John Obi Mikel has selected a combined XI ahead of Chelsea’s match against Arsenal this weekend, which included an interesting decision between Kai Havertz or Nicolas Jackson for the striker position.
Chelsea host Arsenal on Sunday in a Premier League fixture, but which centre-forward will come out on top?
For the Blues, Nicolas Jackson, 23, has been enjoying a superb individual campaign as the main man to lead the line. Chelsea great Gianfranco Zola has even said Jackson is really improving this season.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s main central striker is former Blues star Kai Havertz. The 25-year-old’s name is etched into Stamford Bridge history because of his winning goal in a Champions League final, but his loyalty very much lies with the Gunners nowadays.
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John Obi Mikel prefers Nicolas Jackson over Kai Havertz
During a segment on his own YouTube channel, John Obi Mikel selected his combined line-up made of the best Chelsea and Arsenal players right now.
When asked to pick between Jackson or Havertz for the combined XI, Mikel said: “I think on current form. If you’re playing Cole Palmer, I think the partnership that Nicolas Jackson has with Cole Palmer. I think Nicolas Jackson gets my vote as well.”
John Obi Mikel’s Chelsea-Arsenal combined XI
- David Raya (Arsenal)
- Reece James (Chelsea)
- William Saliba (Arsenal)
- Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
- Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)
- Thomas Partey (Arsenal)
- Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
- Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
- Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
Kalidou Koulibaly has tipped Chelsea’s Jackson to be a potential future Ballon d’Or winner. If the young centre-forward wants to achieve that, these big matches against the likes of Arsenal are where he needs to shine.
Nicolas Jackson vs Kai Havertz this season
Jackson and Havertz are two forwards that have come under strong criticism at various points, but they both start for two of the biggest teams in the country.
Here is a look at how the duo compare in the Premier League this season:
| Player | Matches played | Starts | Goals | Assists | Shots on target | Passes completed | Touches | Offsides |
| Nicolas Jackson | 10 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 56.5% | 109 | 239 | 5 |
| Kai Havertz | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 35.7% | 180 | 395 | 3 |
It’s fair to say that the Chelsea frontman edges out his Arsenal counterpart from the opening quarter of the campaign, but who’s going to kick on moving into a busy winter schedule?
Troy Deeney thinks Chelsea’s Jackson still has loads he can improve in his game. At the age of 23, it’ll be interesting to see the type of finished article he ends up as further down the line.
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