Should Arsenal Revert to a 4-3-3?

The players are capable, the passing game is right. Should Arsenal revert to the formation used by the great Dutch teams of the past and present? Arguably, that is the way forward for the Gunners. A surplus amount of central attacking midfielders and not a single out and out winger, this formation would suit the players at Arsenal and could change the meaning of attacking football as we know it. Currently, the Gunners play a standard 4-4-2 formation with four central defenders, two central midfielders, a player on each flank and two up top.

However, in recent times Wenger has moved towards playing central attacking midfielders on the wing. The likes of Rosicky and Hleb, although performing on the wing will reach nowhere near their full potential if they are continued to be played there. All of the players at Arsenal now that Henry has left would flourish in a 4-3-3 formation. The same back five could be used (Lehmann/Fabianski, Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy)- but the major changes would be in midfield and up front. In a 4-3-3 , generally you have a defensive midfielder sitting in front of the defence and nullifying attacks. This player would be Gilberto, who has proved over the seasons past that he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

Slightly ahead of Gilberto, two attacking midfielders are played- two that can create attacks by either a defence splitting pass or a driving run. These players must know how to defend as well, so for the two attacking midfielders I choose Fabregas and Diaby. Fabregas can play from deep, sending in wonderful through balls for the strikers to run onto while Diaby can play as Vieira did, winning the ball with a crunching tackle and then trying to set up a quick counter attack with a run through the middle of the field.

Up front, there are only two options for the lone striker- Adebayor and Bendtner. Although Van Persie and Walcott could play at the head of the trio of forwards, they are best suited slightly wider. Adebayor and Bendtner have the aerial presence to be able to knock down balls for other players as well as the pace to latch onto any through balls provided by the Spanish wizard Fabregas. In the wing forward positions, I would like to see the likes of Van Persie and Walcott, as well as Rosicky, Hleb and Ljungberg. The wing forwards can constantly swap over, go wide or cut inside- making them near impossible to mark for opposing teams.

Could Arsenal win trophies with this formation? It is hard to see why not, as this formation allows all players to play in their favoured position while containing a certain amount of unpredictability. It offers the option to play Arsenal's beautiful passing game or the option of hoofing the ball to the frontman if needed. Arsenal have finished fourth in the league and trophyless these past two seasons- this new formation could change it all.

Things to Try in Pre Season?

Now that everyone is probably bored with the transfer talk, and the much talked about departure of an Arsenal legend (no names!), I thought I'd question the grey cells on something different. What would you like to see tried out in pre season training, or the various friendly tournaments Arsenal are due to play in? Things that you think would improve us, or just things you'd like to see done, whether it's formations, player positions or set pieces. My shortlist:- The 4-3-3 formation, would like to see it tried out as we all know we have the players for that kind of setup. Would like to see Adebayor or Bendtner up front as the lone striker with two deep lying wing forwards playing off him. A surplus of central attacking midfielders without a single winger means this formation could suit Arsenal down to the ground.

- Kolo Toure in midfield- the guy has everything you could want a midfield enforcer to have- controlled aggression, loping runs and crunching tackles. Is one of the most eager players to get us into games when we are behind and undoubtedly his energy is better suited to midfield, especially as his lack of heading ability is often exposed in defence.

- Eboue in midfield. We've all seen how good he is going forward, although some feel he is suspect defensively. Could he handle the lesser time & space afforded to him in midfield? If this was pulled off, we may not even need a winger, although some would question Hoyte's capability as a first choice right back for the entire season.

- Rosicky playing as a shadow striker, in the Dennis Bergkamp role just behind Adebayor. Although Rosicky's performances on the wing have by no means been poor, he works better controlling the play from Cesc's position or being a free role as Ronaldinho is for Barcelona. He could accomplish much playing off Adebayor up front, perhaps this could be used if Van Persie gets injured at any point this season. - Worked set pieces, ones that have been practiced by the club and then can be put into place in matches. An example of this is the one England used in the U21 Championships, where Lita scored with a diving header from two yards out. If executed properly, these can cause havoc

- Lastly, the Van Persie-Bendtner partnership in a few games as we've seen Bendtner shine in the Championship and Van Persie shine in the Premiership, and the duo compliment each other perfectly. Unlike Adebayor, whose finishing at times is erratic Bendtner can put the ball past the keeper like the best of them and the Premiership saw how devastating Van Persie was last season. Put them together and do you have an unstoppable force?

Any thoughts?