Ex-Arsenal star Silvestre names just two Tottenham players in North London derby combined XI and snubs Son
ARSENAL and Tottenham will renew their rivalry in yet another pivotal north London derby this weekend.
The bitter rivals will clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon in what could be a crucial match for the pair’s respective Premier League and Champions League pursuits.
Both squads have come under intense scrutiny ahead of the match, with fans and former players alike picking their combined starting elevens.
But former Gunner Mikael Silvestre has raised plenty of eyebrows with his squad – which he revealed to bettingexpert.
In goal, Silvestre has picked Aaron Ramsdale – who has been nothing but steady since deposing Bernd Leno as Arsenal’s No.1.
Arsenal dominate Silvestre’s combined back four, with Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko playing right and left back respectively and Gabriel Magalhaes lining up next to Spurs’ Cristian Romero.
The midfield is entirely made up of Arsenal players, with Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka anchoring the team,
And the Frenchman has opted to make Harry Kane the sole Spurs representative up front – putting the England hitman between Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Silvestre’s omission of Son Heung-Min is baffling as he’s arguably been the most consistent performer in both teams.
The South Korean scored 24 goals and provided ten assists in 45 appearances last season and has found of the back of the next six times this campaign.
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Son drew the ire of Arsenal fans last weekend by bluntly dismissing their title hopes.
When pressed on the Gunners’ title tilt, he said: “I’m not interested.”
Antonio Conte and his troops will be hoping to exact revenge on the league leaders in their own backyard.
The Gunners ran out 3-1 winners at the Emirates in October, with goals from Partey, Martinelli and Granit Xhaka doing the damage.
Conte, however, aimed at jibe at the red half of north London not long after the defeat.
He told talkSPORT: “We tried to do our best and we try to improve and to go game by game and see what happens at the end of the season.
“For sure, we have to try to improve but I repeat my opinion that Tottenham are just getting started to try and be competitive.
“We must continue to work and improve step by step with humility and not with assumption.
“There’s only one word for us and that is to work.
“We need to move on and to play a game in the Champions League.
“Don’t forget that last season we were behind Arsenal with two games to go.
“They were four points ahead of us and now we are playing Champions League and they are playing UEFA [Europa League] and so we need a big push to go forward in this competition.”