Who will replace Robin van Persie for Arsenal?

The injury sustained by Robin van Persie at the weekend while on international duty for Holland has thrown Arsene Wenger's calculations for his Arsenal team into disarray. After the summer transfer of Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City, Wenger has sent his team out this season in a 4-3-3 formation with van Persie at the centre of the front three, and the Dutch striker had revelled in the role, scoring eight goals in 11 appearances before the weekend.

So now with van Persie and his natural replacement in the middle Nicklas Bendtner both sidelined by injury until mid-December at the earliest, their manager must reconsider his options. Wenger will be loth to change a formation that has seen his Gunners rack up an extraordinary 55 goals in 19 games, and with 17 players having scored for the north Londoners to date this season he certainly isn't lacking in options.

But if he is to maintain the shape of the side, he will need to find someone who can fit into the central role. The obvious player to move into that position is Eduardo da Silva, the Croatian forward who has yet to return to the levels of adventure and fitness that he possessed before the broken ankle he sustained at the feet of Birmingham's Martin Taylor almost two years ago.

And the 26-year-old is bullish about the prospect, telling the Sun: "I'm feeling good. At the beginning of the season I had a few injury niggles but I am OK now and ready to help the team rise to the top of the table, as well as progress in the Champions League." Eduardo is expected to take on the role in Saturday's Premier League game at Sunderland, but Wenger will want to have other options in case the Croat, who scored twice for his nation at the weekend, fails to impress.

Another possibility would see Mexican striker Carlos Vela step up from the fringes of the squad and try to force his way into the manager's plans. The 20-year-old has only made three appearances as a substitute, scoring in the Carling Cup victory over West Brom. However, as proud of his youngsters as Wenger is, with Arsenal keen to stay in touch with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League it is unlikely that he would pitch such a raw talent into the first team.

An intriguing possibility is raised by Dominic Fifield in the Guardian, who suggests that the attacking midfielder Andrei Arshavin could be dragooned into service in the front line. The Russian "playmaker turned poacher" could play "in the middle of his front trio with pace and trickery from those at his side. That would appear a bold move. Players are usually taller than 5ft 8in when they lead the line in the Premier League, although Arsenal are not a side prone to launching the ball long," Fifield concludes.

Arsenal's reaction over the next four weeks to the loss of van Persie will go a long way to answering questions about whether they have what it takes to sustain a Premier League challenge this season. Traditionally the winter has been no friend to Wenger's teams; a good showing through December will underline the team's title credentials this year. ·