Ex-Arsenal star makes four bold calls as Gunners stars dominate Liverpool combined XI

Bacary Sagna has made some eye-catching choices when picking a combined XI made up of and players.

The Gunners host ’s side at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the second of two tests of their title credentials. Having been held to a draw by in match last month, Arsenal will now attempt to go one better against the league’s early-season pace setters.

Liverpool have settled into life under Slot extremely well, picking up seven wins from eight matches in the league so far. The lack of summer signings has proven to be a positive, rather than a negative, ensuring continuity in the squad despite the departure of and his staff.

Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the campaign was derailed by last weekend and , as well as , has thrown a curveball for Arteta. Those factors should serve up a tight encounter in north London between the two biggest challengers to City’s stranglehold.

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Sagna spent seven years at Arsenal, as well as three at City, so it is no surprise to see him go for seven Gunners stars to four from the Reds while choosing from fully-fit squads. But the identity of those choices, made in an interview with Mirror Football, are intriguing nonetheless.

Goalkeeper

Sagna will divide opinion immediately after opting for Arsenal’s over the brilliant Alisson, primarily for his ability with the ball at his feet, rather than shot-stopping.

“I will go for David Raya,” he said. “I think he has the advantage of playing out with his feet and I think if you look at both styles, it’s an advantage for Arsenal to have someone who’s really comfortable with his feet. Alisson is good, but Raya is better with his feet.”

Defence

Sagna’s second controversial call comes at right-back. “I will go for at right-back because he’s better defensively and you need to defend first as a defender. That has to be your main quality,” he said.

“ is a threat going forward and one of the best in the but because he’s attacking so much, defensively, the team gets exposed a bit more. That’s his game though and he’s not as bad as everyone says, but in such an important game, you need to be a bit more focused defensively.”

Virgil van Dijk is good enough to break up the Gabriel Magalhaes-William Saliba partnership, despite Sagna hailing it as one of the Premier League’s best since duo and Ricardo Carvalho. “It’s a tough one because Gabriel has been really solid this season and scored many goals, but Van Dijk is ahead of him,” he said.

There is another contentious call at left-back. Sagna explained: “I’ll go for Calafiori – he’s versatile and can attack. Defensively, he has more confidence than Andy Robertson and he’s quite tall for set pieces – it’s really important for a club to have some height. Robertson is a good defender but set pieces will be the key to the game, so I'll go for Calafiori.”

Midfield

Liverpool have the edge in midfield, where Sagna has benched in favour of Dominik Szoboszlai. “I’ll go for Szoboszlai over Declan Rice because of his quality and creativity. He adds some speed in the middle when they counterattack,” he said. “He’s fresh and plays with personality. I rate Rice a lot but the defence is set so I would like to see a bit more of an attacking style and that’s why I'd choose Szoboszlai.”

Szoboszlai will partner Ryan Gravenberch: “He hasn't reached his full potential yet, but you can see how important he has become to the squad. He wasn’t in the starting XI but now plays one of the key roles in the team.”

HAVE YOUR SAY! Disagree with Bacary Sagna's selections? .

Arsenal have missed Odegaard since his injury on September 9 – and Sagna has no doubt just how good the Norway international is. “His creativity is one of the best in Europe and I understand now why went for him,” he said. “His maturity is good and he’s the kind of player who can score or assist and since the beginning of his Arsenal career, he’s been the best player.”

Attack

Two of the players in this 4-3-3 formation pick themselves: and . The former edged out Luis Diaz, who has been in good form this season, while Salah earned glowing praise.

“ is a special player,” Sagna said. “He can create so much and carry the team by himself. He’s become a natural leader in the team in the way he plays so I'll go for him.”

Liverpool have fielded both Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota as their No.9 this season, but Sagna has gone for Kai Havertz, having been impressed by how he’s adapted.

“I was surprised to see him play number nine but responded perfectly,” he said. “He’s been important to the team. I was also not sure about him playing as a centre-forward but he’s so clinical and that’s what is required so I'll go for him.”

Bacary Sagna’s Arsenal-Liverpool combined XI: Raya; White, Van Dijk, Saliba, Calafiori; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Odegaard; Saka, Salah, Havertz.

Bacary Sagna was speaking to Mirror Football on behalf of Paddy Power

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