The Gunners entered the match without Andrei Arshavin, Alex Song and William Gallas among other but Porto were also missing a couple of very important players on the day. However, unlike Arsenal, the Portuguese had a keeper present in the match. It is a usually a bit harsh blaming one man for the defeat but not after what Lukasz Fabianski has done in Portugal. He first spilled an easy cross from Varela to gift the hosts the lead before handing Porto the opportunity to score one of the most bizarre goals you will ever see. Not only did the Pole catch the ball with his hands after the back-pass by Cambpell, but he also handed the ball to Porto player Ruben Micael, who showed his intelligence by setting up Falcao to score into an unguarded net.

The two mistakes against Porto are likely to cost Fabianski dearly in the remainder of his career as he will always be remembered by the Porto game, especially if Arsenal do not go through, but the Gunners have to recover as quickly as possible as they still have something to play for this season.

Arsene Wenger’s side are more than capable of overturning a one-goal deficit from the first leg but they will have to be wary of very good Porto side, who caused Manchester United and Chelsea all sorts of problems. It’s definitely a good thing that Nicklas Bedntner is back as we really lacked physical presence up front, while Arshavin, Song and Gallas should also be back for the return leg. Having said that, I really believe the Gunners will make it through to the next round despite all the problems and will, therefore, recommend betting odds of 1.85 offered by Bwin on Arsenal to qualify.

Wenger’s visionary decision to switch to 4-3-3 at the start of the season proved to be the turning point for Arsenal, who started playing some impressive stuff, mostly because Cesc Fabregas was given more freedom to do his magic with Denilson and especially Alex Song watching his back. Song has become one of the most important players in the side even though he had largely struggled the previous season, while Andrei Arshavin and Thomas Vermaelen proved that big name signings are an absolute must for Arsenal.

Everything was going well in the opening stages of the season, right until the players started getting injured one by one, as if someone has put a curse on Wenger’s side. Even without Van Persie, Fabregas, Clichy, Walcott, Bendtner and others, the Gunners kept playing well and stayed near the top, which is something not too many teams would be able to achieve with so many key players on the sidelines.

With 18 games to go, Arsenal are sitting just three points behind Chelsea and next few weeks will be crucial for the outcome of the season. The Blues will be without Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou during this period, which will certainly damage their chances, while Wenger could count on almost fully fit squad very soon. Cesc Fabregas is fit and Bolton felt it last weekend, just like Gael Clichy, while Walcott, Gibbs and Bendtner should all be fit by the end of January. With Robin van Persie unlikely to feature again this season, Wenger could severely boost our title chances by signing an established centre forward in January. If we do manage to sign a world-class player in the transfer window, then I would be tempted to back Arsenal for the title since the odds are as high as 5.70 at PinnacleSports.

First Arshavin and then Fabregas realized team’s lack of height and strength compared to teams like Chelsea or Stoke was making life very difficult for them, with the 3:0 defeat to Chelsea being the perfect proof. Wenger probably didn’t realize he was getting rid of the only two powerful players in the squad by selling Toure and Adebayor, and he probably now regrets that decision.

While superior technical skills of Wenger’s players give Arsenal an extra edge over most of their opponents, the lack of height and diminutive stature set them back a great deal when playing more physical teams. It is no wonder Arsenal have problems at set pieces and when things get physical with players like Song, Denilson, Arshavin, Fabregas or Nasri in the side, especially when these are pitted against the likes of Drogba, Terry, Carvalho, Mikel and Essien.

While Wenger isn’t prepared to admit his current side suffer from inability to match their opponents in open battle, it is probably not a surprise that Arsenal were at their best when tall and hard players like Petit, Vieira, Gilberto, Henry and Bergkamp were in the squad. If you are reading betting previews you know that Bendtner and Diaby are likely to return into action very soon, but it is more than evident the boss needs to address this problem as soon as possible. With the centre forward a priority in January, Wenger needs to make sure he buys a powerful striker, who can offer a sheer physicality in addition to much needed goals on regular basis.

If we are to fight for honours this term or any time soon, Wenger has got to add some strength and much needed height to the side. Arsenal remain the side with the biggest attacking potential and talent in the league but it is crucial to develop in other areas as well and to finally offer a new dimension to our much praised slick passing style.

There is no doubt Wenger has a very talented team at his disposal but it was again a case of kids versus men when they played mighty Chelsea last weekend. It seems the boss has finally realized he needs to sign new players in January and a striker is definitely the top priority.

With Van Persie set to miss a big part of the season and neither Bendtner nor Eduardo good enough to command a starting berth, Wenger needs a striker who can step right into the starting line-up. Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh looks like the first pick at the moment but I am not sure he would be the perfect signing for the Gunners. The Moroccan is a very good player indeed but he is not a real marksman and that is what Arsenal (Arsenal news) need at the moment. Wenger needs a player who can score goals on regular basis and it looks as though Carlton Cole could be our man.

The boss is thought to be very interested in signing the West Ham forward after seeing him in action on more than a few occasions and I believe Cole would be a very good signing. Carlton Cole goals have helped West Ham a great deal this season and I can really see him score 20 odd goals per season for Arsenal. He’s had some injury problems lately but if he recovers before January, Wenger is likely to act. The Hammers may be unwilling to sell at the moment but they will certainly change their mind if the right offer comes in.

There is no doubt Arsenal need reinforcements in other positions as well but a good centre forward would definitely be a good start.

This game comes at a bad time for the Gunners since the boss has several important players out with injuries and he faces a couple of big dilemmas. With both Van Persie and Bendtner sidelined, Wenger has just two options for the centre forward place. He can either use Eduardo, who struggled to make an impact against Sunderland or go with Walcott, who hasn’t played in this position for four years. It will be a gamble either way but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Walcott get the nod. Arshavin will start on left flank, with Nasri or Rosicky vying for the third place in attack. Armand Traore is the logical choice for the left-back position since both Clichy and Gibbs are sidelined.

The question is how to beat Chelsea? Wenger’s 4-3-3, which is close to 4-5-1, will give Arsenal an extra man in midfield, although that could be neutralized with Anelka dropping behind Drogba in order to help his midfielders. Ancelotti’s diamond formation is the weakest when being attacked from the wings and this is why Gael Clichy will be sorely missed. Armand Traore has played just a couple of games this season and he cannot be expected to step up the plate in such an important game but if he helps Arshavin up front as much as Clichy would do if he was fit, then Chelsea will have real problems on the right side of defence. Sagna can also cause the Blues real problems on the opposite side and doubling players on the wing looks like the only way to penetrate Chelsea’s defence. Arsenal have very strong midfield but definitely not as strong as Chelsea.

Since we cannot expect Arsenal to keep a clean sheet in this match, attacking Chelsea looks like the right way to go since the Blues are not really used to defending for their lives. The Gunners need to play to their strengths on Sunday and these are obviously talent, pace and flair. I am pretty sure Arsenal can win this game. Stranger things are happening in football today.

I was really surprised when Wenger didn’t buy a striker to replace Greedybayor and even more so when he shifted Van Persie to the centre forward role. The Dutch striker soon proved it was a great decision by playing an important part in Gunner’s great start of the season but now he is injured. The obvious solution would be to move Niclas Bendtner from the wing but, how about that, he is injured as well. The Dane is expected to return in two weeks’ time, which means he’ll miss at least three games. Therefore, we need someone else.

Andrei Arshavin has been used in a central role during the last 10 minutes of the AZ game and even though he did considerably well, I am not sure he is the man for the job. The Russian is best used as a second striker or alternatively on the wing, where he can work his magic and showcase his enormous talent. It would be wrong to utilize him in a position where he would play back to goal during the entire game as he simply wouldn’t be as efficient.

In the situation like this when Wenger doesn’t have a lot of options to choose from, I see Eduardo as the logical choice. The Brazilian, or if you prefer it, the Croatian forward is a highly technical player (aren’t they all at Arsenal) and he has strong enough physique to sustain the challenges of opposition centre-halves. He is extremely dangerous in the box and has the quality to create a difference if nothing else is working. Arsenal’s new style of play doesn’t require a powerful forward, hence I see Eduardo as the perfect replacement for RVP and hope Wenger shares the same opinion.