A combination of the best players from Arsenal and Tottenham.
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With Arsenal and Tottenham set to renew their rivalry once again in the North London derby this weekend, rarely have Spurs had such an opportunity to claim the stronger set of players in this game. With the lucrative sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid looking likely, Andre Villas-Boas has spent £90million already on exciting new additions, with the possibility of more still to come.
Although deadline day is fast approaching and there could be a flurry of late deals by both sides, we have a look at the best current north London XI.
Defence
In goal, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris as number one is a no-brainer. The Frenchman had a fine first season in English football last year, and looks like potentially becoming one of the best shot-stoppers in the league. Arsenal’s Wojciech Szczesny, meanwhile, has gone backwards after initially looking like a good prospect. The error-prone Pole was dropped for much of last season before an injury to Lukasz Fabianski forced him back into the side, and many Arsenal fans will be hoping Arsene Wenger brings in a replacement in the next few days.
The experienced, solid, and reliable Bacary Sagna gets the nod over the more youthful, attack-minded, but inconsistent Kyle Walker at right-back, though both are top players for their sides, making it a close call. On the opposite flank, Kieran Gibbs edges Danny Rose for the left-back spot. Rose had an excellent season on loan at Sunderland last year and looks a good prospect, but is yet to truly find his feet at White Hart Lane, while Gibbs continues to grow in stature at the Emirates Stadium.
While Arsenal player’s dominate the full-back position, in the centre it has to be two Spurs men, with Jan Vertonghen and Michael Dawson far more reliable options than Per Mertesacker or Laurent Koscielny, not to mention the out-of-form Thomas Vermaelen. Although Mertesacker looked much-improved towards the end of last season, Vertonghen and Dawson are far more consistent and well-rounded players, with the Belgian also showing great ability going forward, and Dawson proving to be a great leader for Andre Villas-Boas’ side.
Midfield
Although neither side seem to play 4-4-2 much these days, it looked like the fairest way of fitting in both sides’ best midfielders, with both Paulinho and Jack Wilshere great all-round box-to-box players, and Santi Cazorla and Erik Lamela both creative, skillful, roaming wingers.
In a 4-2-3-1, a more true defensive midfielder like Etienne Capoue might be more likely to feature and is unlucky to miss out here, though with the Frenchman still new to the Premier League, it’s a bit early to say whether or not he will reproduce his best form with Toulouse for Tottenham. Moussa Dembele is also unlucky to miss out, but wasn’t quite at his best in a Spurs shirt following his move from Fulham last season.
Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon, two speedy and direct English wingers are also unfortunate to miss out, but both struggle somewhat for consistency and suffer from being too limited in their play. Both would make excellent ‘impact subs’ for this squad though.
On the left, Podolski is certainly a strong contender, though it’s still not clear if it’s even his best position, as his lack of pace makes him seem more ideally suited to playing upfront, or wide left in a front three, but certainly not a natural winger in a 4-4-2 formation. Spurs new boy Nacer Chadli will still have to wait to convince us he’s worthy of a spot in the team.
Attack
Two strikers bang in form and too good to leave out, the combination of Olivier Giroud and Roberto Soldado heavily influenced the decision to line up in a 4-4-2. Soldado has been one of the most lethal finishers in La Liga for a number of years, regularly scoring between 25 and 30 for Valencia, and looking like keeping up that clinical form in the Premier League, with two goals in his first two games, albeit both from the penalty spot. Giroud as well has started the season in great form with three goals in four games in all competitions, continuing the form that he found midway through last season as he settled into English football.
Walcott and Podolski could make a claim for playing upfront, but don’t tend to do so often for Arsenal, so they fail to find a spot in the front two either, while Spurs duo Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor can hardly be considered contenders after their inconsistent form in front of goal last season, with just 16 Premier League goals between them.
So Tottenham edge out Arsenal with six players to five, and would arguably dominate even more in a different formation, or with their potential new signings that could be just around the corner. As good as these players look together, they will be competing against each other this weekend in what promises to be one of the most exciting and evenly-matched meetings between these two sides for years.
