Arsenal go up against Chelsea this weekend.placeholder image
Arsenal go up against Chelsea this weekend. | Getty Images
There’s a wealth of world class midfield talent on show this weekend as Arsenal host Chelsea in the Premier League.
Arsenal bounced back from dropping points against struggling Wolves in style last weekend, romping to a 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Igor Tudor’s first match in interim charge.
There was a real bite to the Gunners’ performance after midweek disappointment and Mikel Arteta will hope to keep that edge after a rare seven days off. Arsenal host Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
That won’t be an easy outing for Arsenal, with the Blues yet to lose in the league under Liam Rosenior. LondonWorld sets about picking a combined XI from the two London clubs.
Arsenal and Chelsea current combined XI
Goalkeeper - David Raya
Defenders - Reece James, William Saliba, Gabriel, Marc Cucurella
David Raya is a shoo-in between the sticks. Robert Sanchez has come through a turbulent period of criticism at the start of the campaign but there’s a feeling that he remains capable of a match-changing error. The Gunners have conceded a league low of 21 goals with Raya between the sticks this season, and the Spaniard offers so much with his distribution too.
Chelsea full-backs flank the undeniable central partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel at the Emirates Stadium. The Frenchman and Brazilian are both mighty strong and very nimble, the latter a huge goal threat from set pieces too.
Marc Cucurella is a workhorse at left back and has gone from strength to strength since winning the World Cup with Spain in 2024, keeping Lamine Yamal quiet in a Champions League clash earlier this season. When fit, there’s little that the versatile Reece James can’t do, which gets him in the side before Jurrien Timber.
Midfielders - Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez
Wingers - Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze
Striker - Joao Pedro
There’s a wealth of talent in central midfield between these two sides. Martin Zubimendi has been a cool customer since his arrival in the Premier League and Andrey Santos looks to be a beakthrough star at Chelsea.
The regular debate over the best defensive midfielder in the league this season tends to leave pundits arguing between Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo. Those two are easy inclusions in our combined XI and would let little past them. Enzo Fernandez also gets the nod given how much he can offer both going forwards and defensively.
It’s brave to omit Cole Palmer from the XI but the England international’s injury woes have left him struggling to put a real run of form together. Bukayo Saka’s consistency has been awarded with a new Arsenal contract and, as proven at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Eberechi Eze has proven his ability to be a matchwinner - we move him into a more advanced position here given the competition for central midfield spots.
It’s a coin toss between Joao Pedro and Viktor Gyokeres to lead the line. The Arsenal man looks to finally be finding his feet in the Premier League after a brace at Spurs. Both have similar outputs in the league this term but Pedro looks to be becoming the complete striker and has five goals and four assists in his last six league outings.
In other news, Paul Merson and Chris Sutton make Arsenal vs Chelsea predictions as 'free hit' claim made.
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