MX23RW : Wednesday, December 5 14:05:50
Dec 2, 2018 at 2.05pm UK at ​Emirates Stadium
Arsenal
4-2
SpursTottenham Hotspur
Aubameyang (10' pen., 56'), Lacazette (74'), Torreira (77')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Dier (30'), Kane (34' pen.)
Vertonghen (85')

Combined XI: Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur

Ahead of Sunday's North London derby at the Emirates Stadium, Sports Mole selects its combined XI from the squads of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal host Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby on Sunday knowing that victory over their greatest rivals will see them leapfrog them in the Premier League table.

Just three points separate the two sides after 13 games of the season, and both go into this weekend's contest at the Emirates Stadium in fine form.

The Gunners are unbeaten in 18 matches across all competitions stretching back to August, while Spurs have won each of their last six outings including victories over Chelsea and Inter Milan in the past week.

Here, Sports Mole selects a combined XI from the two squads, using only players available this weekend.



Combined XI: ARS vs. TOT

Bernd Leno has cemented his place as Arsenal number one now, but Hugo Lloris remains the most highly-rated goalkeeper in North London despite making a number of costly errors already this season.

Lloris has an all-Tottenham defence in front of him too, with Jan Vertonghen fit again to partner compatriot Toby Alderweireld at centre-back this weekend. Laurent Koscielny is nearing a return and would ordinarily be Arsenal's best hope of having a defender in this team, but he has been sidelined since May and is still working his way back up to full fitness.

Kieran Trippier is also an injury doubt for this match as Spurs look to give him every chance possible to recover in time, while on the opposite flank the absence of Arsenal's Nacho Monreal means that Ben Davies's main competition for a place in this XI comes from teammate Danny Rose.

The diminutive Lucas Torreira is the first Arsenal representative having made a very encouraging start to life at the club, helping to fix the soft centre which so often cost Arsenal in the final years of Arsene Wenger's reign.

Granit Xhaka also deserves a mention having slowly begun to shed his hapless and ill-disciplined reputation, but the Swiss midfielder still has work to do to get ahead of Eric Dier in the pecking order for this team. Indeed, had Mousa Dembele been fit then he would also be chosen above Xhaka.

The main competition for places comes in the trio behind the striker as Mesut Ozil, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey are amongst the players to miss out.

Dele Alli just about pips them to a spot in the team, but there was never any doubt that Christian Eriksen would make this XI, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang just keeps on scoring for Arsenal - he now has 18 goals in just 26 Premier League appearances, including eight already this season.

Alexandre Lacazette has also been in good form for the Gunners and could return from injury this weekend, but Harry Kane remains arguably the best striker in the division and is a fairly easy choice to lead the line in this team.


Click here for more stories about Bernd Leno

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Who will win Sunday's North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham?

Arsenal
Draw
Tottenham
Arsenal
46.6%
Draw
11.9%
Tottenham
41.5%
Christian Eriksen is joined in celebration by his Tottenham Hotspur teammates after opening the scoring against Inter Milan on November 28, 2018
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City1513204573841
2Liverpool1411302752236
3Chelsea1494130111931
4Arsenal1493232181430
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs14100425151030
6Bournemouth157262522323
7Everton146442016422
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd146442223-122
9Leicester CityLeicester146352017321
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156361921-221
11Watford156271821-320
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372023-318
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves144461317-416
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle143381119-812
15Crystal Palace153391120-912
16Cardiff CityCardiff1532101430-1611
17Huddersfield TownHuddersfield152491026-1610
18Southampton141671226-149
19Burnley142391329-169
20Fulham1422101435-218

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