Being London rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea have never had a healthy relationship. However, there has been a fair share of players who transferred between the clubs.
This list will take a look at some of the names who have donned the jersey of both Chelsea and Arsenal.
Yossi Benayoun
Benayoun arrived at Chelsea in 2010 but was hardly used by the club. Interestingly, Chelsea loaned him out to Arsenal (arch-rival) in the middle of his spell.
Lassana Diarra
As a youngster, Diarra was in the Chelsea fold but failed to win regular game time. He was sold to Arsenal in 2007 and went on to spend just one season with the Gunners before transferring to Portsmouth.
Emmanuel Petit
Following a successful spell with Arsenal, the 1998 World Cup winner with France spent the final three years of his career at Stamford Bridge before hanging up his boots in 2004.
Nicolas Anelka
A controversial character in his playing days, Anelka played for many clubs in his interesting career with Chelsea and Arsenal being among them. Anelka came through the Arsenal youth ranks before transferring to Real Madrid in 1999.
He moved to Chelsea from Bolton in 2008 and went on to spend the four most successful years of his career at Stamford Bridge as he helped the club win the Premier League and two FA Cups.
Ashley Cole
Cole was part of the legendary Arsenal “Invicibles” side in 2004, helping Arsene Wenger’s side win the Premier League without losing a game. He lost the respect of most Arsenal fans by forcing through a transfer to Chelsea in 2006.
In his time at Chelsea, Cole won one Premier League, four FA Cups, one League Cup, the Champions League and Europa League.
William Gallas
Gallas’ transfer was similar to Cole’s in that it was controversial but in his case, it was the opposite way around and led to him losing the respect of Chelsea fans after forcing through a transfer to Arsenal in 2006, where he spent four years, failing to win a major title.
Cesc Fabregas
After establishing himself as one of the best players in the world at Arsenal, Fabregas left the Gunners to join boyhood club Barcelona in 2011. He spent three years in Spain before returning to England in 2014 with Chelsea where he would spend five years.
Petr Cech
After 11 successful years at Chelsea, the Blues club legend left the club to join Arsenal in 2015. His transfer was not controversial as it was to get regular game time as a result of Thibaut Courtois displacing him as the Blues first-choice goalkeeper. Cech spent four years with the Gunners before hanging up his gloves in 2019.
Olivier Giroud
Giroud’s transfer to Chelsea in 2018 was also hardly controversial. After six years at the Emirates, Giroud moved to Chelsea in January 2018 in order to try and get the playing time that he needed to win selection for France’s 2018 World Cup squad. He did just that, won the World Cup, and has been a valuable asset to the Blues dressing room.
David Luiz
Luiz has had an interesting career. After two spells with Chelsea, the defender joined the Gunners in 2019 where he has continued to show signs of brilliance, though ultimately proven to be inconsistent.
Willian
The most recent transfer between the clubs, Willian joined the Gunners from Chelsea in the summer of 2020. The Brazilian has struggled to find the net on a regular basis for the Gunners.
