The outlook on Arsenal’s season is an awful lot different than it was a month ago, while the view of Chelsea’s campaign has also dramatically changed. Sunday’s London derby will be very interesting.
Current form is not reflected in our combined XI of the two sides. Class is permanent and all that. Arsenal have seven players and Chelsea four.
GK: David Raya (Arsenal)
Ahead in the Spain pecking order and undoubtedly the superior goalkeeper, Raya is in between the sticks over Bobby Sanchez, whose annual cull we are still waiting for.
RB: Benjamin White (Arsenal)
Reece James is a fantastic player but we have given the edge to White, mainly due to his consistency, and the fact James has not been able to show us just how fantastic he is. The next injury feels like a matter of time but if he can stay fit, Chelsea and England could have the best right-back in the world. He is that good.
White has not been at his best this season, but then again neither have a lot of Arsenal players. We think his durability, defensive ability and link-up with Bukayo Saka are indispensable.
CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
One of the best centre-backs in world football, Saliba is another indispensable member of an Arsenal backline that has been much more easily exploited this season. We are not sure why. It certainly isn’t down to Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes’ partnership becoming less stable but we have at least seen some vulnerability from the Frenchman this term. That being said, he is still comfortably better than any central defender Chelsea have to offer.
CB: Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
As is his partner, Gabriel. The Brazilian has arguably been more consistent than Saliba for a longer time now and has chipped in with some crucial goals, not that you should be expecting that from your centre-back.
Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill are two superb young centre-backs but they still have a lot to do to prove they are on the same level as Saliba and Gabriel.
LB: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)
The first of four Chelsea players in our combined XI, we have given the nod to Spanish left-back Cucurella over Jurrien Timber, again, through the benefit of consistency and choosing him after snubbing James would be somewhat contradictory.
Cucurella has not started a Premier League match since October 6 against Nottingham Forest but we think he is the man for the job to try and contain Bukayo Saka. More so than an out-of-position James or Malo Gusto.
DM: Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
Caicedo has been Chelsea’s best player this season and has rightly earned a place in the WhoScored ratings team of the season so far.
In 2024/25, the Ecuadorian averages 3.56 tackles, 1.73 interceptions and 47.49 completed passes per game, while tackling the most dribblers in the Premier League. Not only has Caicedo been solid defensively this term, but he has been more assured in possession, forming a nice defensive-midfield partnership with Romeo Lavia.
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CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Arsenal’s captain has to start at Stamford Bridge. He will be on a minutes restriction having just returned from an ankle injury, but the Gunners have missed him so dearly, proving to some that he might actually be more important than Mikel Arteta.
Odegaard is the heartbeat of this Arsenal team and it is no surprise that their downturn in form coincided with his absence. It started off okay without him against Tottenham, Manchester City and PSG, but the wheels have been falling off. Thankfully for Arteta, the Norwegian midfielder is fit enough to make the matchday squad against Chelsea.
Funny how a £100m+ Chelsea midfielder not making this team does not raise a single eyebrow.
CM: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Doubtful for Sunday’s fixture, Rice is suffering from a broken toe but reports suggest he could play through the pain barrier, which would be…quite something.
Regardless of his fitness issues, we have opted to include him in the combined XI. As long as there is a chance, we cannot ignore the Arsenal midfielder.
RW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Just a wonderful player who needs no justification. He makes every Arsenal combined XI and we very rarely waste our time explaining why.
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LW: Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
We will explain our positional thought process in more depth later, because it is important to be clear to you beautiful people who will obviously react completely normally on social media or in the comments Below The Line.
Jackson’s scoring record for Chelsea is going – dare we say – under the radar. He has 20 goals in 45 matches and doesn’t take penalties! A non-penalty goal record to be proud of, I’d say.
F9: Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
Like Rice, Palmer is an injury doubt for Sunday’s Premier League clash. But like Rice, mere doubts are not enough to deter us.
We have gone with a bold front three but do not throw out any Garth Crooks accusations just yet. Palmer and Saka are the best players for their respective teams and had to be included. Saka, as the better player, gets priority on the right. Palmer might not necessarily be more versatile than Saka but his versatility is used more often. He pretty much has the right to roam free under Enzo Maresca, so he is our false nine.
We also think Jackson is better off the left than he is through the middle. The teamsheet might have him up front and Palmer on the right or in the No. 10 position, but we simply do not care. Paper and grass are two completely different things.
👉 BIG WEEKEND: Chelsea v Arsenal, Liverpool, Nuno Espirito Santo, Erling Haaland, Steel City Derby
