Ahead of the north London derby fanatix looks at the best players since 1992.
It’s a big weekend of Premier League football with the north London derby on Sunday, as Arsenal take on Tottenham Hotspur for the first time in 2013/14.
It should be an interesting contest as Spurs continue to spend vast amounts of money in the transfer market, whilst the Gunners in contrast have acquired just two free signings.
Therefore fanatix has picked the two ultimate XIs of the Premier League era for each of these fierce rivals.
Arsenal:
GK – Seaman: The Gunners’ most successful goalkeeper in recent years and also a stalwart for the England national team – Jens Lehmann gets close but Seaman just pips it.
RB – Dixon: Again a close run thing between Dixon and Lauren, but the elder takes the place for having more composure in defence.
LB – Cole: Arguably one the of the greatest left-backs ever to have played the game and with Arsenal’s free-flowing attacking game, Cole also tuned a skill in going forward.
CB – Adams: A servant to the club and a defender who devoted a long and successful career to the north London side.
CB – Campbell: Controversially joined the side from White Hart Lane, but two league titles and an FA Cup proved Campbell’s instincts were right.
RM – Pires: Lacked pace for a winger but had enough skill and ball control for that not to matter and was instrumental in the ‘Invincibles’ side of 2003/04.
LM – Overmars: A superb winger that terrorised defences, but unfortunately didn’t spend as long at Highbury as many fans would have wanted when Barcelona came in with a huge bid.
CM – Fabregas: Poached from Barca as a teenager, Fabregas gave the Gunners nine years of impeccable service before heading back to Catalonia in 2011.
CM – Vieira: A strong captain, leader and extremely capable midfielder who won the World Cup and European Champions with France as well as being brilliant for Arsenal.
ST – Bergkamp: The Dutchman was one of the first foreign players to succeed in the Premier League and despite a fairly average goal-scoring record, Bergkamp provided so much more for the team.
ST – Henry: The club’s all-time top-scorer and a player that developed from a winger to a deadly striker, who is only behind Alan Shearer in total number of Premier League goals.
Tottenham Hotspur:
GK – Robinson: Impressed for Leeds United and moved to Spurs when the Yorkshire club were relegated, before going onto be England’s No.1 as well.
RB – Carr: A solid and no-nonsense right-back that was a stalwart for the north London club and also starred for Newcastle United.
LB – Edinburgh: Arrived initially on-loan at Tottenham but went onto spend 10 years with the club and also win the FA Cup in 1991.
CB – King: The poster boy for a career stifled by injury, King was widely believed to be one of England’s best defenders had it not been for persistent knee problems.
CB – Campbell: Controversially the centre-back makes it into both sides but there was a reason Spurs fans were so bitter when Campbell left – he was really good.
RM – Anderton: The midfielder that was known as ‘sick note’ due to persistent injuries, has actually made more Premier League appearances than any other Spurs player and scored some great goals.
LM – Ginola: Was a classy and skillful winger that probably deserved to play for a side winning trophies, but still had some superb performances for the north London club.
CM – Carrick: There was a reason Manchester United were moved to pay £18.6m for Carrick and it’s being shown by the fact the midfielder was named in the 2013 PFA Team of the Year.
CM – Modric: A classy midfielder that was perhaps just too good for Tottenham and was eventually snapped up by Real Madrid.
ST – Klinsmann: The German was famous for a certain diving goal celebration, but was actually a fine performer during a brief spell at White Hart Lane and keeps Jermain Defoe out of the side.
ST – Sheringham: A striker that oozed class and was seemingly past it when snapped up by the Red Devils, only for Sheringham to score a goal in the Champions League final in 1999 and win the treble.
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