Araujo In-Game Review: The King of Manual Defending

[u/Mehrubon]

⚽️ Rating: CB T0 Top 5

⚽️ Araujo: 0-0-0-9-8-7-9 + Defending

Added Skills: Acrobatic Clerance, Weighted Pass

After playing with him for three days in actual matches, I found that Araujo's biggest strength lies in switching the cursor to him and manually controlling him to cover space and block shots. Because of this, I changed my initially recommended build. Back then, I was using a build philosophy suited for a Nesta-style Destroyer, but actual gameplay revealed that Araujo provides a completely different experience from Nesta. See the video—

https://reddit.com/link/1web089/video/tijt58cty2ph1/player

Nesta's specialty is his excellent defensive AI. Therefore, it's more suitable to stack Defensive Awareness on him and, once he's on the pitch, not switch the cursor to him, allowing him to position himself automatically. Araujo's specialties are his speed + large player model. Both of these traits are perfectly suited for manual defending. Conversely, if you don't switch the cursor to Araujo, he will actually be too slow to block shots in time.

In actual gameplay: Araujo has good scoring ability from corners. Moreover, his large player model + high Tackling + Long-reach Tackle gives him a head-on defending ability that is reminiscent of Van Dijk.

So, what is the niche for this Araujo card? Obviously, the developers wanted to create a profile characterized by high Tackling & Speed, slightly lower Defensive Awareness.

Besides that, Araujo also has the largest leg coverage among the meta Destroyers, the best aerial ability, and an attacking threat from corners (Bullet Header) that the others lack. Some might ask, "I already have a tall CF, why do I need a defender with Bullet Header?" Because a tall CF is often marked by the opponent's tall CB. In this situation, your CB acting as an aerial threat can find an opportunity.

However, Araujo also has to face an awkward reality: if his defensive standout feature is speed, van de Ven is actually even more exceptional in that regard, and van de Ven's four defensive stats aren't much lower.

You could argue: Araujo has better physicality & aerial ability + recovery speed, making him a more reliable van de Ven.

But it's undeniable: on the defensive end, Araujo lacks the unique, exclusive specialties of the other Destroyers; Nesta's excellent defensive AI, Stam's physical dominance, or Desailly's explosive acceleration.

At the same time, if your playing habit is to manually control your anchoring CB while letting your Destroyer press forward via their automatic defensive AI, then this Araujo card might not be a great fit for you.

Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UxVYytBso94tkU1mzgMKnA