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Mesut Ozil for me is the best number 10 in the world, his eye for a defence cutting pass is 2nd to none and I'm at a loss to why he is on the left/right. Now I know that our wide players have freedom to drift into the centre to overload that area but it means that he gets on the ball later in the play and by then the defence is deeper and the run by our striker has finished. It also means he is on the ball less and therefore has less of an effect on the game. Another strength of his, is the ability to

When he’s unfit this game is rendered ineffective. He’ll be tackled or fouled cheaply by the first man, or the defence will have time to get organised and close off the space. Because he’s off-rhythm he won’t time his distribution properly. Adjusting to the extra pressure of facing a defensive line that can see him coming, his passing in behind is wayward. Then, apparently mindful of his performance, he overcompensates and ends up trying to force opportunities that aren’t there. It all adds up to more cul-de-sacs and possession lost.

When he joined the club, he was greeted as a saviour as he was the replacement to the fish and chip addict that is Andre Santos, and had a more than solid start to his career here. However over time I've seen people slate him more and more to the point where some see him as a joke of a player. Which simply isn't true. In my opinion I don't think there is much difference between him and Gibbs(I'm looking forward to people angrily reacting to that sentence). I feel that Gibbs's dribbling ability and pace make him appear a better player, and yes he is a better one-on-one tackler. However Monreal has his own

in this case they seem to even be better than the players they replaced. Debuchy good going forward and very good with crosses and has surprisingly put in a good shift in the defensive side of his game. I consider him an upgrade on Sagna. Calum Chambers has clearly been a revelation at centre back. He has shown that he is ready to cut it with the best in the big stage so he is a good replacement for Vermaelen. Ospina, from the little I saw of him in the world cup, is a brilliant buy who can give Chezzer an effective competition

 His defensive instincts are very solid, particularly for someone who plays in an attacking position and I think this has sometimes had a detrimental effect because it has encouraged managers to use him in a wide role with a defensive remit, which is something he can do well but doesn't really show him at his best. He also has a superb attitude and work ethic, which makes me think he will thrive under a development-minded manager like Wenger.

With Giroud unlikely to return for a while it is down, to Alexis and Sanogo to fill the void. Alexis is not naturally a centre forward and has spent most of his career playing behind them as a 10 or out wide. However as has been discussed at length he could be turned into one; this however will take time as it means that not only does he, and his team mates have to get used to each other to create the, almost telepathic understanding needed with Wenger’s Arsenal, he needs to adapt to a new position and the different challenges it poses. Whilst it is true that the idea of a fixed centre forward, and thus the fixed idea of the skills they must have, is an anachronism it does pose different challenges to a player such as holding the ball up for team mates and providing more runs into the box.

A prime example of this was Everton on Saturday. Mathieu Debuchy is very capable going forwards and backwards, despite not being as quick as some people had hoped. His eagerness is admirable, although it does leave a few gaps on the right hand side, which on Saturday, Everton were happy to try and exploit. For the first 20 minutes in particular, Debuchy seemed very hungry to get forward. I was a bit concerned about this, as I’ve only seen Chambers play a couple of times in our system, and wondered how he’d cope with having to cover so much ground and make such important challenges against a high calibre of opponent. He coped with it

However, reliably informed BBC journalist, David Ornstein, has suggested that a striker still isn't a priority for Arsenal. Uh-oh. The fear and angst amongst the fans is palpable. The prospect of giving Alexis TIME to adapt, or giving Sanogo TIME to develop, or waiting a little more TIME for Walcott to return to full fitness is working up a collective cold sweat. Of course, this is understandable and not for one minute am I suggesting not signing striker cover is a wise move for Arsenal, but the manic scramble that is often affiliated with Arsenal at the end of a window seems to be more synonymous with the fans and media than the club itself

Podolski, even when he's been tried centrally, has typically been a non-factor there.  The problem is that Podolski is not a dogged runner off the ball.  At times he will make breaks or play one-twos with teammates, but he's as often seen walking or merely jogging. Worse, Podolski seems unable to cross the penalty spot and operate on the right side of the pitch with the same confidence as the left.  As strong as his left foot is, his right foot is relatively weak.  Any striker, even a poacher, must be able to operate over the entire front of the goal.  And Podolski also doesn't have aerial skills that might mitigate some of this.

To start with we have Debuchy. He has a slightly different style to the player he replaced, in that when we have the ball his positioning is much higher up the pitch. This has led us to switch the majority of our play from the left to the right but has also had an affect on how we switch the play to that side. With Sagna when one of our midfielders had the ball, he was usually level with play, where as Debuchy is usually looking for a diagonal ball which saw a lot of passes going out of play on the right hand side as our player's instincts were to play it square. It seems like a small factor but we use our fullbacks for width and they are important in