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Alasdair Gold names two Arsenal stars in combined Gunners / Spurs XI, one’s been ‘very impressive’
The international break is finally over, and Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will get the Premier League back under way with the North London derby.
Saturday’s early Premier League kickoff sees Mikel Arteta’s Gunners face Antonio Conte’s Spurs at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal sit top of the table and will hope to consolidate their position at the top.
However, Tottenham have also done well, sitting third in the table and hoping to leapfrog the Gunners at the summit.
Ahead of the match, asked some of their writers for their combined North London XI.
Alasdair Gold, the outlet’s main Spurs correspondent, went for nine Lilywhites players in his line-up.
‘Loaded with difficulties’
Just two Arsenal players – William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus – made the cut, and Gold explained why.
“Combining a Spurs and Arsenal XI is always loaded with difficulties,” Gold wrote on football.london.
“Including having seen more of one team than the other across the season as well as teams playing with different formations.
“I’m going to stick with Tottenham’s current 3-4-3 formation in order to crowbar both Dejan Kulusevski and Gabriel Jesus in with the Swede, who is a doubt for Saturday’s north London derby, playing at right wing-back.
“Richarlison could easily have got in as well such are the strength of Spurs’ attacking options now, but Jesus having seven goal involvements – four goals and three assists – from his eight matches gets him in there.
“William Saliba has impressed this season so far and is a player Spurs looked at before he headed to the Gunners so I’m going to work him into the back three alongside Cristian Romero and Eric Dier.
“I went back and forth over Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg or Martin Odegaard to partner Rodrigo Bentancur in the centre of the pitch.
“And the Dane got the nod because he’s got one more goal involvement – two goals and two assists – to the Norwegian’s three goals. It also would have be too attacking a line-up if I hadn’t.”