Picking a Combined Arsenal-Tottenham Hotspur XI
Arsenal and Tottenham will meet again this weekend in the north London derby, one of the most hotly contested matches in all of football.
The two teams have played relatively similar styles of football for years: fluid play mixed with rapid counter-attacks and an often-weak defense (although Spurs are much worse than Arsenal in this regard).
With that in mind, let's pick the best combined starting XI we can from players on both sides that are eligible to play in this weekend's match.
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris
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Deciding between Wojciech Szczesny and Hugo Lloris is exceptionally difficult, but the Frenchman comes out on top in the end.
Though Lloris is prone to occasional moments of madness, such as charging off his line unnecessarily, Szczesny has not fully grown out of this phase either. Though the Pole might have a higher ceiling, Lloris is the better player at the moment.
As France's captain and Spurs' vice-captain, he is also a recognized leader. That is too often overlooked and underrated.
Right-Back: Calum Chambers
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The battle here is between two young right-backs without much top-flight experience: Calum Chambers and Eric Dier.
Though Chambers only has a few games under his belt at both Arsenal and Southampton, he has shown tremendous potential at both centre-back and right-back—the two positions Dier is able to play.
Mathieu Debuchy would normally be the clear winner here, but even still, the edge goes to Arsenal's youngster.
Centre-Backs: Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker
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What used to be Arsenal's Achilles' heel is now the bedrock of their team.
Over the last calendar year, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have forged an iron-clad partnership in the centre of Arsenal's defense, shoring up a back line that for years had been as stable as quicksand.
Tottenham cannot say the same of Younes Kaboul, Jan Vertonghen and Vlad Chiriches.
Both sides have improved drastically in this area, but the Gunners are now one of the best in England.
Left-Back: Kieran Gibbs
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Kieran Gibbs' playing time has been shortened recently by injuries and rotation, but he is still the most dynamic left-back on either Arsenal or Tottenham.
The debate here would normally be between Gibbs and Nacho Monreal, rather than the former and Danny Rose (Monreal is out until mid-October). Whereas Arsenal have two left-backs who would start for almost any Premier League team, Mauricio Pochettino does not have as many options.
Gibbs has effectively combined the winger's instincts he honed while in Arsenal's academy with the defensive nous he acquired after being promoted to the senior team. He's a threat in all areas of the pitch and can lock down almost any opponent on the left.
Defensive Midfielder: Paulinho
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Neither club has a truly exceptional player in defensive midfield, but Paulinho combines technical skill and brawn better than either Mathieu Flamini or Mikel Arteta.
The latter two possess a lot of grit and a lot of footballing intelligence, respectively, but Arsene Wenger is forced to choose between them if he does not want to field a very conservative team.
Paulinho can dribble an opponent and uncork the occasional fireball of a shot, but he is equally capable of sticking a leg in to make a challenge or dropping back and helping his defense when under pressure.
Though not outstanding, and not as pure a defensive midfielder as Etienne Capoue, he's simply the better overall player.
Midfielder: Aaron Ramsey
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Aaron Ramsey is currently going through a very uncharacteristically bad patch of form, but he is still one of the best midfielders in England.
He will have to be mediocre for a very long time before we are entitled to say that his world-beating season last year was simply a one-off. He started this campaign well, too, but he has since faded.
Ramsey will no doubt regain his form relatively soon—perhaps in a high-intensity match like the north London derby. Nevertheless, he is still one of the best midfielders on either side.
Attacking Midfielder: Mesut Ozil
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Competition for places begins to really heat up once we get to the attacking end of our combined Arsenal-Tottenham XI.
But Mesut Ozil clearly rises above the fray.
Though often pilloried for seemingly lackadaisical and anonymous performances, Ozil has shown promise this season when played centrally and is obviously capable of running Arsenal's attack by himself.
Honorable mention should go to Christian Eriksen here, as he is a very skilled and versatile attacking midfielder. But Ozil is one of the only truly world-class players on either team.
Right-Winger: Alexis Sanchez
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Tottenham have no player who can compete with the power, pace and precision of Alexis Sanchez. His skill set is, if not quite unique, utterly elite.
Alexis is capable of playing anywhere on the forward line, and he has already seen time at all three of those positions this season. I only put him on the right wing because that is where he fits most neatly into this setup, and that is where Wenger has most recently played him.
The Chilean is the sort of invaluable player who can turn a game on an instant with one display of sheer individual brilliance. That's worth paying more than £30 million for.
Left-Winger: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
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There are plenty of excellent options here, from Santi Cazorla to Erik Lamela to Nabil Bentaleb, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been the most exciting of the lot this season.
He has unjustly received fewer appearances than the regular starters, but he has been tremendously impressive every time he's played. He is one of Arsenal's only consistently incisive players, not afraid to have a go at goal while retaining the creative eye of a midfielder.
It is difficult to decide who to pick in the attacking positions, and Oxlade-Chamberlain is simply the best present option out of many great ones.
Striker: Emmanuel Adebayor
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In the absence of Olivier Giroud, one's options up top are Danny Welbeck, Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor.
Welbeck is a fine striker who has shown he is capable of scoring from time to time while working incomparably hard for the team. Soldado has an awful goalscoring record. And then there's Adebayor.
In a way, he's the opposite of Welbeck and Soldado. He often does not work very hard off the ball, but he still seems to score whenever he is in the mood and has done so throughout his career. Sure, he might sulk from time to time, but he can score two or three goals in any given game.
Arsenal are missing that unpredictability and true danger (to themselves and the other team) in their striker. That is not entirely negative, but Adebayor is still better than any of the Gunners' current options on the balance.
