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On paper, Arsenal should comfortably win at Liverpool on Sunday. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta and his players, the game of football is not played on paper. Anfield will always be Anfield, and this match will be a huge test of the Gunners’ Premier League title credentials.
Here is a combined XI of the two sides, unsurprisingly dominated by the league leaders.
GK: Alisson (Liverpool)
The Brazilian shot-stopper has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season and is undoubtedly Liverpool’s Player of the Year.
That takes nothing away from Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, who had a decent debut season at the Emirates and has evidently improved in 2022-23.
RB: Ben White (Arsenal)
“No, he is not a Trent Alexander-Arnold,” John Barnes recently said when comparing Ben White to the Liverpool star. You’re not wrong, mate. White can defend for starters.
Trent’s technical ability is absolutely outstanding, there is no doubt about that. White has plenty of it himself and is much more reliable than his England teammate.
CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk has not been himself this season, which is completely normal for a 31-year-old player off the back of a serious knee injury.
Saying that, he obviously gets in ahead of Rob Holding, who is expected to fill in for the injured William Saliba – who wouldn’t get in over Van Dijk anyway.
CB: Gabriel (Arsenal)
For me, Gabriel has been the best centre-back in the Premier League this season. The Brazilian has been playing next to Saliba for the majority of this season and has barely put a foot wrong, which is impressive given it is the latter’s first season playing in England.
I do really like Ibrahima Konate, but Gabriel’s incredible form this term makes him a shoo-in alongside Van Dijk.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)
I completely bottled picking Nathan Ake over Andy Robertson in my Man City – Liverpool combined XI. The same mistake will not be made again this week.
Robertson was pants at the Etihad, which is not the reason he is beaten to a spot here by Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Ukrainian has been outstanding this term, offering Mikel Arteta something completely different as an inverted left-back/attacking midfielder/right winger.
DM: Thomas Partey (Arsenal)
Thomas Partey is arguably Arsenal’s most important player. When he is not playing, they tend to be pretty s**t.
Liverpool’s defensive midfielder, Fabinho, has been their biggest underperformer this season and continues to look miles off the pace.
CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Arsenal’s captain has surprised many this season. We knew Martin Odegaard was good, but there can’t be many who expected him to be this good in his second full season in England.
The Norway international does it all. His work off the ball is what Arsenal fans love most about him. He is a joy to watch and without him, the Gunners would not be top of the league.
CM: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
The only Liverpool midfielder who stands a chance of getting in this team is Thiago, but he has not shown close to enough to beat Granit Xhaka to a place.
Xhaka’s comeback from resident villain at the Emirates has been incredible. The majority of fans wanted him sold but Arteta urged him to stay and has put him in a box-to-box role, which is clearly his best position. Xhaka is a huge threat going forward, chipping in with seven goals this season, while his ball-carrying and calmness (yes, he is not the hot-headed idiot commentators and pundits want you to think he is) have helped Arsenal become a very balanced team.
RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
The third and final Liverpool player in this team is club legend Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian winger has 23 goals and 11 assists in 41 games in 2022/23, which is pretty decent. However, 12 in 28 in the league is disappointing for a player who has averaged 23.6 goals per Premier League season since joining the Reds in 2017.
Salah is still a world-class winger, and even if Bukayo Saka has been better this season, he still gets in this combined XI.
ST: Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)
Gabriel Jesus has to lead the line here, even if he is in danger of starting the game on the bench behind Leandro Trossard – who scored a hat-trick at Anfield earlier this season for Brighton.
Darwin Nunez is a strange footballer and Cody Gakpo has shown the occasional sign of brilliance since moving from PSV in January, while Jesus has been incredibly consistent when fit. He only has seven goals in 17 Premier League appearances this season, but his game is not all about goals. His playmaking, tactical flexibility and work-rate have taken Arsenal’s game to another level in what could be a historic campaign.
LW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
No need to panic, Arsenal fans, the brilliant Saka obviously gets in this team. Salah is the sort of player you can only see playing on the right, whereas Saka is much more versatile and has already shown in his short career that he can perform very well as a right winger, left winger, left-back or left-wing-back. That’s not to say he should be played in a defensive position. Mr. Southgate, I am looking at you.
Saka was the first player in the Premier League this season to record 10+ goals and 10+ assists and if Arsenal win the title he will have a very strong case for PFA Player of the Year, even if Erling Haaland finishes the campaign with 40 goals.
READ MORE: Big Weekend: Liverpool v Arsenal, Lampard back at Chelsea, Cooper, Toney against Newcastle
