Arsenal host Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday. How exciting!
There probably should have been more on the line but City decided to be a rubbish for a while and are out of the title race, while Arsenal are trying and failing to successfully narrow the gap behind Liverpool.
Anyhow, here is a combined XI of the two sides as it is the biggest Premier League fixture of the weekend.
GK: David Raya (Arsenal)
For me, this is the most debatable position of the lot. I have always been a big fan of Ederson but he has declined since his Saudi Arabia transfer fell through in the summer of 2023. David Raya, meanwhile, has gone from strength to strength in the Arsenal goal.
Ederson is not guaranteed a starting spot at Manchester City these days with Stefan Ortega breathing down his neck, and there is a strong case for the German being Pep Guardiola’s No. 1.
Raya v Ederson could have gone either way but we have given the edge to the Spaniard, who has 24 clean sheets compared to the Brazilian’s 13 since the start of last season. At least Ederson has two assists in the Premier League this season, which is the same amount of goal involvements as Rasmus Hojlund has for Manchester United. Sorry not sorry for the stray.
RB: Jurrien Timber (Arsenal)
Injury problems at the Etihad mean Guardiola’s starting right-back at the Emirates is expected to be natural midfielder Matheus Nunes. That makes this one a no-brainer.
Jurrien Timber has been the epitome of consistency for Arsenal in 2024/25, starting 19 of 23 league matches after missing all of last season through injury, barring 50 minutes on matchday one and 21 on matchday 38.
Sometimes an injury shortly after joining a club can be a blessing in disguise as it allows players to adapt to their surroundings and lifts the pressure of being an immediate hit. An ACL injury is a step too far, mind. I am talking more about Alexander Isak having an issue after signing for Newcastle United in 2022 and hitting the ground running when he was finally fit.
CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
A truly outstanding talent, it turns out Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was very clever with William Saliba’s development. He deemed the France international not ready for the Premier League and loaning him out to Nice and then more controversially Marseille for the 2021/22 campaign, when many fans thought he was more than capable of playing for his parent club.
That final year in Marseille was a colossal success for Saliba and as it turns out, Arsenal too. He has been very, very good since coming into Arteta’s starting XI at the start of 2022/23.
👉 F365 EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal icon questions Marcus Rashford ‘ambition’ as ‘very interesting’ Gunners signing mooted
CB: Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
The Gabriel v Saliba debate is interesting but most certainly one Arsenal fans are keen to avoid. Why can’t we just enjoy both of them, etc, etc. In my humble opinion, Gabriel is the better player and always has been while partnering the Frenchman at centre-back for the Gunners.
Gabriel has become a real goal threat from set-pieces over the last year, which has begun to overshadow his world-class defensive ability, which is more important for a central defender, believe it or not.
John Stones and Manuel Akanji are two fantastic players but Gabriel and Saliba are both better for me, Clive. Had Ruben Dias been fit, he would have got in over Saliba.
LB: Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
Amazingly, it has taken us five positions to get to a Manchester City player in a combined XI; I don’t think that has ever happened before.
Arsenal have lots of uncertainty at left-back and will probably start Riccardo Calafiori there at the Emirates, but the only player in the Cityzens back five guaranteed to start is Josko Gvardiol.
The young Croat has blown hot and cold this season and similarly to Gabriel, is becoming better known for his goalscoring exploits than anything else, which feels… bizarre. It is what it is though, and Gvardiol has chipped in with some big goals this campaign, just as he did to help City win the Premier League title last season.
It is easy to forget with that big beard of his, but Gvardiol has only just turned 23 years old. It’s a joke.
DM: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
With Rodri out injured due to an ACL tear he suffered in the reverse fixture, it could only be Declan Rice for this position.
Rice rejected a move to the Etihad to sign for Arsenal in July 2023 and if he was there now, able to slot in for the Ballon d’Or winner, Guardiola would probably be on route to his seventh Premier League title in eight years having avoided the recent crisis.
Rice has been incredible in the Arsenal midfield and the fact nobody mentions his £100million transfer fee is enough to prove he has justified it. Every player in Premier League history to cost over £70m has their fee mentioned, except Rice, Gvardiol and Virgil van Dijk. Why? Because they are the only successful ones in the list of 17.
CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard continues the red and white domination, which is about to end with four City players completing this combined XI.
Odegaard has carried this team on his back plenty of times and his absence earlier in the season was abundantly clear, but with Bukayo Saka now absent, the Norwegian’s game has dropped a little bit. Luckily for him, Ethan Nwaneri has some huge similarities to Saka and his presence on the right wing should help his captain get back to his best.
MORE FEATURES ON F365
👉 Unbreakable Premier League records feature Mourinho’s stingy Chelsea and Erling Haaland
👉 Every Premier League club’s pleasant surprise this season: Amad, Kluivert, Burn, Tielemans…
👉 Premier League player stats: Salah leads three metrics, Arsenal, Everton goalkeepers chase Sels
CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
It is always a no-brainer to include Kevin De Bruyne when he is fit and available.
There is a genuine debate for him being the greatest midfielder the Premier League has ever seen. His right foot might be the best we have ever seen and his left foot is better than a lot of outstanding left footers we have seen in Our League.
In his prime, which he is slightly past now, De Bruyne was unstoppable. He had everything that Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard did, but has at least one Premier League winner’s medal, unlike a certain someone.
Nostalgia might not allow for KDB to be better than Lamps and Stevie G, but I think he will go down as the best midfielder in Premier League history.
RW: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Saka’s absence means Phil Foden is on the right wing of our Arsenal and Man City combined XI. He is usually shifted over to the left to accommodate for his England team-mate but there is no need for that today.
Foden took his time to get going this season, after a world-class 2023/24 campaign, but he is here now and is looking rather frightening. Arsenal face him at the worst of times. The 24-year-old has seven goals and two assists in 18 league appearances this season and seven goal involvements in his last four, having registered zero goals and one assist in his first 11.
On any given day that Foden turns up, he gives Man City a chance of winning. He has two goals and three assists in 12 games against the Gunners.
LW: Omar Marmoush (Manchester City)
I included Omar Marmoush in last weekend’s combined XI with Chelsea, before he had kicked a Premier League ball. He looked really good and deserved a goal, though he did rob one off Bernardo Silva, which saved Robert Sanchez from another error leading to a goal at least.
Marmoush and Foden will likely rotate on either side of Erling Haaland and it will be very interesting to watch their match-ups against Timber and (probably) Calafiori – who scored in the reverse fixture, which finished 2-2.
The Egyptian’s presence means Leandro Trossard – who was sent off at the Etihad – and Gabriel Martinelli miss out.
ST: Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
If Erling Haaland or Kai Havertz is a question you have to ask yourself, I don’t know what to tell you.
That is no slight on Havertz, for what it’s worth. I like him. Arsenal need a striker, yes, but I do like him. Promise.
After 63 goals in 66 Premier League matches across his first two seasons, Haaland showed no signs of slowing down with 10 in five to start 2024/25, but he then proceeded to do just that. He now has 18 in 23, which is a superb return, if you are a mere mortal and not a Nordic robot.
His 100th City goal came in the 2-2 draw between these two in September, which was only his 105th appearance for the champions.
READ NOW: The ridiculous stats of Erling Haaland: 81 Premier League goals at 21 Premier League grounds
