Ahead of this weekend's vital early season meeting between Liverpool and Arsenal, we have constructed a combined XI featuring players from both sides.
Sunday evening will see last season's runners-up travel north to face the reigning champions as Liverpool host Arsenal at Anfield one of the games of the 2025/26 Premier League season so far.
Both sides head into this contest with maximum points from their opening two matches, having scored 13 goals between them so far this campaign.
Mikel Arteta's Gunners will be looking to win at Anfield for the first time since 2011, whilst Arne Slot's Reds will be hoping to be the first 'big six' side to defeat Arsenal since April 2023.
Both sides are likely to be among those competing to lift the Premier League title in May, meaning that this early season affair is one of the most important games of the entire season.
With that in mind, we've put together a combined XI from the two sides in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
GK: Alisson Becker
Whilst this seems like a straight-forward choice on paper, David Raya's exceptional form over the last two seasons - including back-to-back golden gloves - has made this a closer contest than most Liverpool fans would want to admit.
Although widely regarded as one of - if not the - best goalkeepers in the world, Alisson has struggled for fitness over the last two seasons, playing just 28 times in each of the last two Premier League campaigns.
That being said, on his day Alisson is the perfect goalkeeper. The Brazilian possesses a blend of world class shot-stopping and top level distribution, which puts him on a pedestal above the other 'keepers in the Premier League.
Although this is harsh on Arsenal's Spaniard, the first pick has to go to Liverpool. 1-0.
LB: Milos Kerkez
Back-to-back Liverpool picks to kick this team off.
The Reds' new £50m Hungarian left back usurps team mate Andrew Robertson and Arsenal's Miles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko to make this team.
One of the more competitive positions on the field, Arsenal's lack of a clear first-choice left back is what stifles them here.
Whilst quality players, neither Lewis-Skelly or Calafiori are the clear starters for their side, meaning it is tough to select them over the Hungarian, who had a stellar season with Bournemouth last season.
Widely voted into most people's 2024/25 Premier League teams of the season, Kerkez impressed with energetic full back play and was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
His pace, power, athleticism and bravery in the tackle warmed him to Premier League fans all over the league and his two goals and five assists last season rivalled the very best in his position for output.
With all of that in mind, Kerkez becomes the second Liverpool player in as many picks. 2-0.
CB: Gabriel Magalhães
On the left of defence, Arsenal's big Brazilian brute Gabriel Magalhães edges out the competition to become the first Arsenal player to make this team.
A key linchpin in a side which has boasted the best defence in the league for the last couple of seasons, Gabriel has become one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
Whilst robust and strong defensively, his set piece threat is what gives him the edge over others to make this combined team.
His 20 goals in the red of the Gunners - 17 in the Premier League - show the level of goal threat that the Brazil international offers his side.
Having developed and matured under Mikel Arteta from the ill-disciplined error prone player who joined Arsenal from Lille in 2020, Gabriel rightly takes his place in this team. 2-1.
CB: Virgil van Dijk
Was there ever any doubt?
One of the greatest defenders that the Premier League has ever seen, Virgil van Dijk has shown no signs of slowing down, even at the age of 34.
The Liverpool skipper was in inspired form last season as his led his side to the Premier League title, his second since joining the club.
Arsenal's French defender William Saliba is the player closest to competing with van Dijk for his slot in the team, however his form in the back end of last season without his partner Gabriel exposed some frailties to his game in what was his worst season since moving to North London.
Contrastingly, van Dijk has had numerous defensive partners over his Liverpool career and has consistently made every single one of them perform at a higher level, rather than allow them to lower his.
With all of that in mind, van Dijk partners Gabriel in this team to form a formidable defensive pairing. 3-1.
RB: Jurrien Timber
One of the easiest picks in the entire XI, Dutch defender Jurrien Timber slots in at right back.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold's replacement Jeremie Frimpong yet to prove himself in the Premier League, the two key contenders for this position both play for the Gunners.
English utility defender Benjamin White, who spent much of last season out injured, is the main rival to former Ajax man Timber.
So far this season, both Timber and White have made one start each, with Timber scoring two goals in the 5-0 demolition of Leeds United last weekend.
Due to his form throughout the entirety of last season, Timber gets the nod over the former Brighton & Hove Albion man in this team. 3-2.
DM: Declan Rice
As we move into our defensive midfield double pivot, there are an abundance of options between the two sides.
The first midfielder chosen in the team is England and Arsenal's Declan Rice.
He deserves his selection in this team for his set piece prowess alone, delivering dangerous in-swinging corners and free kicks for the set piece heavy side. All of that before mentioning the two sublime free kicks he scored in the UEFA Champions League quarter final against Real Madrid.
Rice has more to his game than just set pieces though, the Englishman is a threat in both boxes, boasting exceptional passing, tackling, defensive awareness and shooting.
Perhaps Rice's best strength though, is his ball carrying ability. His ability to drive Arsenal up the field allows Arteta's side to play 10-20 yards higher up the field. He is every bit a £100m player.
As one of the easiest choices in the team, Rice is the first midfielder in the team and levels the scores. 3-3.
DM: Ryan Gravenberch
Partnering Declan Rice in midfield is Liverpool's Dutch defensive midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.
Outside of Mohammed Salah, the Dutchman was a strong contender for Liverpool's player of the season last season and was a key reason that Slot's side won the Premier League title.
Having originally moved to Merseyside from Bayern Munich for £30m as an eight, Arne Slot turned to Gravenberch as a make-shift option in the number six position that had been neglected at Anfield since Fabinho left for Saudi Arabia.
Not only did he make that position his own, he proved himself to be one of the best in the league at that role.
The selection of Gravenberch as Rice's partner means that Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and £60m Arsenal recruit Martin Zubimendi all miss out on this combined XI. 4-3 to the hosts.
AM: Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz or Martin Odegaard? Take your pick.
It genuinely is a coin toss between the two, with the former struggling to adapt early doors in the Premier League and the latter coming off his worst season since moving to the Gunners.
Liverpool's £116m summer signing just makes the cut.
With double figures for goals and assists in each of his final two Bundesliga seasons, as well as impressive performances for his nation at Euro 2024, Wirtz has shown that he has the ability to take the Premier League by storm this season.
For Odegaard, three goals and eight assists in the Premier League last season - coupled with his habit of going missing in big games - means that he just misses out to Slot's new man. 5-3.
LW: Eberechi Eze
Another summer signing - this time for the Gunners - is selected in this side, courtesy of £68m Englishman Eberechi Eze.
Left wing is a weak point. Not just between these two sides, but in the Premier League as a whole. With that in mind, Eze - who can operate as a left winger or an attacking midfielder - is chosen off the left hand side.
With Martinelli failing to replicate his form from the 2022/23 campaign, Leandro Trossard playing more of a squad role, the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich and Cody Gakpo's inconsistency, Eze feels the natural choice in this team.
Although it remains to be seen which position Arteta chooses to unleash his new man in from, Eze has not been signed for almost £70m to be sat on the bench and he starts in this team. 5-4.
RW: Mohamed Salah
It just had to be, didn't it?
Despite the brilliance of Bukayo Saka, Mohamed Salah has just had the greatest individual Premier League season of all time.
Couple that with injury problems that are starting to become a feature of Saka's recent career, there really is no other option than to select Liverpool's Egyptian Enigma.
£52m new summer signing for Arsenal - Noni Madueke - may also feel like he deserves a mention, but it remains to be seen how he fits into Arsenal's best XI, if at all.
With 29 goals, 18 assists, the golden boot, the playmaker award, the Premier League player of the year and the PFA player of the year award, Mohamed Salah is on the right of this exciting attack. 6-4.
ST: Viktor Gyökeres
The battle of the new number nines. Huge Ekitike v Viktor Gyökeres.
Perhaps controversially, we've gone with the Swede.
Ekitike has taken to Premier League life like a duck to water, scoring in each of his first two top flight matches for the Reds. Similarly, following his brace against Leeds United, Gyökeres also has two Premier League goals to his name.
This choice really is a coin toss, Ekitike has looked slick and silky in his early Liverpool career and looks to offer more than just a goal threat for his new side.
However, 75 goals and assists in 66 league matches for Sporting CP just cannot be ignored.
For his style of play and ruthlessness in front of goal, Gyökeres has rightly had comparisons to Manchester City marksman Erling Haaland.
If the former Coventry man can replicate half of what the Norwegian offers, he is a sound choice as the final pick in this team. 6-5.
Manager: Arne Slot
Although a harder choice than it seems, Arne Slot is the better manager out of the two.
Prior to the start of last season, no one predicted that Liverpool would be lifting the Premier League title in May, not even most Liverpool fans.
However, in just one season, Arne Slot achieved something that Arteta has been working towards for the last six years, win the league title.
Arteta gets a lot of unwarranted stick from neutrals about his lack of trophies, likely not helped by his attempts to claim more credit than two Community Shields deserve, but the progress his side have made from midtable mediocrity to consistent title contenders is vast.
This does feel like a crucial season for the Spaniard in his Arsenal career, however it is unlikely that another trophyless campaign will cause too many inside the club to start questioning his leadership.
