The Invincibles
..in Football Manager 2024
Far and away the most iconic team in Premier League history, Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal dazzled with pace, power, elegance, and artistry, completing an unprecedented unbeaten season known simply as the Invincibles.
The Invincibles
The Invincibles lined up in a fluid and expansive 4-4-2 formation, combining pace and power with elegance and artistry to produce aesthetically breathtaking football.
Left Flank
Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, and Ashley Cole combined on the left flank to overwhelm opponents.
Counter Attack
Devastating counter-attacks turned defence into attack in an instant, spearheaded by the electric pace of Thierry Henry.
Physicality
The Invincibles were physically dominant and aggressive, led into battle by captain Patrick Vieira, with ‘invisible wall’ Gilberto Silva shielding the defence.
Manchester United Rivalry
Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal famously clashed with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, resulting in an era of unprecedented rivalry, defining the Premier League for over a decade.
In Football Manager 2024
Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles can best be represented in Football Manager 2024 in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Bergkamp withdrawn, in a playmaker role.
Left Flank
Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, and Ashley Cole combined to overwhelm opponents, forming the most devastating left flank in Premier League history.
Playing a Balanced team mentality allows us to use Attack duties while retaining a balanced individual mentality structure.
Attack duties on the left flank, and Support duties on the right flank gives us an Attacking individual mentality on the left, and Positive individual mentalities on the right, promoting that left-side bias.
I would ideally like the left back to play with an Attacking mentality, but that is unfortunately not possible within the constraints of the Tactics Creator.
Combined with Focus Play down the Left and Thierry Henry drifting Wide, we have that Invincibles left-side dominant attack.
Bergkamp Role
Dennis Bergkamp was an elegant and enigmatic ‘Number 10’ playmaker and the perfect partner for Thierry Henry, but had lost some of his dynamism, having reached 34 years old during the Invincible season.
I chose Enganche (Support) as a naturally static playmaker role reflecting his aging - naturally less dynamic - and creative role connecting midfield and attack.
Readers may prefer to use Deep-Lying Forward (Support); however, I chose not to, as I see Bergkamp as more of a playmaker than a hold-up striker. No striker role perfectly suits him.
Counter Attack
Thierry Henry spearheaded a lethal counter-attack, which could turn defence into attack in an instant.
The electric counter-attack is built by:
Counter in transition
High Tempo & Pass into Space
Forward Runs into attacking positions
The biggest challenge in replicating the Invincibles is player profiles. Beyond Mbappe, players like Thierry Henry are few and far between, particularly these days when wide-forward type strikers are out of fashion. Best bet is to convert a winger.. 😉
Context
Context is particularly important when analysing teams that played before the current ‘pressing and control’ tactical META, which has permeated throughout world football.
The Invincibles long predate many mainstream tactical concepts.
Pressing
Build up
Positional attacking patterns
As a result, the team:
Set up in a compact medium block
Play without pre-orchestrated build-up patterns
Attack with fluidity & freedom rather than positional structure
Opponents are also far more compact, organised, and structured than the defences the Invincibles faced at the time, so games will naturally look and feel different within the Match Engine.
Player Instructions
GK Sweeper Keeper (Defend): None
DR Wingback (Support): None
DC Central Defender (Cover): None
DC Central Defender (Defend): None
DL Wingback (Attack): None
MR Inverted Winger (Support): Roam from Position + Sit Narrower
CM Central Midfielder (Defend): None
CM Central Midfielder (Support): None
ML Inverted Winger (Attack): Roam from Position + Sit Narrower
AMC Enganche (Support): None
CF Complete Forward (Attack): Stay Wider
Thank you
Thank you very much - as always - for reading and supporting my writing; I hope you find some inspiration to take into your own saves and tactics.
Please feel free to share any suggestions or requests on anything you’d like me to cover before Football Manager 2026.
Until next time! 🥂
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