Who would you pick?
Tottenham Hotspur travel to the Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on Saturday night for the first North London Derby of the 2014-15 season.
Arsenal, who have won their last three games against Spurs, will start the match two points above their rivals in the Premier League table.
History also suggests that Arsenal are better than Spurs, but the gap is certainly not as wide as it once was.
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Let’s enter a world of fantasy now and pretend that the two bitter rivals have merged squads to create North London United – a horrible concept, we know.
Here is the XI we would pick at this precise moment, taking injuries into account, if we had both sets of players to choose from.
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris
He is the captain of France and arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. Arsenal were linked with a move for Lloris for many years, before he finally left Lyon for Spurs in 2012. Why Wenger never made a decisive move for the super stopper, only he knows.
Right-back: Eric Dier
Mathieu Debuchy and Kyle Walker are both injured right now, so Dier just gets the nod, edging out Calum Chambers by a whisker.
Left-back: Kieran Gibbs
Gibbs seems to be England’s third choice left-back right now, behind Leighton Baines and Luke Shaw, with Tottenham’s Danny Rose fourth in the pecking order. On that basis, the Arsenal man sneaks into this combined team.
Centre-back: Per Mertesacker
The BFG helped Germany win the World Cup this summer, making six appearance at the FIFA tournament, including a brief cameo in the final. He walks into this team.
Centre-back: Laurent Koscielny
One feels that Jan Vertonghen would be in this team if he were fulfilling his potential. Unfortunately, his performances in the past 12 months have been little better than average. Younes Kaboul is Tottenham’s best centre-back at the moment, but he is not in the same league as Koscielny.
Midfield: Aaron Ramsey
Probably the best British footballer in the Premier League right now. His record of 10 goals and eight assists in 23 Premier League games last season speaks for itself.
Midfield: Etienne Capoue
This is a very attacking team and, as a result, it needs a responsible and steady hand in midfield. Capoue is just the man for the job. Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta are also fairly disciplined defensive midfielders, but they are both a bit over the hill now.
Attacking midfield: Alexis Sanchez
Arsenal’s second most expensive signing ever could become one of the best players in Premier League history once he settles in England. The speedy Chilean has not yet produced top form in Britain, but he has already managed to notch four goals in nine games for the Gunners.
Attacking midfield: Mesut Ozil
Often criticised for not fulfilling his potential, but that’s largely because expectations are so high. If given a significant run in the number 10 position, Ozil could well set matches alight on a consistent basis.
Attacking midfield: Christian Eriksen
He was named as Tottenham’s Player of the Year after scoring nine goals and providing nine assists in the Premier League and Europa League last season. Spurs fans won’t like hearing this, but Eriksen is very much an ‘Arsenal type of player’. He is excellent at operating in tight spaces and he loves an intricate pass.
Forward: Emmanuel Adebayor
The 4-2-3-1 formation that Arsenal and Spurs play needs a man like Adebayor, who, let’s not forget, scored 30 goals in his penultimate season with the Gunners in 2007-08.
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