Arsenal have been devastating in attack on numerous occasions this season but they created painfully little against Manchester United in the same way Chelsea kept the Gunners at arm's length in November.
United were without first-choice centre-back pairing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic but remained largely comfortable throughout the match.
The Gunners managed only seven shots on target, most of which came in a late flurry as United took their foot off the pedal but the concern is that Andrey Arshavin, by his own admission, is not always effective as a central striker.
Arsene Wenger has options with Eduardo expected to be fit after a slight hamstring strain while Nicklas Bendtner should get a full week's training following his recent return from ankle surgery.
Eduardo has been playing with little confidence for some time while Bendtner is woefully short of match fitness and given Arshavin's almost total failure to unsettle Chelsea when they visited Emirates Stadium, Wenger has much to ponder as to how he deploys his attack in a return fixture that Arsenal must win.
Bendtner's physical presence is a tempting alternative as Arshavin, for all his wonderful skill and invention, cannot hold the ball up and spent much of yesterday taking on United's defence almost on his own.
