Game Date: 10/8/2015
Friendlies went very well aside from a 3 week injury for Cavani which was a slight set back however he did make full match fitness before the Community Shield. The games included a 1-1 home draw with Real Madrid.
Looking to win our 3rd consecutive Community Shield wasn't easy with the challengers being Man City for the first time. They took an early through an Mario Balotelli penalty but Cavani's equaliser on the half hour had us level at the break. Throughout the second half we dominated the field and got the reward on 73 minutes when Eden Hazard found the net; but City managed to counter and make it 2-2 on 81" with a goal from Dzsudzsak.
Penalties followed and with Cavani missing the first it wasn't looking great but Szczesny saved the 2nd and it was level until the seventh round of spot kicks where Aaron Ramsey fired wide and Nigel de Jong completed the win for City.
I felt we had done enough to deserve the win but at the end of the day its not an important competition and the positives taken from the performance should serve us well as the league kicks off.
Transfers
Per Mertesacker had turned 30 and his stats were starting to suffer so I decided to move him on as he was surplus to requirements even as a backup after the arrival of young Manni, he moved to Juventus for a better than expected £15m. Walcott had made just 11 appearances for me last season and had shown no signs of recovering from the 2 5 month injuries he's suffered in previous seasons, so Man City took him off my hands for £10m. A handful of reserve and youth players I deemed not worthy of a contract extension, including Andre Santos, left on a free.
Aside from the £18m arrival of Federico Manni mentioned in my last post I'd only taken on a couple of youth players. However with 3 weeks left of the window I may yet add to my squad should they fall below par during the opening games.
Player Watch
Youth
An in-depth analysis of future stars I've taken on and what I expect them to grow into.
Aleksander Luczak (DM, MC)
First scouted this regen after my first season at the age of 15 and he really stood out for me so I wasted no time signing him up. Costing just £350k from Osnabruck in the 3rd tier of German football I'd kept him in my main squad since he arrived and acts as cover for Alex Song in the holding midfielder role; has so far made a total of 38 apps with 6 assists and 1 goal in 3 seasons.
Mattheus Poell (DL, DR)
Another regen I scouted after my first season was this full back with 4.5 star potential which with the current lack of quality full backs in the game I marked as a must buy; costing 2m from Ajax. After not being able to find a suitable loan deal in his first season I'd allowed him to stay in the U18 squad but he did make 8 apps for the first team that year. In 2013/14 He had really started to develop well and become my primary backup fullback on both sides and over the next 2 seasons bagged 47 appearances creating 2 goals and collecting 1 man of the match award. Now aged 20 my assistant believes him to have the same ability as Cristian Ansaldi at left back and I'll be rotating them over the coming season.
Klaid Shehu (DR)
Again bought at the end of 2011/12 Shehu showed similar potential as Poell at the age of 15 and cost me £1.9m from Freiburg. Spent his first season with the U18s and was developing well so I drafted him into the Senior team as a backup and gave him some cup games, unfortuneately he suffered a 2 month injury which has slowed his development slightly but made 18 appearances in the last 2 seasons and collected 1 MoTM. With recent signings taking precedence I've just loaned Shehu to Dortmund for the coming season where he should get more first team exposure.
Uros Lalatovic (AMC, MC)
Costing £2.3m from FC Nantes in the January window of 2013, this 15 year old shows some real promise and I have high expectations for him. I've only been able to give him one cup game so far due to a large amount of midfielders already but he's had good loan spells with Sheffield United & Ipswich; will be spending the next season with Bordeaux in Ligue 1.
Emile Nounagnon (MC)
An 18 year old Cameroonian I found in Brazil who cost me just £275k, Emile is yet to play for the Arsenal first team but his attributes are rocketing month by month and has just left for his second season on loan at Dortmund. At 20 he already has 12 caps for his country.
Mirko Grubic (ST, AMC)
Scouted at 15 at Gladbach shows real promise and is currently developing in his second year in the U18 Squad. Cost me £1.4m and at 16 has some very competitive attributes and could soon be part of the first team setup, does however seem to quite prone to injury.
Cherif Zaoui (DR)
Drafted in during last seasons January window as I badly needed some cover for Sagna due to injuries. Cost a sizeable £8.5m with £3m more in future fees the 17 year old had 3 scouts mark him as a definite purchase, made 5 appearances since his arrival. Like Grubic he does seem quite prone to injury and has spent ~2 months out of the last 8.
Carazinho (AMC, MC)
After not being able to secure a new contract with Sao Paulo I poached this youngster on a free just before the January 2015 window and immediately moved to Salamanca where he will spend the next 24 months obtaining a spanish passport. Has some good stats and I've got high hopes of what he can achieve.
Alexander Schubert (ST, AMC)
Another youngster I managed to get on a free is this exciting German, At 17 with excellent Physical stats and very promising mental and technical I've decided to keep him in the first team as my 3rd choice. Hopefully some easy ties in the cups will allow him to start more games.
Jon Edge (ST)
Now 19, Edge has been with me since the 2011/12 youth intake and has shown remarkable signs of improvement since then. In 2013/14 he had a loan spell with Preston in which he made 12 appearances and scored 5. He'll be spending the coming season with West Ham in the championship and should continue his development well.
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