Ray Parlour has named just two Liverpool stars in a combined Arsenal and Reds XI ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash this weekend. The two 'big six' rivals meet at Anfield on Sunday afternoon with a lively clash expected if the reverse fixture is anything to by after Bukayo Saka settled a five-goal thriller at Emirates Stadium in October.
Since that game, Arsenal and Liverpool have travelled in very different directions. Mikel Arteta's men are firmly in the hunt for the Premier League title replacing Liverpool for the 2022/23 season in battling Man City for the crown.
Jurgen Klopp's side, meanwhile, have struggled to hit consistent form and find themselves in eighth, 10 points off the top four. Liverpool have been plagued by injury issues and a once water-tight defence has leaked 33 goals this season, which sees Arsenal dominate the selections in the back line for Parlour's combined XI.
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"Liverpool don’t get many spaces," Parlour told NetBet. "You’ve got Aaron Ramsdale in goal, I am happy with Ben White at right-back, he’s a good defender and has done so well this season, and at left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has been brilliant.
"I love Andy Robertson, he’s a good player, but Zinchenko has been one of Arsenal’s best players in recent weeks. I’d certainly rather have White and Zinchenko over Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.
"Looking at current form, it has to be all Arsenal, except for Virgil van Dijk. I know he isn’t playing great, but you would get him in alongside Gabriel, no disrespect to Rob Holding, and with William Saliba currently out injured.
"And in midfield, Thomas Partey has been excellent, and you can’t leave Martin Odegaard out the way he’s been playing. Nobody from Liverpool’s midfield gets in. Partey, Granit Xhaka and Odegaard, as a three, they work so well together, and I can’t see how the likes of Jordan Henderson or Fabinho get in the way they are playing."
Despite Parlour's admission that Van Dijk would be the only inclusion from Liverpool, the former midfielder felt that Mohamed Salah was deserving of a spot in attack. The Egyptian's usual position is on the right of the attack but that spot has to be reserved for Bukayo Saka, which left the 50-year-old needing to play Salah out of position to get him into the team.
"You would also still have to find a spot for Mohamed Salah, but you can’t leave Bukayo Saka out and Gabriel Martinelli is playing well so it is an awkward one.
"But with Gabriel Jesus having recently come back from injury, I would put Salah up front over the Brazilian. You’ve got to get Salah in there somehow – he could play as a false No.9 up front with Saka and Martinelli on the wing – as Jesus has only just come back."
As Parlour points out, it could be an entirely different conversation if Jesus had not missed the majority of 2023 through injury. Salah has also proven he can shine in that position, scoring a hat-trick against Rangers in the Champions League when playing up front earlier this campaign.
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