Arsenal and Chelsea have exchanged player quite often. Here are the most famous seven players who have dawned both the jerseys.
- William Gallas:
The Frenchman was initially scooped by Chelsea back in 2001. In his five year spell at Chelsea, he tasted great success under Jose in the Mourinho period. Chelsea won back to back titles and Gallas was a great part of it.
In 2006, he was moved on to Arsenal as a part of an exchange deal which saw Chelsea sign Ashley Cole from Arsenal. While Cole went on to win great things at Chelsea, the same cannot be said for Gallas. In his four years at the Emirates, he did not win anything and the Arsenal captain made it a hundred times worse for himself by joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2010; another arch rival of Arsenal!
2. Ashley Cole:
Possibly one of the most irked up transfers between the two clubs. Cole was a world class left back who had helped Arsenal win the Premier League on 2003-04 while staying unbeaten in the league.
It was in 2006, that reports were revealed how Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had tapped up the defender and weeks later Cole pushed for a move. Arsenal failed to convince their own player to stay put and sold Cole in exchange for Gallas.
Karma seemed to have taken a back seat as Cole despite making an underhanded transfer to Chelsea went on to win five domestic cups, two European titles and one league title.
He has still not been forgiven at Arsenal and justifiably so. Player are known to seek transfer but being ethical and professional is also a part and parcel of the game.
3. Nicolas Anelka:
The French forward took on the role of Dora the explorer. He started his London career when Arsene Wenger spotted an young French talent in Anelka, the striker. The move seemed to pay off as Arsenal went on to win the league within three months of their new signing.
He was still young and subsequently sold off to Real Madrid. At Real, he did not fare so well and was then moved on again. On he went to Paris, Liverpool, Manchester and even Istanbul before returning to England again with Bolton. And then finally he was signed by Chelsae completing his London cycle.
At Chelsea, he won the league title and in that season he went on to score 11 goals and make 10 assists. What a player!
4. Cesc Fabregas:
The Spaniard was one of the gems of the Wenger era. He was a young prodigy who had come from La Masia and broke into one of the best Arsenal teams as a teenager, such was his talent and drive.
Fabregas continued to develop into a world class midfielder as he was given the armband at the young age of 21 at Arsenal. He did ever so well in that role and single handedly carried the club in their early dark days.
He went on to move to Barcelona, his boyhood club eventually. At Barcelona, he joined the Pep revolution and then came his most trophy laden spell of his career. However, for his personal growth, Barcelona proved to be a stumbling block and Fabregas wanted to return to Arsenal.
Arsenal did have the first buy option as the buy back clause on him but Arsene Wenger had recently signed Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid and refused to pursue Fabregas. This left Chelsea an open path. Mourinho wanted someone to replace the iconic Frank Lampard in midfield and although Fabregas was not the most high scoring midfielder like Frank, Cesc did create and attack better than any in the league.
He went on to win two league titles and an Europa League with the Blues and now plays for Monaco. He is loved by one and all and will continued to be done so. Legend!
5. Olivier Giroud:
The French World Cup winner was brought in by Arsene Wenger. He converted the inconsistent striker into a great target man. Giroud still does struggle to score regularly but Wenger taught him so many different aspects of the game that he is indispensable to that World Cup winning French team!
However, just before the summer of the World Cup, due to the signing of Aubameyang and Lacazette, Giroud felt his chances would go down at Arsenal and hence moved to Chelsea where he has done really well for himself. With the Blues, he went on to become the top scorer in the Europa League last season and also scored in the final where Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1.
6. David Luiz:
He had two spells at Chelsea on either side of a Paris run. He was brought in to Stamford Bridge as a player who could run with the ball, score towering headers and change defending into an aggressive and stylish art. Luiz did have all the potential but his temperament proved to be his downfall.
Luiz recently shocked the football world by moving to Arsenal in a season where Chelsea have a transfer ban. The Blues sold him for a meager fee and Luiz moved knowing that at Arsenal he will not have to fight for his spot like he would have had to do in Chelsea.
Let’s hope he can continue to succeed in terms of silverware like has done in the past.
7. Petr Cech:
Early in the Jose Mourinho, Chelsea had signed a relatively unknown keeper who proved to be a beast in goal. It was the gentle giant, Petr Cech. He was young but better than the world. He could save anything and won every domestic honour with Chelsea.
Later, his fatal accident slowed him down as he had to keep playing with a head gear and the risk of death every time he stepped on the pitch. However, that did not slow down Cech as he put in heroic performances against Barcelona and Bayern to help Chelsea win their first Champions League title against all odds.
When Mourinho came in the next time, he preferred Courtois over Cech and naturally allowed him to move on. Arsenal came knocking and even in old Cech, they found a performer and a leader. He was brilliant for them in the little spell he played for the club for 5 seasons.
He is now back at Chelsea as the technical director!
SEE MORE:
Arsenal Transfer Players In & Out 2019: New Players Bought/Signed
