What follows may have people questioning my sanity, but with Gallas and Djourou out, Arsenal are in dire straights defensively, and we all know what desperate times call for.

During the second half against Wigan on Saturday, a good old-fashioned, innocuous hoof forward from Titus Bramble created utter chaos in Arsenal’s defence. The inept Silvestre, unchallenged, inexplicably let the ball bounce allowing Mido to challenge for the second ball. Fabianski, on seeing the danger, again inexplicably, ran from his box in an attempt to head clear. Both Silverstre and Fabianski were outjumped by Mido, who headed goalwards, only for Gibbs to clear off the line. As Kevin Whitcher points out, anyone who saw that defending knows that Drogba is going to make mincemeat of Arsenal next Saturday.

Let’s be honest, we simply cannot put out a defence of Fabianski, Gibbs, Silvestre, Toure and Sagna and expect to still be in the FA Cup come next Sunday. Villarreal clearly don’t possess the aerial threat of a Drogba, but it would be a huge gamble to play this back five against them this evening. Wenger quite simply has to try something different, for the simple reason that it’s hard to imagine putting out a worse defence.

Song has come in for some stick in the past, most notably against Fulham a couple of seasons ago. I have even been a critic of him in central midfield this season, but there is no doubt that he has grown in stature over the past three or four weeks. With fourth spot in the Premiership all but secure, it's time to be bold in our quest for silverware. The question is quite simple: do we want to play Silvestre, a United reject, who we know to be sub-par, or do we want to take a chance on a confident, emerging Alex Song?

Playing Song, while clearly a gamble, may not be as ludicrous as some may think. He is strong, mobile, quick and comfortable on the ball, this makes him well suited to defending against a technically competent European team like Villarreal. I’m not suggesting for a second that Song will be Tony Adams-like in the air, but I’m pretty damn sure that he will put up a much better fight than Silvestre against Drogba. We have seen what Drogba has done against Toure in the past, playing Silvestre alongside Toure isn't going to help. Who would you rather play against Drogba, Silvestre or Song? Choose your poison.