Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Robert Warlow & Rob Guest & Greg Johnson & Tashan Deniran-Alleyne & James Benge & Amie Wilson & Art De Roche

Campbell, Henry, Pires and the Arsenal Invincibles who would improve Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool

Arsenal's Invincibles or the so-called Liverpool Unbearables?

Why settle for one or the other. Jurgen Klopp's side show no signs of slowing, and could go on to match the greatest achievement of the Arsene Wenger era in north London.

In the 2003/04 season the Gunners became the first and so far only team to lift a Premier League title without suffering a single defeat.

They came to be called The Invincibles, a title that was given to Preston North-End when they went unbeaten in the first-ever season of the Football League in 1888/89.

Wenger was even rewarded with a golden Premier League trophy to honour this great feat but Liverpool are on track to match the feat, and are on track to do so by winning more games and with a higher final points tally.

But who would get into a line up that combines the best of both teams?

There are few players that would get into the current Liverpool side given their brilliance both individually and as a collective but wind back the clock 16 years and there are a number of tricky decisions to mull over.

Pick your own team using the widget below and read on to see who the football.london staff selected in their combined XIs between the Arsenal Invincibles and Liverpool's so-called Unbearables - a nickname fans have devised for their own team given the reaction to their form of late.

Here's how a combined Arsenal and Liverpool team could look according to the football.london writers, and the best manger for the job of leading them between Klopp and Wenger.

Amie Wilson's Arsenal and Liverpool combined XI

Line up: Alisson Becker; Trent Alexandre-Arnold, Sol Campbell, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Patrick Viera, Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires; Mohamed Salah, Dennis Bergkamp, Thiery Henry.

Formation: 4-3-3

Manager: Jurgen Klopp

Art de Roche's Arsenal and Liverpool combined XI

Line up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Campbell, Ashley Cole; Gilberto Silva, Vieira; Salah, Bergkamp, Sadio Mane; Thierry Henry.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Manager: Arsene Wenger

James Benge's Arsenal and Liverpool combined XI

Line up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Campbell, Cole; Fabinho, Vieira; Salah, Bergkamp, Robert Pires; Henry.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Manager: Jurgen Klopp

Rob Guest's Arsenal and Liverpool combined XI

Line up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Campbell, Van Dijk, Cole; Jordan Henderson, Vieira; Mane, Bergkamp, Pires; Henry.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Manager: Arsene Wenger

Rob Warlow's Arsenal and Liverpool combined XI

Line up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Campbell, Cole; Vieira, Pires, Georginio Wijnaldum; Salah, Henry, Mane.

Formation: 4-3-3

Manager: Jurgen Klopp

Tashan Deniran-Alleyne's Arsenal and Liverpool combined XI

Line up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Campbell, Cole; Mane, Vieira, Wijnaldum, Pires; Firmino, Henry.

Formation: 4-4-2

Manager: Arsene Wenger

Arsenal and Liverpool Invincibles combined XI

Here's how a combined XI picked from across the squads of the Arsenal Invincibles and the Liverpool Unbearables could look based on line ups from the football.london team.

Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

Right-back: Trent Alexander-Arnold

Centre-back: Sol Campbell

Centre-back: Virgil van Dijk

Left-back: Ashley Cole

Midfielder: Patrick Vieira

Midfielder: Georginio Wijnaldum

Right wing: Mohamed Salah

No 10: Dennis Bergkamp

Left wing: Robert Pires

Striker: Thierry Henry

We opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, not only the best halfway house between the two systems Wenger and Klopp used but also the most popular among the team.

At the time of the Invincibles Arsenal's Ashley Cole was the best left-back in the Premier League, and one of the leading players in the world, and comfortably beats Andy Robertson, as exceptional as the Scot may be.

Lauren was the underrated hero of the Invincibles at right-back but Trent Alexander-Arnold got the nod with Virgil van Dijk and Sol Campbell the obvious partnership at centre-back.

Perhaps the biggest dilemma came over who should partner Patrick Vieira in midfield, and who should play on the left.

Gilberto Silva was the anchorman for Arsenal while Fabinho has been a superb foil for Liverpool's own box-to-box midfielders, but it was Georginio Wijnaldum who won out across the teams selected above.

Dennis Bergkamp, Mohamed Salah and Thierry Henry were all the runaway winners when it came to the front four with the choice between Robert Pires and Sadio Mane providing the pickers with a serious selection headache.

The Frenchman got the call to create what remains arguably the most devastating left flank the English game has ever seen with Cole, Pires and Henry.

Who will be leading this team from the dugout?

In the modern game, Arsene Wenger would be a sensational director of football, no matter what he thinks of the job. He can watch over the squad from on high.

But as a man to bring energy, remorseless belief and a will to win from the sidelines Jurgen Klopp shades it as the head coach on a match day.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.