 75.
While Ozil's is just 51. So, there's not a great deal of aerial prowess to work with.
When you work your way into a shooting position,
it's worth remembering that Auba, Pepe and Ozil all have the "finesse shot" trait.
So, they're particularly effective
when some curl is applied to their efforts on goal. To further maximize your attacker's effectiveness,
make use of their preferred foot when possible.
Aubameyang and Lacazette
are right-footed, but with four-star ratings in using their left,
it's perfectly fine to shoot with either.
Ozil and Pepe only have two-star ratings in using their right,
so keep them on their left. This setup is an attack-minded and sometimes frantic approach,
but it's one that plays to Arsenal's strengths given their
imbalanced squad. Clean sheets might be at a premium,
but it's liberating to adopt a "we'll score one more than you"
attitude, and it's deeply satisfying once you get their explosive forwards operating on song.