He was definitely better than Silva today. If Silva is tired and struggling we need to try Samir in his role for one game and play Johnson out wide. The two of them could surely offer enough creativity if we rest Merlin.
Look where Nasri is stood here, not pinned to a flank:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJWJiOGRhOQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CngILIcN1M[/youtube]