Arsenal vs Chelsea Combined XI: Enzo & Palmer out, Gyokeres included

Arsenal entertain Chelsea in Sunday’s much-awaited Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are currently five points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the league standings, but the Cityzens have a game in hand against Crystal Palace.

Pep Guardiola’s side will be in action against Leeds United on the road on Saturday. A victory would see the gap reduce to just two points before the London derby.

Hence, Sunday’s game appears a must-win for Arsenal. Ahead of the encounter, we have picked our combined line-up based on overall form this campaign.

We have chosen our team without including any injured or suspended players.

Formation: 4-3-3

Predicted Line-up:

Goalkeeper:

David Raya has been brilliant between the sticks for the Gunners with 13 clean sheets in the Premier League. He has managed three more shutouts than Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez, and gets the nod as the starting goalkeeper in our combined XI.

Defence:

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are the most efficient central defensive partnership in the league, and it seems a no-brainer to pick the duo ahead of Trevoh Chalobah, who has been an ever-present figure in the heart of the defence for the Blues.

Jurrien Timber had a fine start to the season, but his performances have dipped in recent months. Despite his fine assist in the north London derby, we have chosen Blues captain Reece James at right-back due to his consistency and better link-up play in the final third.

Cucurella is a strong contender for the left-back slot, but we have ignored him due to his hamstring injury concern. In that case, Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie gets our pick. The Ecuadorian has been a nailed-on starter in recent weeks and has looked in superb touch too.

Midfield:

Moises Caicedo and Martin Zubimendi are the regular defensive midfielders for Chelsea and Arsenal respectively this campaign. Both have played significant roles in their clubs’ progress and make up our combined midfield alongside Declan Rice.

Rice and Enzo Fernandez have impressed as central midfielders for the London duo. The former has had better output in distribution, chance creation, and goal contributions from open play. He has also made more recoveries per appearance this term.

Attack:

We have decided to go with Bukayo Saka over Cole Palmer on the right wing. Both have had injury-disrupted campaigns and have struggled to find their usual consistency. We have prioritised open play goals in our selection.

Saka has netted six goals without penalties compared to Palmer’s four. The former gets our nod as a result. Elsewhere, we have gone with Joao Pedro as a left winger to fit him and Viktor Gyokeres in our combined attack for the London derby.

Pedro and Gyokeres have netted 14 goals and 15 goals in all competitions respectively this season. In terms of goal contributions this year, Gyokeres has had the edge over Pedro with 10 compared to eight. Both deserve to make the XI.

Combined Arsenal & Chelsea line-up

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