Tonight offers a final chance of redemption after failing our four game test quite miserably so far. As far as individual criticism goes I will leave this to fellow Gooner bloggers, what we must remember is the same players beat Man Utd and Chelsea at home and away respectively last season, so on the commute to work this morning it made me wonder whether we should show more flexibility and adapt our tactics in the big games?

At the start of the season 4-3-3 looked like the way forward and was best suited to our strengths, quick passing, interchanging players and possession in midfield. I still think this is the best way to beat teams who want to sit back and just defend. The critique for the past few seasons was that we couldn't beat the so called smaller teams, which (apart from Sunderland) has been rectified this season, which begs the question, is 4-3-3 hindering us against the very best teams?

Clearly at Old Trafford at the start of the season we should have taken something, our loss was down to individual errors rather than formations and tactics, to a certain extent United were still finding their feet after the loss of their talisman Ronaldo. However the losses against Chelsea, United and City pointed out gaping flaws in our system. In a 4-3-3 our full backs are simply not given enough protection, especially on the counter attack. Remember Bellamy, Nani, Wright Philips and Malouda? Good quality wingers with pace who like to stay wide catching us on the counter attack making our full backs look average. Sagna is one of the better full backs in the league, however along with Clichy his confidence has been hit by the lack of protection they receive on the flanks.

A proposition would be to switch to 4-4-2 for the big games where teams defend narrow and catch us wide on the break. Walcott and Arshavin could play as wingers who track back - even Diaby has done this in the past, with Song and Fabregas in the middle. Play with two up front, RVP could sit a little deeper with Bendtner or Eduardo at the top. Some may point out that we played 4-4-2 last season against Utd in the Champions league semi final, however we were 2-0 down in the 2nd leg because Gibbs fell over and Ronaldo produced a moment of brilliance. Others may say the same for the Chelsea game at the end of last season, but individual errors and the shock of the Man Utd game prior must have played a part. Our mental fragility is worrying at times and always has been Post Invincibles.

A proposition would be to switch to 4-4-2 for the big games where teams defend narrow and catch us wide on the break. Walcott and Arshavin could play as wingers who track back - even Diaby has done this in the past, with Song and Fabregas in the middle. Play with two up front, RVP could sit a little deeper with Bendtner or Eduardo at the top. Some may point out that we played 4-4-2 last season against Utd in the Champions league semi final, however we were 2-0 down in the second leg because Gibbs fell over and Ronaldo produced a moment of brilliance. Others may say the same for the Chelsea game at the end of last season, but individual errors and the shock of the Man Utd game prior must have played a part. Our mental fragility is worrying at times and always has been post-Invincibles.

Consider how we attack as a team, sometimes the passing and movement is telepathic, this is in stark contrast to how we defend, and if we can apply the same communication going back as we do forward perhaps we would not be looking at another season potentially ending without silverware.

Consider how we attack as a team, sometimes the passing and movement is telepathic. This is in stark contrast to how we defend, and if we can apply the same communication going back as we do forward perhaps we would not be looking at another season potentially ending without silverware.