Arsenal v Manchester United: Arsène Wenger's team could not have asked for a better time to play the old enemy In the short term, however, Wenger must decide on the best way to cope without the suspended Olivier Giroud. Lukas Podolski, Gervinho and Theo Walcott are all possible options as stand-in centre-forwards, though each has his drawbacks. The experienced Podolski might be the best bet if he can hold up the ball and make some decent runs. A fine finisher, the Germany international does not always play a big part in the build-up. He tends to come alive around the box, whether it is setting up a team-mate with a clever pass or unleashing that fearsome left foot of his. Gervinho will work hard, as he always does, but his game lacks finesse, especially in front of goal. As for Walcott, Wenger seems to have abandoned his earlier experiment of using the flier through the middle. After one or two promising outings, Walcott could not quite get to grips with the taxing demands. At times like this you do wonder if it would be a good idea for Wenger to stray from his usual system; in other words, play two up front rather than one, give Walcott some help against United's central defenders. I think that is a valid criticism of the Frenchman: unlike Sir Alex Ferguson, he does not adjust his shape to suit the occasion. Wenger could play a fairly narrow midfield, the full-backs providing the width, with a front two of Podolski and Walcott. At least that would mix things up a bit, perhaps surprise United in a way that does not often happen when it comes to Wenger's line-ups. You never know, it could actually prove a solution to both Podolski's and Walcott's limitations as lone central strikers. That said, it is not going to happen. Wenger admitted as much yesterday in his press conference. "We will keep the same structure in our team," he said, while understandably remaining coy about who would replace Giroud. Mind you, at least that structure he talks about has looked more solid of late, particularly with regard to the back four where Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker seem happy in each other's company. They even went so far as to link up in Fulham's penalty area last week, Koscielny nodding down a free-kick for Mertesacker to nod home. As Jack Wilshere admitted afterwards, that was quite a shock because Arsenal, as a rule, do not tend to score from those kind of set pieces. But if they can do so again as part of a win at the Emirates, my old side put themselves in the box seat in this tense top-four battle. They have not exactly been playing out of their skins lately, but nine wins in their past 12 league games point to a side heading in the right direction. A season comprising humiliating defeats to Bradford and Blackburn, a season when faith in Wenger was further diluted, could end up OK if Champions League football is secured yet again.