Arsenal – Dortmund combined XI - Does Giroud or Lewandowski lead the line?

With Premier League leaders Arsenal set to take on last year’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund in one of the midweek’s most anticipated clashes, viewers and pundits alike are predicting a fiercely contested match with some excellent football on show.

But the big question is, which club has the superior XI? Who boasts the tightest defence and who has the best attack on show? Squawka finds out as we unveil our combined Arsenal and Dortmund XI.

Goalkeeper – Roman Weidenfeller

It was a difficult decision but we ultimately plumped for Dortmund’s veteran stopper Roman Weidenfeller over the eccentric Wojciech Szczesny.

Weidenfeller has made himself an indispensable part of Jurgen Klopp’s side with an average of 1.63 saves per game and 1.86 saves per goal in the Bundesliga this season.

A worthy choice between the sticks who will offer our defenders a reliable and trustworthy presence.

Left-Back – Marcel Schmelzer

First up at left-back, Marcel Schmelzer pips Kieran Gibbs to a place in our team courtesy of his attacking threat which has seen him score one goal and create seven chances already this season.

Centre-Back – Mats Hummels

Moving inside, Mats Hummels takes the first centre-back slot as our ball-playing centre-back due to his ability to stride out of defence and instigate attacks. This quality is backed by a solid 81 per cent pass accuracy and 80% take on success.

Centre-Back – Per Mertesacker

Joining Hummels as the second centre-back will be his international team-mate Per Mertesacker, who has been in fine form for the Gunners this term with a 92 per cent pass accuracy and a 100% tackle success rate so far.

Right-Back – Bacary Sagna

And finally, the right-back slot goes to Bacary Sagna due to Lucasz Piszczek‘s injury. But Sagna merits a place due to his good form for Arsenal, winning 100 per cent of his tackles and maintaining a 86% pass accuracy so far in the current campaign.

Central Midfield – Nuri Sahin

The deepest midfielder in our line-up will be Turkish international Nuri Sahin who has undergone a revival at Dortmund after difficult spells at Real Madrid and Liverpool.

Sahin will be controlling the tempo in our team as well as providing a creative presence with a 81 per cent pass accuracy helping him to create 21 chances in nine games this season.

Central Midfield – Aaron Ramsey

Joining the Turk in the engine room will be Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, who has been in quite sensational form for the Gunners with five goals in eight games.

The Welshman has been the most consistent player under Arsene Wenger with a 86 per cent pass accuracy and winning 85% of his 40 attempted tackles this season, adding steel to our line-up.

Left Wing – Marco Reus

The first member of our attacking trio is Dortmund’s Marco Reus, who will be lining up on the left and providing plenty of goals and creativity.

Five goals and 28 chances created this term is something we just couldn’t ignore and the German international walks into the team as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Centre Attacking Midfield – Mesut Ozil

Another name that stood out was Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, another German international with a penchant for creating goals as well as scoring them himself, with a 87 per cent pass accuracy and 14 chances created so far.

Right Wing – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

With two creators, we decided to inject a bit of pace into our attack with Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the right wing, who has been lethal for Klopp’s side this season with five goals already in his first Bundesliga campaign with Dortmund.

Centre Forward – Robert Lewandowski

his was a close fought contest between Arsenal’s French striker Olivier Giroud and Polish centre-forward Robert Lewandowski, but in the end we went for the Dortmund hitman.

Six goals in nine appearances outlines the threat he carries and this is backed up by a superb shot accuracy percentage of 70 , but the Pole is also capable of setting up others with a 74 per cent pass success and 11 chances created this season.

So that’s our line-up, seven Dortmund players and only three from Arsenal. But what do you think of the team we’ve created?