Silva will be just fine in a fluid 3 man midfield which can morph into a 4231 or my personal preference 4123 and both can also be interpreted as a 4141. Whichever way, I dislike our way of playing 442 which doesn't suit us at all, but any of the aforementioned will do me just fine.
Silva is good enough to play for us in any system. But the one that suits him best is the one we played first 5 games of the season, 4231 with him as a number 10 with little defensive responsibility.
The 433 we played on Tuesday is similar to how Barca play. One sitting midfielder (Fernando) two box to box midfielders who press high up the pitch (Yaya and Dinho) and two wingers with real pace, who again press high up the pitch and look to attack with pace and directness.
When you say "Silva will be just fine in a fluid 3 man midfield" where do you see him fitting in to that system? It seems you would drop one of Yaya or Fernandinho? Personally, I think while Silva could do a job there against certain teams, he's not physical or athletic enough to play there every week in the PL. He's far better further up the pitch, and playing him as a number 8 is not getting the best out of him.
Personally, in that system I'd play him wide right where Navas played. He's played that role for Spain many times. He naturally drifts inside and is obviously devastating at finding space and a killer pass.
But I still don't think he's ideally suited to fitting in to that system. The reason we were so devastating on Tuesday was the pace and directness at which we pressed and attacked high up the pitch, and that really isn't Silva's natural game.
I stand by what I said, with everyone fit our strongest side is 4231 with Silva playing centrally behind Aguero. But if Silva isn't available, 433 is now a fantastic alternative, and gets the best out of the other players available.
