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Arsenal take on Manchester City on Monday nightArsenal and Manchester city go head-to-head on Monday night looking to win a crucial three points in the Premier League. What makes this match more interesting is that if there is a winner, it will not take them to the summit of the EPL with Leicester City already consolidating top spot before Christmas. The Foxes are on 38 points while Arsenal and City are on 33 and 32 points respectively. But if last season was anything to go by, this fixture will see goals. With both teams gunning for a win at the Emirates, we take a look at their top players this season who would make it into a combined XI. Only available players have been selected.
#1 Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
No arguments here as Petr Cech gets the nod over Joe Hart. The Czech Republic international was Arsene Wenger’s only summer signing with Arsenal being the only club in Europe’s top five leagues to not sign an outfield player.
John Terry had said Cech could easily save 12 to 15 points for Arsenal. He has done exactly that in the Premier League this season. The 33-year-old has saved the Gunners on a number of occasions and has been the difference when it comes to taking home a point or three.
Cech has played every minute of every game in the league so far, making a total of 49 saves, a key stat which has seen the Gunners concede only 13 goals – the best record in the league so far. On the other hand, Hart has made 29 saves. Cech’s distribution has also been better than the England goalkeeper’s.
#2 Defence
The right-back slot is a fight between Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin and Manchester City’s Bacary Sagna. But the Spaniard has performed better than the former Arsenal man. Sagna has been exploited defensively by wingers in the league while Bellerin has managed to hold his own and taken over the first team spot ahead of the more experienced Mathieu Debuchy. Bellerin is also a better prospect in attack, constantly making runs down the right flank and combining with the likes of Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey.
The centre-back pairing is pretty straightforward. Although Per Mertesacker has improved this season, especially with Cech behind him and Francis Coquelin in front of him during the early stages of the season, Laurent Koscielny and new signing Nicolas Otamendi have been pivotal to their back lines. Both have plenty of guile and pace to offer in a league as fast as the Premier League.
In the absence of the injured Vincent Kompany, only Otamendi has impressed at the back for City, averaging 3 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game. Meanwhile, Laurent Koscielny averages 1.6 tackles but a whopping 3.7 interceptions per game – the highest in the league for a defender! The French defender has also scored two goals this season.
The left-back slot is the toughest choice to make. Although Nacho Monreal has been a rock at the back for Arsenal, Aleksandar Kolarov gets the nod simply because of his attacking capability. The Serbian defender has a mean left foot on set pieces and has already scored twice in the league this season along with one assist.
#3 Midfield
Starting with the base of the midfield, both sides have been hit by injuries. Ultimately, we have gone with Manchester City’s Yaya Toure and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey.
Toure did not start the season as well as he would have liked. But the big Ivorian has hit his stride in recent games and was responsible for getting a late winner that got the Sky Blues all three points against Swansea City at the Etihad last weekend. The 32-year-old may not have another 20-goal season again, but he has been involved in seven goals this season. Having made 14 appearances in 16 matches, he is also one of their fittest players.
Meanwhile, Aaron Ramsey seems to have rediscovered his best form after injuries to Coquelin and Santi Cazorla forced Arsene Wenger to bring the Welsh midfielder back to a central role. The 24-year-old is primarily a box-to-box midfielder and relishes a central role rather than being deployed on the right. The numbers also back this claim as he has been far more effective to scoring or creating goals when deployed in midfield (2 goals and 2 assists so far).
No prizes for guessing who plays as the central attacking midfielder. While David Silva is not yet 100% after returning from a spell on the sidelines, Mesut Ozil has brought Premier League defenders to their knees with his passing, dribbling and attacking runs.
The German midfielder has already recorded 13 assists – seven short of Thierry Henry’s Premier League record of 20 in a season – with more than half a season to go. The next best is only 7 (Riyad Mahrez and Gerard Deulofeu). He has also scored twice, most notably putting on a commanding performance against Manchester United.
#4 Attack
With Alexis Sanchez still a doubt for the fixture, Wenger might be taking a risk by playing the Chilean forward even though it is a crunch game. If fit, he may most likely start the match on the bench. That leaves only two other contenders for the left and right forwards in attack.
Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne cost Manchester City a combined total of £104m this summer as they broke their transfer record twice. While Sterling took some time to get into his stride, he did finally start scoring for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. The absence of Sergio Aguero was a factor for his poor performances as he took time to link up with Wilfried Bony. But a superb hat-trick against Bournemouth saw exactly why City had paid so much to secure the 21-year-old’s future.
On the other hand, Kevin De Bruyne had absolutely no problems slotting into City’s attack. It was as if he never left the Premier Leauge. The Belgian has already had a hand in 10 goals in the Premier League since his transfer, netting 4 goals (the same as Sterling) and grabbing six assists. The two have been key weapons in Pellegrini’s attack bereft of the services of Aguero and Silva for long periods this season and are one of the main reasons for City staying in the hunt.
Reports suggest Sergio Aguero could be back for this game after recovering from a heel injury. But like Alexis Sanchez, this game might also be too soon and he could further risk aggravating his injury. Although he has scored 7 goals this season, five of those came in one game against Newcastle.
On the other hand, Olivier Giroud has been in fine form and leads the Gunners’ goalscoring charts with 9 goals this season. In spite of starting only 10 games, he has come on as a substitute in the other six. The French striker has been in fine form, especially in December with five goals in all competitions, and is our pick as the striker to lead this team.
Substitutes: Joe Hart, Nacho Monreal, Per Mertesacker, Fernandinho, David Silva, Alexis Sanchez, Sergio Aguero
