Real Madrid batter Arsenal in Champions League combined XI as Odegaard snubbed

Arsenal host Real Madrid in a huge Champions League clash on Tuesday night. Why not make a combined XI? The European champions unsurprisingly dominate.

GK: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)

There is no contest here. We do rate David Raya but Courtois is one of the best, if not the best, goalkeepers of his generation.

RB: Jurrien Timber (Arsenal)

There is more competition here and it was tempting to shift some players positionally and despite the fact Federico Valverde will probably start right-back at the Emirates, we did not want to take the p*ss too much.

Timber is an ideal match-up for Vinicius Junior in Arsenal’s case. He is an excellent one-on-one defender, quick off the mark and sharp in the table. It will be very entertaining watching his battle with Vinicius, if he does indeed play right-back. Him and Benjamin White will likely start but we are not sure who will be right-back and who will be centre-back next to…

CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)

We might see Saliba lining up in the Real Madrid back four next season. The La Liga giants are reportedly very keen on signing him and are typically eager to exploit his uncertain contract situation. The 24-year-old’s Gunners deal expires in 2027.

The prospect of joining the 15-time European champions can see any player’s eye wander and Arsenal desperately need to tie him down to a new long-term contract.

Saliba is one of the most consistent and imposing central defenders in Europe but Gabriel Magalhaes will not be there to help him for a while, which will be interesting to see.

CB: Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)

No Gabriel for the rest of the season is a huge blow and there are big question marks over Jakub Kiwior’s ability to sufficiently fill in. A fit Riccardo Calafiori is a decent replacement but still a downgrade and relying on him being fit is also a big ask.

Anyway, let’s talk Real Madrid and Rudiger. There are not many better centre-backs in world football and at the age of 32, still has that electric, galloping pace. He gallops straight into this combined XI.

LB: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)

Taking the p*ss at right-back was not allowed because we have kind of done it here. Fran Garcia will likely start for Los Blancos with Camavinga in midfield but the latter is left-back in our combined XI. Without Aurelien Tchouameni’s suspension, he would probably start left-back anyway! Moving him to defence does help accommodate one Arsenal midfielder but not Martin Odegaard, which feels blasphemous.

Camavinga has been a big name in the sport since the age of 16 and in typical Real Madrid fashion, moved to Spain for a measly £26million in the summer of 2021. It has been a quick four years and Camavinga is getting better and better every season.

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DM: Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Aurelien Tchouameni is suspended which helps us avoid a headache. We probably would have leaned towards Rice if he was available but it would have been a brutal one. There is perhaps some English and Arsenal bias involved in that but at the end of the day, Tchouameni is suspended so it’s irrelevant.

Rice has been excellent again this season after a stellar 2023/24 campaign.

CM: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)

Valverde is bloody brilliant. The guy has a foot like a traction engine and fittingly has one hell of an engine on him at the same time. He can run for days.

CM: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

There is no point wasting both of our time justifying Bellingham’s inclusion.

RW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Everyone at Football365 HQ wishes they were best friends with Saka. He is just so lovely – and pretty good at football as well.

Some people might think Rodrygo is the better player than Saka and while the former is brilliant, we are not having it.

LW: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)

One of the favourites for the Ballon d’Or in 2025, Vinicius hopes he will not feel obliged to boycott this year’s ceremony.

ST: Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)

So many Real Madrid players require no justification and Mbappe falls into that category. And no, Mikel Merino does not get in ahead of him.

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