The 186th North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will take place this Sunday as the Gunners host their arch-rivals at the Emirates Stadium. The hosts are third in the Premier League table, falling down a place after their defeat to Liverpool last weekend, while Spurs are seventh, after their defeat to Newcastle United last weekend.
This year’s North London derby could be yet another exciting affair as both teams are very strong in attack with quite a few talented attackers. Let’s take a look at a combined XI between these two London clubs:
Goalkeeper
Both Arsenal and Tottenham have let in four goals in their three league games this season, but Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris has made the most saves in the season so far (13), while his Arsenal counterpart Bernd Leno has made 7. Lloris gets into our combined XI thanks to his experience and form.
Defence
Arsenal’s Achilles heel continues to be their defence, and the signing of David Luiz – who was at fault for two of the goals scored by Liverpool – hasn’t helped matters. The centre-back duo of Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld have been in good form, despite their defeat to Newcastle United last week. They will be our centre back pairing in this Combined XI team.
It’s difficult to choose the right-back for this XI as the two right-backs for Arsenal and Tottenham are both young defenders, who are the same level – Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Tottenham’s Kyle Walker-Peters. Both 22-year-old full-backs are quick players who like to bomb forward, with the former a winger converted into a full-back.
Maitland-Niles just edges Walker-Peters in this XI, thanks mainly to his attacking ability. On the other side, Danny Rose makes it into this Combined XI also for his ability going forward.
Midfield
Two French stars form the heart of this team’s midfield – Spurs’ Tanguy Ndombélé and the Gunners’ Mattéo Guendouzi, who both have a lot of energy to go up and down the pitch, as well as good passing range. Dani Ceballos has had an encouraging start to his Arsenal career and he will be the key playmaker in this Combined XI.
Christian Eriksen could have been in this position if he was played more, while Dele Alli is out with an injury, hence does not make the team, and Giovani Lo Celso has not started for Spurs.
Attack
The two sides have very good strikers, with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Harry Kane, Erik Lamela and Son Heung-min, who could all have a huge influence on their team’s performance.
Harry Kane will lead the line in this Combined XI having scored two goals this season, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang his striker partner, who has also scored twice so far. Erik Lamela will play behind the duo, having scored one and set up one. Son Heung-min or Alexandre Lacazette could have come in place of Lamela if they had played more or scored/assisted more this season.
