As the world awaits to witness the clash of the titans between Arsenal and Man City, we have tried our best to make a combined XI from both sides.
Considering Pep Guardiola has assembled one of the greatest teams in Premier League history, we have decided not to take the recent years into account. Instead, to keep it fair for Mikel Arteta’s high-flying side, all our picks are based on both sets of players’ form this season alone.
Keeping that in mind, here is our combined XI from Arsenal and Man City.
Arsenal-Man City combined XI
Ederson is the No.1 in our Arsenal-Man City combined XI
Whilst both Ederson and Aaron Ramsdale are guilty of errors here and there this season, the former makes the cut in our Arsenal-Man City combined XI due to perhaps having been less culpable for goals conceded.
After all, the Englishman was slated by the likes of Martin Keown via Sky Sports and Paul Merson for rushing out of the box in the lead-up to Ivan Toney’s equaliser for Brentford in the 1-1 draw against the Gunners, which emphasises that he has not been at his brilliant best this campaign.
Arsenal star Ben White beats out his competition from Man City
With Kyle Walker suffering injuries and losing out to Rico Lewis in the starting XI recently and the on-loan Joao Cancelo largely playing at left-back, the in-form Ben White starts at right-back in our Arsenal-Man City combined XI.
While the former Brighton defender may have looked slightly out-of-sorts in recent weeks, for most of this season, he has had a shout for being the standout player in the position in England this season.
Stones & Gabriel edge out Saliba as our centre-back duo
The ‘underrated’ Gabriel Magalhaes has emphatically recovered from a shaky start to the campaign by emerging as his side’s most reliable defender, whilst John Stones has been unplayable, both as a natural right-sided centre-back in a back 4 out of possession and as as right-sided defender in a back 3 with the ball.
On the other hand, as class as William Saliba has been, he has also been a weak link in the side since the World Cup for a large stretch of games, which is why he fails to cement his place in our Arsenal-Man City combined XI.
Zinchenko, a player both Arsenal & Man City fans adore is a nailed-on left-back pick
While Joao Cancelo started the season on fire, unconvincing displays before the World Cup before being shipped off to Bayern Munich on loan has meant he has undergone a bizarre campaign. And while Nathan Ake has been stellar at left-back since the World Cup, including him would be a classic case of recency bias.
Alongside Luke Shaw, the ‘incredible’ Oleksandr Zinchenko has simply been the most consistent left-back in the league, and remains central to his side topping the division, which is why he makes our Arsenal-Man City combined XI.
Rodri, Odegaard & De Bruyne start as our midfield trio in the Arsenal-Man City combined XI
Whilst Thomas Partey has been in sensational touch, Rodri simply remains the most complete defensive midfielder in world football since last season, in our view.
As for Martin Odegaard and Kevin De Bruyne, forget an Arsenal-Man City combined XI; these two would start as the creative midfielders in the 2022/2023 Premier League Team of the Season.
Saka, Haaland & Martinelli make our Arsenal-Man City front 3
Ironically, the biggest weakness in the Sky Blues’ squad may well be the Gunners’ strength, as the latter boast of the finest wing pair in English football in Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka. However, as strikers go, is there a more deadly goalscorer on the planet than Erling Haaland.
Choosing a front 3 from Arsenal and Man City was perhaps the easiest part of picking this combined XI.
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