I’ll give you a couple of back fours. From right back across the line. Firstly Toure, Gilberto, Gallas. Hoyte. Now try Hoyte, Toure, Gallas, Flamini. Your two first choice centre backs in situ, accompanied by a natural right back in his position and a utility player who has proved he can do a job at left back.

Why oh why does Arsene Wenger persist with the patently lacking Gilberto at centre back. Everton’s late equaliser was not solely his fault, although the uncertainty in the back line which led to the needless concession of a point at Goodison was in no small part due to his inadequacy to perform the role in English football. I accept his abilities as a defensive screen in front of the defence but he has never convinced at centre back. Never.

Flamini may have stated he does not wish to play at left back. If this is true, he should be drummed out of the club at the first possible opportunity. He is being paid by Arsenal as a professional footballer and as such should play in goal if it is asked of him. I hope to God that his dislike of the full back role is not the reason he isn’t being picked there.

Of the kids, yes, it was always going to be this way. We all know the reason Arsene Wenger is building with youth. Fair enough. One only hopes that the experiences of the last month make them better footballers and do not destroy them. A crisis of confidence has destroyed great prospects at the club before, such as the once outstanding Alex Manninger.

Old heads on the field are supposed to help guide them through bad times, not add to the jitters. Gilberto’s displays in defence are having the latter effect. Upfront, Adebayor’s ridiculous dismissal in Cardiff is proving to be a disaster for the club, a contribution to the FA Cup exit and the loss of points such as yesterday’s. At least, in the past, he has shown some indication of knowing where the goal is. A rarity with Baptista and Aliadiere. This pair are not cute enough in terms of either positioning or finishing. Theo has just turned 18 and needs a couple of years to toughen up and start putting himself about. At his age Wayne Rooney had no lack of oomph, but it is too early to condemn Theo. I just don’t get the feeling he is made of the right stuff, but I am prepared to wait and be proved wrong.

How one yearns for the understanding of those now gone. It is a case of too many changes at once this season. The weather at the end of the Everton game said it all. Before it started hammering down, I thought at 80 minutes, I would definitely take the point now, if only because there was no way Arsenal were ever going to score in this game. It wasn’t much better at Villa Park in midweek, although at least luck favoured the Gunners on that occasion.

The hailstones as the clock ticked down to Andy Johnson’s injury time winner put me in mind of the Stade de France last May. Real ‘King Lear’ stuff. It’s been a strange, strange season. Moving home has brought about mixed blessings. The opportunity for far more supporters to see the team in action, the succession of unbeaten matches. And then there is the other side of the coin. The lack of intimacy and sometime lack of atmosphere, the fans more interested in food and drink than football, in making a quick getaway with the game still in progress. A feeling that we are watching the boys in a soulless venue. The inability to see off inferior teams.

As for the season as a whole, injuries and the lack of experience have exposed the squad as a work in progress. And Arsene, God bless him, doesn’t make things easier by some of his selections. Gilberto at centre back is one example. Senderos ahead of Djourou in the Carling Cup final another. Granted, he took a couple of foul throws, but was his performance at Villa Park so bad that it justified dropping him completely against Everton? It’s not as if anyone covered themselves in glory against Villa.

I am not sure which is worse about watching Arsenal at the moment. The lack of understanding – an inevitability really given all the changes - or the inability to perform basic skills in front of goal. Heading, shooting on target. Maybe Wenger should have played Freddie off Baptista. Jeremie Aliadiere’s last Premiership goal was in 2002. He’s had his run in the team. He can score on a regular basis with page 3 girl Leilani Dowding. He can’t for The Gunners. Enough’s enough. Thank goodness Adebayor will return for the Liverpool game. Freddie and Manu up front for that one please. I accept that Baptista and Aliadiere are fourth and fifth choice strikers and that it is an unlikely combination of circumstances that sees them fielded together outside a Carling Cup game. But I really, really would not lose any sleep if I never saw either of this pair again in an Arsenal shirt.

Sure we are going to drop points under the circumstances that the team have faced this season, but there is no need to make it worse with bad selections when there are better options. And of late, Arsene has been culpable of this. Yes, it is churlish to be critical of a man who has given us so much, but his persistence in the face of the obvious does, on occasion, frustrate. And there is going to be too much inevitable frustration as this group of players finds its way without creating more needlessly.