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Central midfield: N'Golo Kante
N’Golo Kante is football’s spellchecker. He makes up for his team’s mistakes on the pitch and serves as the perfect foil for his more illustrious teammates. Kante is the only current player in my team and his work rate would provide an excellent shield ahead of the back three.
Kante rarely scores goals but is so often involved in his side’s creative process. The French midfielder doesn’t need to share the goalscoring burden because of the firepower Chelsea currently have, and his ability to win the ball back is the primary source of the Blues’ attacking prowess.
Central midfield: Roy Keane
As good as Kante is at pulling off his tackles, my midfield needs more of a physical threat. There’s none better in that department than Roy Keane. You don’t get too many players who are the same both on and off the field. With Keane, you know exactly what you’re going to get.
There always comes a time when the best players in the world need marshaling on the football field. You could never get Roy Keane away from the action – his ability to police match situations gave his teammates the confidence they needed to express themselves.
Roy Keane was a natural leader and a player who always gave his all on the pitch. Anyone on this list could potentially become the team’s captain, but Roy Keane is the only player who commands the position.
Central midfield: Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira has always been a combatant and it would be thoroughly interesting to watch him play alongside Roy Keane, given their history. They worked together at the Euros and would be virtually unstoppable in the same midfield.
Vieira was part of Arsenal’s revolution under Arsene Wenger and was one of the Gunners’ best players at the time. The French midfielder never managed to win the Champions League, but it comes as no surprise that Arsenal managed an ‘Invincibles’ season with the inspirational Vieira in their midfield.
Attacking midfield: Dennis Bergkamp
There have been several players in the Premier League who’ve been exceptionally skillful, but only a handful of them were true game-changers. Dennis Bergkamp’s reading of the game would seem impossible, at times. Some of the goals he scored were just ridiculous.
Bergkamp was a nightmare to play against, particularly when he lined up alongside Henry and Vieira. He’s the arrowhead in my midfield, and his knack for creating chances out of nothing made him an irreplaceable asset for the Gunners.
With Dennis Bergkamp, it didn’t matter if his back or side was towards goal. Bergkamp’s stunning piece of magic against Newcastle United has gone down in history as one of the best goals in Premier League history.
Forward: Thierry Henry
I was at West Ham when Arsenal’s Invincibles conquered the Premier League, and I distinctly remember being 2-0 up against them at half-time. Thierry Henry decided to take matters into his own hands, however, and scored an absolute thunderbolt as Arsenal came back to secure a 2-2 draw.
Thierry Henry was a man playing a kids’ game and ran rings around everybody in his prime. Henry could score goals even when he was not in form, and his competitive attitude and winning mentality made him a compulsive winner. When you look at the current Arsenal side, you often wonder what they’d be like if they had that kind of attitude.
Henry has given me nightmares over the years, and I both hated and loved playing against him. Keeping a clean sheet against the Arsenal great usually indicated an excellent performance but that very rarely happened. Thierry Henry is one of the best players I’ve ever played against and was a phenomenon at Arsenal.
Forward: Didier Drogba
There are so many players to choose from when it comes to a Premier League striker, but I’d reckon Didier Drogba was the best at what he did. Drogba was a terrifying opponent – he could keep scoring. One way or another, Didier Drogba frustrated the living daylights and has caused a lot of heartache in my playing career.
As a striker, Drogba brought forth a level of dexterity that football, in general, didn’t have. If the ball was at his feet, you could be sure that there’d be a shot at the end of the move. Drogba’s a lovely character off the field but you put him on the pitch in a Chelsea shirt, and he’s all about scoring goals.
Forward: Eric Cantona
Manchester United would not be the success they are today if it hadn’t been for Eric Cantona. The forward transformed Manchester United and was one of those rare signings that permanently changed the club’s fortunes. Manchester United have achieved incredible feats over the years and Cantona was the mortar between their bricks.
Eric Cantona did have a larger-than-life persona but ensured that he made his team great. The Manchester United star was unassuming in many ways and was a no-nonsense player. Cantona scored a goal against me in the first game after his ban, and it was often inevitable that he would be on the scoresheet.
Substitutes
Cristiano Ronaldo is an obvious pick on my bench - he was a phenomenal player in a phenomenal team. If I was picking a foreign XI for La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo would be the first name on my list. Ronaldo did great things at Manchester United, but went on to hit his peak at Real Madrid and has now become an all-time great.
Gianfranco Zola was an exceptional addition to Chelsea’s squad and was a wonderful player in his prime. Vincent Kompany also narrowly missed out on a spot in the team. The Belgian defender was one of the first members of Manchester City’s revolution and is a bonafide legend.
Bench: Peter Schmeichel, Vincent Kompany, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gianfranco Zola
Also Read: Fabrizio Romano's Transfer Roundup: Arsenal transfer news, Update on Harry Kane's future and more
