FIFA 22 Arsenal Career Mode Guide: Starting lineup and who to sign

Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in English football, but it's been a downward spiral for the North Londoners over the past several seasons.

With Champions League football seemingly out of reach for the Gunners, have you got what it takes to rebuild the great team that once was and challenge for major trophies in FIFA 22 Career Mode?

Team Rating

Arsenal has a 4.5-star rating in FIFA 22.

The breakdown of the ratings is as follows: ATT 83, MID 81, DEF 77.

Starting Lineup and Formation

The 4-2-3-1 formation is most suitable for Arsenal to get the most out of their attackers whilst remaining defensively stable at the back.

The wide or narrow variation can be used depending on your own personal preference.

Starting with the skipper and striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The captain has been downgraded since FIFA 21, but is still one of the best number nines in the game.

The three creative players operating in the space behind Aubameyang are Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Nicolas Pepe, who should provide both goals and assists for the team.

Giving the team defensively stability in midfield are Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.

In the full-back positions we've gone for Kieren Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu, whilst Gabriel Magalhaes partners Ben White in central defence.

Bernd Leno is the man between the posts, although new boy Aaron Ramsdale is certainly a decent second choice.

Tactics and Instructions

With captain Aubameyang being the main target up front, we want to maximise his goal threat.

So, instruct the striker to Stay Forward, Get In Behind and Stay Central to give him the best possible chance of a sight at goal.

Left-back Kieren Tierney is the more attacking of the two full-backs, so instruct the Scotland international to Overlap, whilst keeping Takehiro Tomiyasu on Stay Back While Attacking.

Make sure you instruct your two defensive midfielders to Cover Centre and Stay Back While Attacking, or you may leave yourself vulnerable to the counter attack.

Development Plans

When it comes to developing youngsters, it's difficult to know where to start with this Arsenal squad which is packed full of high-potential players.

Bukayo Saka (POT 88), Martin Odegaard (POT 88) and Emile Smith Rowe (POT 86) can be transformed into a world-class attacking midfield trio with just a few years of training.

Gabriel Martinelli (POT 88) is the perfect player to replace Aubameyang up top, so make sure to develop him into an ST.

We would also switch Takehiro Tomiyasu (POT 86) to a CB as we think his stats are best suited to that position in FIFA 22, but this will mean you'll need to buy yourself a new right-back!

Transfer Market

Starting budget: £78 million

Who should go?

Arsenal seems to have done a good job of clearing out the dead wood in the last couple of years, but there are still more players to be sold.

Pablo Mari (OVR 76), Mohamed Elneny (OVR 77), Sead Kolasinac (OVR 75) and Calum Chambers (OVR 75) can all go to free up some funds for new signings.

We would also be tempted to let Alexandre Lacazette (OVR 82) leave too as he has just one year left on his current contract and the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah will start competing for his place.

The following youngsters can also be sold as their potential rating is not high enough in FIFA 22 to challenge for a first-team spot:

Zane Monlouis, James Olayinka, Joel Ideho, Catalin Cirjan, Tim Akinola

Loans

Charlie Patino (POT 85) is one of the most promising youngsters on the books who isn't near the first team at the moment, so a loan spell early on could do him the world of good.

Folarin Balogun (POT 81), Albert Sambi Lokonga (POT 82), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (POT 81) and Nuno Tavares (POT 80) are all promising young players capable of becoming Premier League quality.

The Gunners already have several players out on loan too, with William Saliba (POT 84), Miguel Azeez (POT 82) and Reiss Nelson (POT 81) the ones to keep an eye on.

Who to sign?

The main area where Arsenal needs upgrading in FIFA 22 is the midfield, with Granit Xhaka just not good enough for the quality of team we are chasing.

A box-to-box midfielder who can break up the play but also drive forward and support the attack is exactly what we are after.

AC Milan’s Franck Kessie (OVR 84) is our favourite in this position, and if you are prepared to wait a season you could snap him up on a free!

With an incredible 94 Stamina and high work rates both defensively and offensively, Kessie really does cover every blade of grass.

Transfer Options (CM/CDM)

Should you choose to take our advice and convert Takehiro Tomiyasu into a centre-back then you'll need to bring in a right-back.

Our top choice would probably be Barcelona's Sergino Dest, who has a potential of 85 OVR and is available for a very reasonable price.

Transfer Options (RB)

Board Expectations

You will have to keep an eye on all your board expectations as manager of Arsenal in FIFA 22 as they are a demanding bunch!

Brand Exposure is the most important one for your popularity with the board as they see it as critical to the success of the club.

The board also have assigned high priority to Domestic Success and Continental Success, so it's important you are performing at the highest level.

The Financial and Youth Development targets are a medium priority, so you don't need to stress too much about these.