6 Things I Find Interesting About Arsenal's FIFA 13 Rankings

New cover, featuring Arsenal's own Oxlaide-Chamberlain

It's that time of year when Football fans across the globe go mental over the latest installment of EA's FIFA.  The older I get, the less FIFA I play and the more diapers I change, but I'll still be in line on September 25th to fork over my 60 bucks of hard earned cash.  I'll not pretend that these rankings are a 100% accurate reflection of real world football, but it's an excellent game; definitely the best of it's kind, and arguably the best of any kind.  A lot of research goes in to assigning these numbers, and like it or not, it's probably one of the best systems available for ranking individual players.  Here's how the dust settled for Arsenal;

Goal Keepers:

Szczesny -79

Fabianski -76

Mannone -70

Defenders:

Sagna -80

Jenkinson -62

Yennaris -60

Gibbs -78

Santos -79

Djourou -75

Koscieliny -82

Vermaelen -82

Mertasacker-78

Squillachi -72

Mid Fielders:

Diaby -72

Rosicky -80

Arteta -78

Wilshere -79

Ramsey -79

Arshavin -82

Coquelin -69

Frimpong -69

Attackers:

Podolski -83

Giroud -83

Walcott -81

AOC -75

Gervinho -81

Chamakh -77

1.  FIFA was very kind to Arsene Wenger and his summer transfer signings.  Our top 2 overall players are Podolski and Giroud.  Cazorla isn't included here, but I imagine he'll be along with the first roster update, and I would expect his rating to exceed 83.  That means, in the world of FIFA, our 3 best players will have been with Arsenal for a total of 3 matches.  Make of that what you will.

2. Szczesny failed to reach 80, a mark I generally associate with world-class players.  This is a surprise to me.  I figured he would have surpassed that rating this year.  I'm also surprised to see how high the mark is for Fabianski, just 3 points below Szczesny, although Fabinaski is down a point from last year.

3. Arshavin is an 82, a point below our top players.  I don't feel like I need to explain why this is odd, but unlike Wenger, I'll be using the little Russian when I'm setting my lineup.

4. Koscielny and Vermaelen also check in at 82, making the central defense look very strong.  Interestingly, Mertesacker got hit with a 78, a significant drop from Koscielny's mark.  This probably has a lot to do with pace, which is a pretty important tribute for a player in FIFA.  I suppose the same is true in the real world, but I thought Mertesacker's height would have yielded him something a little higher.

5. Maybe somebody should tell Francis Coquelin that his FIFA rating is a 69.  That's not going to get him on the pitch in my living room, and if we're to put any stock in the accuracy of these numbers, that's not going to get him on the real-world pitch either. 

6. Wilshere and Ramsey have the same rating?  That's an abomination.  

Let me know what you guys think.  What sticks out for you?  Also, make sure you come visit me on Facebook.  We topped 1000 likes over at XI Nation today.  Thanks for reading!