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Walcott fanboys would have had reservations over whether he would be able to perform in this unfamiliar role. Lacking both the physical presence and the hold up play that a lone striker would ordinarily require, one would be forgiven for expressing some concern that we might struggle in attack. Walcott would also be up against Vlad Chiriches who was coming off the back of a man of the match dfensive performance at Old Trafford which is still no mean feat for any defender. Thankfully, that accolade for the Sp*rs man proved something to be a one off and any fears Arsenal fans had were quelled as Walcott

I thought Theo had done well, he looked better than he did during his stints as centre forward last season. Finishing aside, I think he played better yesterday than he did when he scored a hat trick against Newcastle in the 7-3 victory last season. More than Theo's individual performance I thought it made the whole team look more dangerous when attacking. The ball never stuck in the way it would do with Giroud and our link up play from striker to midfield wasn't anywhere near as good but when midfielders had the ball in the Tottenham half they didn't just have a 10 yard passing radius, all of a sudden Theo Walcott stretches out the pitch and gives his team mates a bigger area to pass into. I'd even go as far as to say Walcott's centre forward impersonation is better than any of

We got the better of them in this fixture in the beginning of the season but the situation was very different. Tottenham boasting half a new squad of players were supposed to show everyone about the 2013 version of the powershift. Arsenal without any new players aside from Flamini were uner big pressure after an opening day defeat to Villa but Giroud flicked in a Theo Walcott cross that won us the three points. Today we are top of the league and Tottenham have gone through yet another management change. But while perceptions on the two teams have changed, Tottenham's new boss and Arsenal supporter, Tim Sherwood has started very well aside from a league cup home defeat to West Ham.

What happens from now until the close of this window is all very straight forward I reckon. We will have a list of targets of players that fit what Arsene wants, whether that be style of play or mentality, in fact more than likely both and we will try to buy those players. If we cannot get them then we go

Having spent the entire campaign fielding Olivier Giroud as lone striker, it seemed inevitable that, sooner or later, the Frenchmen would pick up an injury, and so it transpired against Newcastle at the weekend. Bendtner, the only other striker in the squad, already not an entirely convincing option to step in, has now been sidelined too. The need for suitable reinforcements in this department could not be more desperate at this point - especially given the rather ineffectual performance of Lukas Podolski as a makeshift centre forward against Cardiff.

It is nice and rather unusual to see Arsenal causing all sorts of problems from crosses. It was a cross that finally broke Cardiff City two minutes from time. Nacho Monreal swung in a deep cross at the far post, Bacary Sagna is one of the few players who could have won that header. The keeper could only parry the ball into the path of Nicklas Bendtner to rifle into the roof of the net from close range.

If Bendtner does start what of Lukas Podolski? If he plays wide left then who will Arsene play on the right. We know that Arsene avoids playing three direct attackers due to team balance but is that purely defensive balance or creative balance? If only the former then a deep duo of Arteta and

We do need another striker, Wenger knows we need another striker and I think if we want to make our life easier in the hunt for the premier league, we have to buy one. The problem is there aren't many "Top Top" strikers available really. Think about it, Suarez is obviously not for sale, and the summer's "non clause" fiasco made them renew his contract which now surely has that clause but for at least 70 million, last summer favourites, Benteke is suffering a "Demba Ba" season, Julian Draxler just like I was saying when we were linked with Jovetic, isn't a striker. I would be very surprised if Diego Costa left high flying Athletico at the moment, especially after deciding to play for Spain instead of Brazil, he would want to guarantee his place in the Spain team ahead Negredo ( that is if

Almost as much as Giroud's goal, Arsenal's resolute, if at times desperate, defensive display was a key factor in securing those three precious points. Returning to the starting line-up after two games on the sideline was Laurent Koscielny who seamlessly slotted back in alongside Per Mertesacker at central back. In the second half, as the defence around them seemed to morph and change shape constantly, the two held their nerve, reorganised and ultimately stood firm to deny the Magpies a would-be equaliser, managing a combined 29 clearances between them. Another stat flying round after the game was that Arsenal haven't lost a league game when the two have been paired (Per-ed?) together for 23 months. Admittedly, I don't know how many matches that actually

Mesut Özil has been given some time off, possibly disguised as a shoulder injury. Aaron Ramsey picked up a knee injury against West Ham on Boxing day and Mikel Arteta was rested to the bench. This meant that our midfield was all taken up by second choice players. Mathieu Flamini, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky came into the team. I think it is lazy to say that Arsenal have a weak squad without acknowledging that certain areas of the squad is actually very strong. I thought that Oliver Giroud may have been rested for this one but thankfully he played another game. He might get that rest against Cardiff City on Wednesday and maybe again against Tottenham in the FA cup