Which players would get into an Arsenal-Manchester United combined eleven?
After the debacle surrounding combined elevens following the Arsenal-Tottenham game, doing one of these is a dangerous game.
But we thought we’d give it a [proper] go anyway.
This is intended to be some harmless fun ahead of the game on Saturday. Unlike other elevens which are intentionally one-sided, my one is quite even.
In goal, I have to go with David De Gea. The Spaniard is younger and better than Cech is at the moment. I’m rather jealous that United have him while our own goalkeeper situation is far from ideal.
The defence is Antonio Valencia, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal. The Mustafi-Koscielny-Monreal trio has been excellent this season and have yet to concede a goal together. I haven’t been overly impressed with United’s defensive options. However, Valencia has been a consistent performer for many years and has been in good form, so he just edges it over Hector Bellerin.
The midfield is a trio of Paul Pogba, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil. It’s not the most balanced midfield ever, but individually the three stand as the most talented players of both squads, and have been creative forces for their teams this season so far.
On the flanks, I have Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford. Alexis, of course, is a proven performer that any top club would like to have. Rashford is an excellent young talent who can perform a number of roles in attack.
Finally, deciding upon the striker was a tough choice. I’ve gone with Romelu Lukaku in the end, due to his more explosive start to the season. However, I’ve little doubt that Alexandre Lacazette will catch up to him in the end.
The full eleven: