Has there ever been a broader collection of Premier League talent plying their trade in the English capital than here and now; the season 2023/23? We live in an era where Brentford’s number nine is perhaps Harry Kane’s greatest competition heading into the Qatar World Cup. Where Fulham have a striker capable of striking fear into the hearts of the most battle-scarred of central defenders.
Where Thiago Silva, Bukayo Saka, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Lucas Paqueta, N’Golo Kante, Granit Xhaka, Mason Mount, Richarlison, Heung-Min Son and Raheem Sterling do not even command a place in our very own, obviously opinion-driven, London XI.
So, now that the near-misses are out the way, who does make the nod?
GK – Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal
Perhaps the most straightforward pick in this entire XI. Hugo Lloris and Lukasz Fabianski are showing their age, while Edouard Mendy on current form would make Bambi in ice skates look like a strong and sturdy presence.
As such, Ramsdale waltzes into our XI with trademark swagger and confidence. A fine shot-stopper who is as comfortable with the ball at his feet as he is with his gloves, the former Sheffield United ace has certainly put successive relegations firmly in the rearview mirror.
RB – Reece James, Chelsea
One of the few Chelsea players who can hold his head up and say he did all he could to keep Thomas Tuchel in a job. With Trent Alexander-Arnold bang out of form, a starting spot in Gareth Southgate’s England side is surely Reece James’s to lose.
CB – Christian Romero, Tottenham Hotspur
Is there a better right-sided centre-half in the Premier League? If Romero can curb his wild side – Marc Cucurella is lucky he’s got more than enough hair to go around – there is nothing to stop the 2021 Serie A Defender of the Year reaching the very pinnacle of the world game.
CB – Kurt Zouma, West Ham United
Joachim Andersen, Eric Dier and Marc Guehi are perhaps unfortunate to miss out here, but Zouma’s outstanding form since joining West Ham a year ago is worthy of recognition. The irony being, of course, that he’d probably walk into Chelsea’s backline these days.
LB – Oleksandr Zinchenko, Arsenal
One of the most tactically intelligent footballers around. Zinchenko not only brings a real winning mentality to Arsenal, he also gives Mikel Arteta the option to take a leaf out of his old mentor’s playbook and instil a Guardiola-esque inverted full-back system at the Emirates Stadium.
CM – Martin Odegaard, Arsenal
Captain of both club and country, Odegaard’s ability to pull the strings and dictate the tempo while cutting in onto his surgeon’s scalpel of a left-boot has made him – alongside Bukayo Saka and Ramsdale – all-but undroppable at Arsenal.
2022/23 is already shaping up to the season in which Odegaard goes from ‘good’ to ‘great’.
CM – Declan Rice, West Ham United
Is there anything Declan Rice can’t go? Well, score goals perhaps. Apart from that, however, West Ham’s academy graduate-turned-talisman possesses about every attribute you could possibly want from a midfielder.
His ball-carrying ability lifts Rice above the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Granit Xhaka.
RW – Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur
It’s hard to believe Juventus were so willing to simply give Kulusevski away in January. It’s not as if Max Allegri’s side – two wins in six Serie A games – are brimming with creativity after all. The silky Swede always seems to pick the right option at precisely the right moment.
LW – Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace
With 2022 Golden Boot winner Heung Min Son enduring perhaps his driest spell as a Spurs player, the eternally-effervescent Zaha is more than deserving of his place on the left-hand side of our admittedly hypothetical frontline. The Crystal Palace hero has scored 19 Premier League goals since the start of last season; dragging last season’s form into 2022/23.
ST – Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspu
If anyone is going to take Alan Shearer’s record, it’s Harry Kane. With five goals in just six games so far, Tottenham’s number ten has made one of his sharpest starts to a new campaign, putting that so-called ‘August hoodoo’ to bed for good.
The last time, Kane failed to break the 20-goal barrier in all competitions, Emmanuel Adebayor, Heurelho Gomes and Nabil Bentaleb were all still Spurs players.
ST – Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal
Last month, the former Manchester City forward made history, becoming the first ever man to be picked by at least 80 per cent of Fantasy Football players at the start of the new season. There just seemed to be something in the air with Gabriel Jesus. We all felt it. We all knew the thunderstorm that was heading our way.
And, with six goals or assists to show from his first six Arsenal games, it seems the forecast was right. It’s gonna be raining goals in North London with Jesus around.
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