The first note is that this formation grants the most in form and clinical finisher in the squad right now, Theo Walcott, a role up front. Walcott cannot lead the Arsenal line by himself, and to bench Giroud in place of him would be a mistake. However, Walcotts pace means that he can finish chances on rapid counterattacks. He has demonstrated in the Capital One Cup that he can link up with Giroud or Chamakh nicely. And putting him in his preferred central role would give Arsenal someone to both play off of Giroud and to be more of a poacher in the box. The more controversial move is to remove Cazorla from the attacking midfield position that he currently occupies and set him further back. This is in no way a reflection of his performance in the role, but a realization that Cazorlas immense talents can be utilized more effectively when he has the positional freedom to get wide. Cazorla is the most technically gifted player in the Arsenal squad now. And one of those talents is the ability to put accurate crosses into the box. Playing him further back in the midfield creates the opportunity to play long diagonal balls up field and to get early crosses into the box from the midfield. In addition to Cazorlas familiarity with playing out wide from his career in La Liga, Cazorla also has the intelligence to know when to drift wide and stretch the defense, and when to use his dribbling skills and vision to drive from the midfield and carve open a defense. And if he tires a bit in this new role, thats what Diaby and Ramsey are on the bench for. Similarly any team that Arsenal fields without Podolski will lack long range shooting ability and impressive defensive work rate that he brings to the side. Moving Podolski to a more central role is an acknowledgement that he must be more involved in the run of play than he has been on the left wing. Podolski does not add natural width to the team and forcing him outside regularly allows him to drift in and out of the game. Getting the ball to him in a more central position would allow him to be a more active part of the game and get the ball in better shooting positions. This only works of course if midfield takes up more of the creative burden. As an added benefit to this formation when Podolski gets tired and needs to come out of the game, as it seems he inevitably does every game, a team with a creative player like Arshavin and Cazorla together on the pitch would be quite a sight. Finally Sagna and Gibbs being back in the Arsenal squad are absolutely critical. Both of these players do something that no one else in the Arsenal starting lineup can do: add width. Despite making great leaps this season and demonstrating that he is the future of Arsenal at right back, Carl Jenkinsons offensive talents are not yet equal to Sagnas. On the left, Santos isnt anywhere close to Gibbs. These two players ability to get forward and their willingness to put in a cross creates the width that Arsenal does not get from current wing players Podolski and Gervinho. While I hope that Arsenal does some shopping in the January transfer window, the problem with this team isnt talent level or technical prowess, its tactics, formation and determination. Getting Poldolski the ball in more useful areas and playing with two center forwards is critical for increasing the goal scoring output. Further, freeing up space in the middle of the pitch by stretching the game, and providing better service for Giroud is critical for the teams success. Doing all of these things will at a minimum ensure a good run in the domestic cups and maybe even a dark horse title challenge.