Creating an Ultimate Arsenal & Spurs First XI

This weekend, Arsenal host Tottenham Hotspur in the classic north London derby.

It's set to be one of the most competitive derbies in recent history as Harry Redknapp's Spurs have closed the gap and even quite possibly overtaken Arsene Wenger's men in terms of squad calibre and depth.

Let's have a look then, at who would make the ultimate north London starting 11. This set of 11 players is made up of the best player at each position from these two clubs.

Chime in with your thoughts if you disagree and wish to suggest an alternative line-up. Enjoy the slideshow!

GK: Brad Friedel

Brad Friedel—Mr. Consistency—has been excellent between the sticks this season.

There was a considerable amount of speculation during the summer as to who would start in goal for Tottenham, as Heurelho Gomes had done a decent job in recent seasons.

It seems Harry Redknapp was finally at his wits end with the Brazilian, however, and snapped up the veteran Friedel from Aston Villa.

The American continues to defy his age by making excellent stops and providing a calming presence to his back four.

Wojciech Szczesny has had a good season and continues to improve, but he's not quite reached Friedel's level yet.

LB: Benoit Assou-Ekotto

A left-back who can gain enough fitness to string 10 consecutive performances together is tough for Arsenal right now, and Benoit Assou-Ekotto has been a good presence on the left this season for Tottenham.

The Cameroonian full back is probably the weak link in the Spurs team if there is one to be found, but he still does a solid job and has played some of his best football for Tottenham this season.

Gareth Bale's work rate is exceptional and he is often back to help his teammate on the touch line, but Assou-Ekotto can stand up to most wingers in the Premier League on his own.

CB: Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen, affectionately known as 'The Verminator', is the best of the bunch in north London.

When he's playing centre back, he's one of the most aerially dominant defenders in the Premier League. He excels positionally and even has a cannon of a left boot to complement his occasional marauding forward runs.

He's not played centrally too often this season as Arsenal have had left-back issues, but once the Gunners get Andre Santos back to fitness, Vermaelen can move to a central position and continue to dominate play.

CB: Ledley King

Ledley King is a brilliant centre back, he just falls out of people's thoughts because he plays such a small percentage of Tottenham's games.

This season though, his fitness has been as good as ever. He's started 15 Premier League games already, which means he's on course for a potential all-time high in appearances this season.

He is positionally excellent, clever enough to make up for his lack of pace, and has made an average of 5.9 clearances per game this season. Impressive.

RB: Kyle Walker

The sprightly young full back Kyle Walker has pace to burn and potential to match.

He'll be on a high for the derby as he's currently enjoying the adulation of his first England senior team call-up.

Does he deserve it? He most certainly does. Both he and Micah Richards have been selected by Stuart Pearce and it's been a long time coming for both of them.

The loan spell Walker took in at Aston Villa did him wonders, and Harry Redknapp showed him faith during pre-season, allowing him to displace Vedran Corluka and make the right back berth his own.

LM: Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is now one of the best players in the Premier League—this statement cannot be contested.

Considering it was just two years ago fans worldwide were convinced the 'Gareth Bale curse' was a real thing, the Welshman has mustered a remarkable comeback under Harry Redknapp.

The left-sided midfielder has the pace and strength to trouble the best of defenders (just ask Maicon), but he also possesses phenomenal technique when striking the ball.

He's scored his fair share of spectacular goals and there'll be plenty more to come over the next decade or so.

CM: Luka Modric

Oh how Chelsea wish they'd acquired him this summer.

After a drawn out chase from their Stamford Bridge-based London rivals, Daniel Levy and Tottenham were able to hold onto Luka Modric and keep him at White Hart Lane.

This was significant, as Tottenham are not only looking better than Arsenal, but better than any other team in London.

Luka Modric has played a big part in a midfield that simply oozes quality. When Spurs look out of ideas, Modric picks the lock on the more stubborn defences and, more often than not, makes the breakthrough.

He's tidy in possession, lethal when given space and shows good work ethic in the defensive aspect of the game.

CM: Scott Parker

Has any one player in the Premier League surprised you more over the past two seasons than Scott Parker?

After an exceptional season with West Ham in 2010-2011, Parker earned a big money move to White Hart Lane—a move which was met with trepidation from most English football aficionados.

He's not the youngest or the cheapest, but he's excelled for Spurs and provided a quality anchor-like presence in Tottenham's midfield.

He has gelled quickly and efficiently with Luka Modric to form one of the best central midfield partnerships in the league.

His form has been recognised with multiple England call-ups and played a pivotal role in the Three Lions' 1-0 friendly win against reigning world champions Spain.

Alex Song is one of the best combative midfielders in the world and deserves a mention here, but can't quite displace Parker.

RM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

A controversial selection?

If Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had been playing all season he'd be a shoe-in for this, but as it stands the right midfield slot in this team is hotly contested.

For me, however, Aaron Lennon can't show the consistency or the composure to warrant selection, and until Gervinho learns how to produce an end product to his mazy runs, he'll come nowhere near.

Chamberlain has seriously impressed everyone so far, so much so that when Stuart Pearce selected Theo Walcott ahead of him for the England squad to face Holland, the whole country erupted in disapproval.

P.S. With the England U-21 squad facing a critical qualifier against Belgium next week, there's every chance Pearce wants him fresh for that. There may well be a method to the madness!

ST: Emmanuel Adebayor

I don't blame Arsenal for letting Emmanuel Adebayor go, but just look at what he can do when he's actually motivated.

The on-loan striker has been a revelation for Harry Redknapp's Tottenham, currently laying in third on the goal scoring charts. He's also contributed the most assists out of all centre forwards.

I wouldn't bet against Emmanuel Adebayor grabbing a goal against his former club on Sunday, but let's just hope he doesn't behave like the episode at Manchester City.

ST: Robin Van Persie

Was there ever any doubt?

Robin van Persie, when clear of the injuries that have dogged his past, is one of the best strikers in the world.

So far this season in the Premier League, the Dutchman has scored 22 goals and provided 7 assists to his team mates. This makes him the top scorer in the league, ahead of both Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero.

Arsenal will do well to hold onto him at the rate things are going, but both his age and his injury record put them in a favourable position. He would likely command a high transfer fee and he may not be worth the money considering how weak his ankles seem to be.

Don't take anything away from him though; he's as skilled a finisher as you'll find.

Contenders

You might have noticed, but there's eight Tottenham players in this team compared to a measly total of three Arsenal representatives.

This represents a change in times. For the first team in a long time, Tottenham Hotspur are considered the stronger of the two teams.

In truth, Bacary Sagna and Wojciech Szczesny are unlucky to miss out on this line-up, but they've been pipped at the death.

You may also notice the absence of Rafael van der Vaart. His injury issues this season have seen his form suffer so far and he doesn't fit comfortably into the 4-4-2 formation I decided to construct this team using. Between him and Luka Modric, I had to opt for the Croatian.

Arsene Wenger has some serious rebuilding to do this summer, whilst Tottenham can be content to add carefully to a young team bursting with talent.