Same team as you. Trying to be kind as possible but Giroud really needs to sit this one out, he's not helping the team atm and I don't care how many goals/assists he has secured.

Completely agree about Podolski as I've said before. Some people think if you can finish well you can play as a striker, but his general forward play is worse than Giroud's, when he plays through the middle.

As far as Giroud goes, he was terrible against Spurs in my view, and couldn't provide any sort of outlet for our under-pressure midfield. I wouldn't be against playing Sanogo, although I don't rate him particularly highly either. I can't help but feel that Theo might have played a signifcant amount of games through the middle this season were it not for his injury.

------------Szczesny
Sagna--Mertesacker-Koscielny-Gibbs
----------Flamini--Kallstrom (maybe)
Gnabry-------Cazorla---------Chamberlain
---------------Sanogo

I really liked Kallstrom when he was at Lyon; he was physically strong, decent in the air, and distributed the ball well.
Chelsea have a number of threats from set-pieces, so I feel it is important we have a side with a number of aerially strong players, which is part of the reason I chose Kallstrom.
However, if he has regressed a lot as a player since I last saw him, or if he isn't ready to play, then I would bring in Rosicky.

At present, Chelsea are playing with a right-back at left-back, and a relatively slow Ivanovic at right-back (although I do rate him highly). I really want us to play with some pace and directness down the flanks to try and exploit this.
I also believe having width and pace in the final third could help bring the best out of Cazorla.

And on a similar note, I think the added athleticism of Sanogo could help pin Chelsea back and, again, create more space for our midfielders.

I mentioned it yesterday but it's the fact that sanogo will be an unknown for Terry & co which could cause a suprise.

Let's not get it twisted, sanogo technique is pretty horrific and he definitely needs to go out on loan next season but maybe it's worthwhile playing a wild card on the weekend.

Every arsenal fan knows exactly what will happen if Giroud starts against Terry & Cahil

I agree OP

Lost count if the times people put Podolski up top. He has never shown any sign that he can play that role and when he has played there has looked lost. I would rather have Giroud up top than him.

Hate to say it but Giroud is our best option. That don't say much about our options.

There was a really good article on a separate Arsenal/football blog which looked at the stats from every game Podolski played as the lone striker; annoyingly, I can't find said article - subtle hint for someone to post it if they do find it! - but suffice to say, the stats were underwhelming.

I rate Sanogo, he's got talent. Offers more than Giroud does, albeit he can be inconsistent, but that's expected. One thing is for sure, vs Chelsea, Giroud isn't going to have a sniff vs Cahill and Terry. Sanogo however, will give them something to think about.

I agree with the OPs team, but think Pod would be a better CF than Giroud at the moment who has been useless for weeks/months.

This is not the game to bring in an unfamiliar player so for me Kallstrom would be too big a risk.