Combined Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal line-up, 25yo Spurs ace makes XI

Arsenal face north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the road in Sunday’s Premier League clash.

The Gunners dropped two points against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium on Wednesday night.

They were 2-0 ahead at one stage but ended up squandering the advantage to share the spoils against the Midlands outfit.

Arsenal are still top of the league table with a five-point lead over Manchester City, but the latter now have a game in hand.

Ahead of Sunday’s north London derby, we have picked our combined Spurs and Arsenal line-up.

We have selected the XI based on form and availability. Injured players have been excluded from our overall selection.

Goalkeeper

David Raya is leading the Golden Glove race with 13 clean sheets in the league this season. He has managed six more shutouts than Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. It is a no-brainer to pick the Spaniard between the sticks.

Defence

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have been brilliant as a centre-back pairing for the Gunners, and should easily get the nod. Similarly, Jurrien Timber would be an outright choice at right-back ahead of Pedro Porro (injured) and Archie Gray. The Dutchman has already made six goal contributions for Arsenal in the league this term.

At left-back, we would go with Djed Spence ahead of Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Calafiori had a bright start to the campaign, but his form has dipped since his December injury setback. Hincapie has been a mainstay in the position in recent weeks and scored a vital goal during the 2-2 stalemate against Wolves.

Despite this, we are going with Spence due to his continuity in the position, unlike Hincapie, who has also operated in the heart of the defence. Despite Spurs languishing near the drop zone, the 25-year-old has had a good individual season. His performances have not gone unnoticed, with England head coach Thomas Tuchel handing him his maiden cap.

Midfield

Arsenal’s success at the top of the table has been primarily due to a solid central midfield partnership of Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice. Zubimendi has chipped in with five goals in the league this term, while Rice has had 10 goal involvements. The pair should easily get the nod over Spurs midfielder Joao Palhinha, whose form has dipped after a bright start to his debut season.

Eberechi Eze announced himself to the Gunners’ faithful with a stunning hat-trick against Spurs at the Emirates Stadium. Despite this, we would personally go with Martin Odegaard as the attacking midfielder. Arteta has said that the Norwegian could be fit for Sunday. He has been the in-form playmaker in both clubs with four assists and one goal in his last eight league appearances.

Attack

We are going with a complete Arsenal attack. Viktor Gyokeres has not been firing all cylinders for the Gunners, but has accumulated eight goals, one more than Richarlison, who is obviously injured. The Swede leads the line in our combined line-up.

On the left wing, Leandro Trossard comfortably get the nod over Xavi Simons. The latter has shown signs of returning to his old form from his RB Leipzig days, but Trossard has been more consistent. He has five more goal involvements in the league (10 to 5).

Mohammed Kudus had a solid start to his Spurs career before a hamstring injury blow. He won’t be in contention, under our criteria. Noni Madueke has been among the goals lately, but looking at the season as a whole, Bukayo Saka continues on the right wing.

Despite a couple of untimely injuries, Saka has still managed five goals and five assists in the top flight this season. The Englishman has bagged three goals and three assists in 11 meetings against Spurs, and will be determined to make his mark on Sunday.

Combined Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Spence; Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Gyokeres.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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