MARTIN KEOWN’S COMBINED XI
GET PAST SPURS’ KRAY TWINS AND GUNNERS CAN POUNCE
THERE was a noisy reaction to my last North London Derby XI when these teams last met in a defining fixture in May — and believe me, no one was louder than my talkSPORT colleague Simon Jordan!
That’s because I didn’t name a single Tottenham player. I explained that as an Arsenal man I didn’t want to take anything away from my team. I didn’t want to hamper any of the players’ confidence ahead of such a huge clash.
But Mikel Arteta’s players have grown in stature since that 3-0 defeat last season. They’re full of belief and top of the table. So here, I’ve gone through it position by position to see who I would name if these two teams merged.
GOALKEEPER AND BACK LINE
HUGO LLORIS is France’s No 1 and captained them to World Cup glory in 2018. As much as Aaron Ramsdale is improving, I’ve opted for Lloris.
With Arteta and Antonio Conte employing different formations, I had a decision to make on whether to use a back four or back three. I always preferred playing in a four and my centre back partnership is all Arsenal — Gabriel and William Saliba. These two are quietly turning into a formidable partnership with their physicality and assurance. At left back I’ve named Oleksandr
Zinchenko, who has put in stellar performances since signing from Manchester City last summer. At right back it’s Emerson, who’s started six of Tottenham’s seven league games this campaign.
MIDFIELD
MY MIDFIELD belongs to Tottenham — Rodrigo Bentancur and PierreEmile Hojbjerg. These two do such an underrated job for Conte in the engine room and have gelled brilliantly.
FORWARDS
ON THE right is Bukayo Saka, who pips Spurs’ Dejan Kulusevski. Playing off the front, we have the creative Martin Odegaard. He’s stepped up a level since being made captain, embracing the responsibility. On the left is Son Heung-min, who responded to being left on the bench by Conte against Leicester by coming on and scoring a 13-minute hat-trick. There was no feeling sorry for himself.
STRIKER
THIS was the hardest decision and, in the end, I simply couldn’t separate Harry Kane and Gabriel Jesus. Kane (right) is the top scorer in north London derbies with 13 goals in 15 games. But Jesus (left) has been so instrumental in Arsenal going from also-rans to the top of the table. So as their fantasy boss, I’m giving them 45 minutes each!
Today’s north London derby has all the makings of a fascinating tactical battle between two highly competitive managers with different systems.
Mikel arteta admires the artistry and fluidity of 4-3-3 and how it enables arsenal’s players to express themselves on the pitch. Whereas antonio Conte prefers the more pragmatic formation of 3-4-3 and believes it will bring success to Tottenham in the way it did for him at Chelsea, Juventus and
Inter Milan.
The Italian’s system is a well-oiled machine full of hard-working cogs with Conte demanding that his team are tactically astute and disciplined. Every player is expected to defend when they are out of possession, with no exceptions, but they snap into attack mode once they win the ball back.
Today’s head-to-head between first and third in the Premier League is timely, coming after an international break in which there was a debate about whether England should use 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 at the World Cup. Like all tactical aficionados out there, Gareth southgate will be an interested observer of today’s game, wondering which system will triumph.
The last north London derby in May saw Tottenham win 3-0 and the result was crucial in helping Tottenham pip arsenal to fourth place. arteta will have learned lessons from that defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. That day, arsenal’s full backs left their central defenders exposed by tracking Tottenham’s wing-backs. Cedric soares in particular was flying out of his right back position to close down the left
wing-back ryan Sessegnon, leaving rob holding in one-v-one situations with Son heung-min. holding ended up receiving two yellow cards for an accumulation of fouls on Son in the first half and arsenal lost. central defenders William Saliba and Gabriel cannot be left in that vulnerable position today. arsenal’s back four needs to stay as intact and compact as possible to deal with Tottenham’s special front three. The reinvented Eric Dier, a former midfielder now being used at the centre of conte’s back three, will be looking to use his long-range, direct passing to feed the wide forwards and arsenal’s full backs need to be occupying those spaces to help deal with those balls into Tottenham’s front-runners. arteta will have been looking at how arsenal can hurt this Tottenham team.
The midfield pairing that protect conte’s back three, rodrigo Bentancur and PierreEmile hojbjerg, have acted like the Kray twins this season — two aggressive enforcers manning the midfield.
But if Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli can drift into pockets of space behind the wall of Bentancur and hojbjerg, arsenal can have success. Bukayo Saka will stay high and wide on the right wing.
That helps to create space for Odegaard to operate towards that side.
On the left, Martinelli will drift into the middle, and either Granit Xhaka or Oleksandr Zinchenko will run on to the Tottenham right wing-back, pinning him.
If any of Tottenham’s back three are then tempted into pushing up to mark Odegaard or Martinelli in those positions, that will leave holes for Gabriel Jesus to run into. arteta will feel he has the tools to win today. his summer signings have had a major impact and there is a new-found togetherness between the players and the fans at arsenal. after that 3-0 win for Tottenham over arsenal in May, conte told arteta to stop moaning, saying: ‘he has to be more focused on his team and not to complain’. The arsenal manager has indeed concentrated on perfecting his side and their system, and they now sit top of the table.
This promises to be a blockbuster battle between two managers who wholeheartedly believe their individual tactical approaches are the best ways to bring success to their clubs. But, ultimately, today’s result will tell us more about whether either these two teams has the necessary quality to deny Manchester city in their title bid.