Sky Sports pundit excludes attacking superstar Chelsea-Arsenal combined XI

Sky Sports pundit excludes attacking superstar Chelsea-Arsenal combined XI

Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has named his Chelsea-Arsenal combined XI ahead of tonight’s London Derby, however has excluded Gunners superstar Alexis Sanchez.

The pair go head-to-head at The Emirates tonight, with seven points separating third place Chelsea from the Gunners, who currently sit in sixth. A win for the Blues will see them leapfrog Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United into second place.

Ahead of the clash, Nicholas, formerly of Arsenal, has named his combined XI from the two star-studded line-ups, however much to the surprise of many has excluded Sanchez in an unconventional 3-5-2 formation.

The Glaswegian pundit went, to nobody’s surprise, for an all Chelsea back line consisting of Thibaut Courtois in goal, behind a back three of David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta.

In midfield, Nicholas picks N’Golo Kante, with both Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas playing just ahead of him. Up-front are both Alvaro Morata and Alexandre Lacazette, whom have foudn the net 12 and eight times respectively so far this season.

The biggest shock comes in the wide positions however, with the Scot opting to name Mesut Ozil and Marcos Alonso on the wings, instead of the superstar Chilean, who has had a difficult season amidst heavy transfer speculation.

After a failed move to Manchester City in the summer, Sanchez has failed to hit the heights of his three previous seasons in an Arsenal – two of those in which he won the club’s Player of the Year award.

Regardless of his poor form, it’s still surprising to see his omission from Nicholas’ line-up. What do you think?