Flank Attack 4-2-3-1

I managed Arsenal with this tactic for two consecutive seasons, achieving over 100 league points each time. To test the consistency of the system, I also ran full-season simulations with Chelsea and Sunderland. Chelsea finished 3rd (with an expected points ranking of 1st), while Sunderland finished 10th (expected points ranking 6th).

Unfortunately, I no longer have all the old save files, so I can only provide the Arsenal season screenshots. I also can’t find the detailed goal and assist distribution for the first season. However, from my observation, the scoring pattern was roughly: both wingers ≈ attacking midfielder > striker. I hope this information is detailed enough for evaluation.

The core idea of this tactic is to activate the three attacking midfield positions (two wingers and the AMC) by having the central striker make some tactical sacrifices, allowing the inside channels (half-spaces) to become the main attacking zones. When both the inside forward and the mezzala (or attacking CM) are used together, the team’s offensive output becomes very dynamic.

I also noticed, like others have mentioned, that scoring from set pieces seems extremely difficult in FM26. I used the default corner routines, so I’m not sure whether this is due to the new match engine placing greater emphasis on set-piece tactics compared with FM24.

I hope my tactic can be tested. Thank you!