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New Year’s Day sees a huge clash in the Premier League, as Arsenal take on Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
Two of English football’s giants, the rivalry between the Gunners and the Red Devils defined the 1990’s and 2000’s in the Premier League, and while both sides are currently out of title contention, the game should still be a full-blooded one with both teams desperate to take all 3 points.
Here we look at a combined starting XI from Arsenal and Manchester United – playing in a 4-3-3 formation.
Goalkeeper: David De Gea
In the current season at least, Arsenal’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno seemingly has superior statistics to United’s David De Gea; the German has made more saves, more punches and more claims than De Gea, but despite this, it should be clear to most fans who the superior goalkeeper is.
Spain’s #1 has conceded 7 less goals than his counterpart and even before Leno’s incredible gaffe against Chelsea this week, it’s quite clear that the Red Devils have the more reliable shot-stopper between their sticks. Is De Gea the Premier League’s best goalkeeper at this point? Perhaps not, but he’d definitely be the #1 in this combined side.
Fullbacks: Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw
Arsenal’s defence has been hugely inconsistent this season both in personnel used and their performance on the pitch, so it’s hard to look past both of Manchester United’s full-backs in this combined side.
Since signing from Crystal Palace in the summer, right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been fantastic for the Red Devils; he’s averaged 4.3 successful tackles, 2.1 successful interceptions and 2.1 successful clearances per game – up there with the best right-backs in the league. Offensively he could do with some work – he’s registered 1 assist this season – but defensively, it’s hard to question him.
Luke Shaw meanwhile has long been recognised as one of England’s most talented left-backs, and even if his United career has been curtailed by injuries, when he has appeared this season he’s looked impressive, and was involved in the Red Devils’ impressive recent wins over Manchester City and Newcastle.
He’d almost certainly be a better bet at left-back than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (a winger by trade), Sead Kolasinac (hugely inconsistent) and Kieran Tierney (unimpressive since his summer move from Celtic).
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Centre Backs: Harry Maguire and David Luiz
The world’s most expensive defender, Harry Maguire has come under fire at various points during the current season, but for the most part, he’s provided Manchester United with a much stiffer backbone than they previously boasted, and with a high passing success rate of 86.3%, as well as excellent defensive stats – like an average of 4.8 aerial duels won per game – he definitely belongs in this combined team.
Maguire’s partners at United this season – Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones – have been somewhat less impressive; meaning Arsenal’s Brazilian veteran David Luiz would be a good fit for this combined side. The former Chelsea man, like Maguire, is an excellent passer of the ball, and while his positional sense is somewhat questionable, he scores highly in terms of clearances and interceptions and offers a threat from dead-ball situations, both in the air and as the kick-taker.
Midfield: Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Mesut Ozil
Due to the inconsistencies in both sides, the midfield was perhaps the hardest area to choose in this combined side.
The tigerish Scott McTominay is practically a must in the holding midfield slot, though; the Scotsman has been named Man of the Match for United by WhoScored.com on two occasions this season, has 3 goals and 1 assist, and scores more highly in almost every area – both offensive and defensive - than his Gunners counterpart, the controversial Granit Xhaka. Arsenal fans would likely give anything for a player with the heart and desire of McTominay right now.
France’s Paul Pogba has only been able to complete 7 Premier League games for United this season, but despite his injury issues, the World Cup winner remains one of the game’s most outstanding midfield performers. Able to play basically any role in the middle of the park, Pogba was excellent in a single half in the Red Devils’ recent game against Newcastle, and should help Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side going forward – assuming he stays at Old Trafford.
The playmaker position is a little trickier to fill; United do not really play with a true creative talent as Juan Mata is a fading force, Andreas Pereira has looked largely inadequate, and Jesse Lingard has struggled for form throughout the season.
That leaves Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, and while the German has been criticised in recent weeks for his apparent lack of effort, and has only registered a single assist thus far this season, he remains an extremely talented player capable of unlocking the trickiest defence. If he can find his form again under Mikel Arteta, he could still have a positive impact at the Emirates.
Wide Forwards: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marcus Rashford
His attitude might’ve been questioned in recent months, but it’d be impossible to leave Arsenal’s Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of a side like this. The winner of last season’s Golden Boot award, Aubameyang already has 13 Premier League goals this season; his goals count for half of the Gunners’ total in 2019-20, and one can only imagine where they would be without him.
Marcus Rashford meanwhile struggled as a central forward, but since moving back to his preferred wide forward slot this season he’s been fantastic. He’s scored 12 goals and registered 4 assists in his 20 appearances, including strikes against Tottenham and Manchester City, and he’s on a phenomenal run right now, with 6 goals in his last 8 Premier League matches. Simply put, he’s the Red Devils’ most important player.
Striker: Alexandre Lacazette
France’s Alexandre Lacazette hasn’t been on quite the same form that he showed in his first two Premier League seasons; he’s scored 5 goals thus far in 2019-20, and hasn’t found the back of the net since Arsenal’s loss to Brighton almost a month ago. Despite this, he’s still one of the Premier League’s most deadly finishers.
Lacazette’s form may not be quite as good as that of his fellow Frenchman Anthony Martial right now, but it’s also true that he has scored more than 20 goals in a season on 4 occasions in his career, something that Martial has not managed yet; United’s 24-year old has also never matched Lacazette’s return of 19 goals in the 2018-19 season.
