Arsenal dominate combined XI with Liverpool: Xhaka on Thiago, White beats Trent

On paper, Arsenal should comfortably win at Liverpool on Sunday. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta and his players, the game of football is not played on paper. Anfield will always be Anfield, and this game will be a huge test for the Gunners' Premier League titles.

Here is a combined XI from both teams, unsurprisingly dominated by the league leaders.

GK: Alisson (Liverpool)The Brazilian shot-stopper has been one of the Premier League's best goalkeepers this season and is undoubtedly Liverpool's Player of the Year.

That doesn't take anything away from Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale, who had a decent first season at the Emirates and clearly improved in 2022-23.

RB: Ben White (Arsenal) "No, he's not a Trent Alexander-Arnold," John Barnes said recently when comparing Ben White to the Liverpool star. You're not wrong, mate. White can defend to start.

Trent's technical ability is absolutely exceptional, there's no doubt about it. White has a lot himself and is much more reliable than his England team-mate.

CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)Virgil van Dijk has not been himself this season, which is quite normal for a 31-year-old player following a serious knee injury.

That said, he is obviously ahead of Rob Holding, who should replace the injured William Saliba - who wouldn't replace Van Dijk anyway.

CB: Gabriel (Arsenal) For me, Gabriel has been the best central defender in the Premier League this season. The Brazilian has played alongside Saliba for most of this season and barely made a mistake, which is impressive considering this is the latter's first season in England.

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I really like Ibrahima Konate, but Gabriel's incredible form this term makes him a shoo-in alongside Van Dijk.

LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal) I completely bottled up Nathan Ake rather than Andy Robertson in my combined Man City - Liverpool XI. The same error will not happen again this week.

Robertson was a pant at the Etihad, that's not why he's beaten here by Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Ukrainian has been outstanding this season, providing Mikel Arteta with something completely different as a left-back/attacking midfielder/inverted right winger.

DM: Thomas Partey (Arsenal)Thomas Partey is arguably Arsenal's most important player. When he's not playing, they tend to be pretty crappy.

Liverpool defensive midfielder Fabinho has been their biggest underachievers this season and continues to fall short of the pace.

CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) The Arsenal captain has surprised many this season. We knew Martin Odegaard was good, but few expected him to be this good in his second full season in England.

The Norwegian international does it all. His work off the ball is what Arsenal fans love most about him. He's a pleasure to watch and without him the Gunners wouldn't be top of the league.

CM: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) The only Liverpool midfielder who has a chance to get into this team is Thiago, but he hasn't shown enough to beat Granit Xhaka to a place.

Xhaka's return of the resident villain to the Emirates has been amazing. Majority of the fans wanted him sold but Arteta urged him to stay and put him in a box-to-box role which is clearly his best position. Xhaka is a huge threat going forward, scoring seven goals this season, while his ball handling and composure (yes, he's not the brash jerk that commentators and pundits want you to think he is) is) have helped Arsenal become a very balanced team.

RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)The third and final Liverpool player in this squad is club legend Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian winger has 23 goals and 11 assists in 41 games in 2022/23 which is pretty decent. However, 12 out of 28 in the league is disappointing for a player who has scored an average of 23.6 Premier League goals per season since joining the Reds in 2017.

Salah is still a world-class winger, and even though Bukayo Saka has been better this season, he still gets in this combined XI.