Chelsea and Arsenal don’t just share a desire for supremacy in the capital as Premier League rivals, as there has been a surprising number of players who have donned both blue and red over the years.
With that in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of the 18 players to have represented both teams since 1992.
1 Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal 1997-1999; Chelsea 2008-2012)
The first name on our list is none other than Nicolas Anelka. While many players on this list enjoyed success with one of the clubs and not the other, Anelka enjoyed significant success at both teams.
He joined Arsenal in February 1997 but failed to make much of an impact until an injury to Ian Wright in the 1997/98 season opened up a spot in the team for him. He was a pivotal player in the club’s double that year and was subsequently voted the PFA’s Young Player of the Year.
He would leave north London in 1999 and spend the next nine years playing for a handful of teams, including Real Madrid, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and Bolton, before finally signing for Chelsea in 2008.
He won the Premier League, two FA Cups, and a Community Shield during his time in west London. However, he also missed the decisive penalty against Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League final.
2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal 2018-2022; Chelsea 2022-2023)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goalscoring ability and general attitude made him a hit with Arsenal supporters almost immediately when he joined in 2018. That he almost single-handedly won the club an FA Cup during that period – beating Chelsea in the final – also helps.
However, during his final year at the club, his goal-scoring dried up, and he was eventually let go after seemingly falling out with manager Mikel Arteta. The Gabonese forward joined Barcelona in January 2022, so while Arsenal fans were sad to see him leave, they weren’t hurt by the club he opted to join.
However, that very summer, he made a surprise move to Chelsea, which drew the ire of his former fans. He made the situation worse when he filmed a promo for BT Sport (now TNT Sports), essentially taunting Arsenal fans, so when his former side did the double on his new team, fans were quick to mock and jeer him.
Ultimately, his time in west London was a total disaster, and he later left to join Marseille in Ligue 1.
3 Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea 2010-2013; Arsenal 2011-2012)
After a reasonably successful three-year stint with Liverpool, Israeli footballer Yossi Benayoun joined Chelsea in 2010, but regular injuries made it difficult for him to nail down a place in the starting XI, a problem only made worse by the arrival of the incredibly talented Juan Mata.
So, a year after joining the club, Chelsea made the unusual decision to send him on a season-long loan to rivals Arsenal. He played more games for the Gunners in this one loan move than he did at the Blues across his three years there.
Benayoun would end up being an integral part of the side that finished third ahead of Tottenham and a sixth-placed Chelsea – who would, of course, win the Champions League that year. A late winner against Aston Villa and a goal in the qualification-clinching victory at West Brom were among his highlights in red and white.
He left the west Londoners in 2013, moving to Queens Park Rangers for a year before returning to Israel to finish his career.
4 Petr Cech (Chelsea 2004-2015; Arsenal 2015-2019)
Petr Cech is one of the best Premier League goalkeepers and arguably the greatest in Chelsea’s history. The Czech Republic international was a man mountain and looked impossible to score against during his time in blue.
He was a part of the team for over a decade and ended up winning it all, including the Champions League, four league titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields and the Europa League.
When he left Chelsea to join Arsenal in 2015, he did so as one of the most decorated players in the club’s history. However, he wouldn’t enjoy the same success in north London.
Unfortunately, Cech would leave Arsenal with just an FA Cup, and his final game ended up being a humbling 4-1 loss in the Europa League final against Chelsea.
He wasn’t terrible for the Gunners, but he was clearly past his best.
5 Ashley Cole (Arsenal 1999-2006; Chelsea 2006-2014)
While most of these transfers have been relatively uncontroversial, Ashley Cole’s switch to Chelsea in 2006 was the complete opposite.
Cole came up through the Arsenal youth system and made his debut for the team in November 1999. He would go on to win two league titles, three FA Cups and two Community Shields with the club, but in 2006, he did the unthinkable as he signed for Chelsea.
The famous story is that he was driving home from training one day and received an offer for a new deal that he deemed so low he nearly swerved off the road in anger. From there, he signed for the recently wealthy and reigning league champions (amid an alleged tapping-up scandal) and the rest, as they say, is history.
6 Lassana Diarra (Chelsea 2005-2007; Arsenal 2007-2008)
Lassana Diarra, a man more known for his three years at Real Madrid, did play for both Chelsea and Arsenal early on in his career, although, for whatever reason, it didn’t really work out at either club for him.
He joined the Blues in 2005 but only played a handful of games over the next couple of years before being sold to the Gunners in the summer of 2007 before his contract was set to run out in January 2008.
He didn’t fare much better in red, though, as he would sign for Portsmouth just five months later to get more game time.
7 Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal 2003-2011; Chelsea 2014-2019)
Another player that kicked up a storm signing for his second of the two sides was Cesc Fabregas. The Spanish World Cup winner joined the Arsenal youth system from Barcelona in 2003 and made his debut for the senior side in the same year.
While he was at the club during the Invincible era, he was not given a league winners’ medal as he did not make a single appearance in the league. He did, however, win an FA Cup and Community Shield with the club. He was given the captaincy in 2008, but just three years later, left to join boyhood club Barcelona.
After spending three years there, he wanted to come back to Arsenal, but Arsene Wenger famously turned him down, which gave Chelsea the opportunity to sign him up, which they were more than happy to do.
From 2014 to 2019, the former Arsenal captain won two league titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup with the Blues.
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ByMark MarstonJul 3, 2023 8 William Gallas (Chelsea 2001-2006; Arsenal 2006-2010)
William Gallas moved to Chelsea from Ligue 1 side Marseille in 2001 and would go on to become a vital part of the Blues team that welcomed in the Roman Abramovich era.
During his time at Stamford Bridge, he made over 150 appearances and won two league titles, a League Cup and a Community Shield.
His move to Arsenal in 2006 was part of the deal that saw Cole move the other way, and it was suitably dramatic as Chelsea claimed that Gallas threatened to score own goals should he not be allowed to leave.
Upon his arrival at Arsenal, he rather bizarrely took the number ten shirt following the departure of Dennis Bergkamp. In the end, though, his time in north London was a massive failure as he left empty-handed and with a rather poor reputation following some fairly public spats, causing him to relinquish the Gunners captaincy to fellow former Blue, Fabregas.
9 Olivier Giroud (Arsenal 2012-2018; Chelsea 2018-2021)
Olivier Giroud joined Arsenal from Ligue 1 outfit Montpellier in 2012 and spent the next six years at the club, winning three FA Cups and three Community Shields. While he was relatively successful in north London, he was also criticised for not being prolific enough in front of goal.
He signed for Chelsea in January 2018 after the Gunners signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to take his place. While his move wasn’t met with the most enthusiasm by fans, he ultimately proved to be a valuable player for the Blues and left the team with an FA Cup, a Champions League and a Europa League to his name – scoring in the final of the latter against his former club.
10 Kai Havertz (Chelsea 2020-2023; Arsenal 2023-present)
Kai Havertz joined Chelsea from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 with a lot of promise and expectation that he would go on to be a world-beater.
Unfortunately, after three years at the club, it’s probably fair to say he underdelivered on his promise somewhat despite scoring the winner in the 2021 Champions League final.
So it was quite a surprise when Arsenal paid £65m to sign the German in 2023, becoming yet another player to cross the red-blue divide.
