Kai Havertz has become the latest player to swap Chelsea for Arsenal this summer and follows in the footsteps of Jorginho, who made the same move in January.
There is a long list of players to play for both Arsenal and Chelsea, despite the rivalry between the two most successful teams in London.
Famous names such as John Hollins and George Graham played for both in the 1960s and 70s but here we focus on the stars who have been in both the red and blue corners during the Premier League era.
Olivier Giroud
Giroud’s first taste of English football came with Arsenal, who signed him from Montpellier in 2012.
His time with the Gunners is best remembered for his success in the FA Cup, which he won three times and laid on the assist for Aaron Ramsey to net the winner in the final in both 2014 and 2017.
Giroud also won the FIFA Puskas Award for his stunning backheeled volley against Crystal Palace in 2017.
He made the move across the capital to Chelsea in January 2018 and enjoyed plenty more success, winning the Champions League and Europa League, as well as a fourth FA Cup.
Ashley Cole
Cole was a key part of the defence as Arsenal won the double in 2002, retained the FA Cup 12 months later and then enjoyed an unbeaten league season in 2003-4 as one of the ‘Invincibles’.
The left-back helped Arsenal win the FA Cup again in 2005, while his time at the club ended with defeat against Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final.
A controversial move to Chelsea followed in August 2006, with William Gallas heading in the opposite direction as part of the deal.
He enjoyed plenty more success in eight seasons at Stamford Bridge, winning the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League, four FA Cups and the League Cup, meaning he holds the record for the most FA Cup wins as a player with seven in total.
William Gallas
As mentioned above, Gallas headed in the opposite direction when Cole moved to Chelsea, with Arsenal also receiving £5million as part of the acrimonious deal.
Signed by Claudio Ranieri at Chelsea, it was under Jose Mourinho that he enjoyed most success, with back-to-back Premier League titles in 2003 and 2004, as well as a League Cup and a run to the Champions League semi-finals.
Gallas became club captain a year after joining Arsenal and made over a century of appearances but failed to win a trophy before leaving for Tottenham in 2010, becoming the first player to appear for Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs.
Petr Cech
There was little that the Czech goalkeeper did not achieve during an incredible 11 years at Chelsea, where he set club records for the most clean sheets and most appearances by an overseas player.
It was while with Chelsea that he suffered a fractured skull during the 2006-7 season and he famously wore protective headwear for the rest of his career, which peaked in the 2012 Champions League final.
Cech saved a penalty from Arjen Robben in extra-time and saved two spot-kicks in the shoot-out as Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in their own stadium to be crowned champions of Europe.
During his time in west London, Cech won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League.
He left for Arsenal after losing his place to Thibaut Courtois and was first-choice keeper for three seasons, winning the FA Cup again in 2017, but returned to Chelsea in 2019 as a technical and performance advisor.
David Luiz
The Brazilian defender had two spells at Chelsea, either side of two seasons in France with PSG.
Signed from Benfica in January 2011, he was an instant success and was named the Premier League player of the month for March before helping the Blues win the Champions League in 2011-12.
His £50million move to PSG in 2014 was a world-record fee for a defender and he scored at Stamford Bridge as PSG knocked his former club out of the Champions League.
He won a domestic treble in each of his two seasons in France before returning to Chelsea for another three seasons.
Luiz headed to Arsenal for £8million in 2019 but was sent off after conceding a penalty against Chelsea. On a positive note, he was part of the Arsenal team which beat Chelsea in the 2020 FA Cup final before leaving the club when his contract expired in June 2021.
Nicolas Anelka
Anelka was just 17 when he left France to join Arsenal under newly-appointed manager Arsene Wenger and he thrived under his countryman.
An injury to Ian Wright saw Anelka establish himself in the first team in the 1997-98 season and he played a key role as the Gunners did the double, with Anelka on target in a 2-0 win against Newcastle in the FA Cup final.
He was the Premier League’s top scorer the following season but quit for Real Madrid in the summer of 1999 having been branded ‘Le Sulk’ by fans and the media due to his attitude.
Anelka was regularly on the move and joined Chelsea from Bolton in January 2008 but his penalty miss in that season’s Champions League final saw Manchester United beat their Premier League rivals in the Moscow shoot-out.
His four seasons at Chelsea brought one Premier League title and two FA Cups.
Willian
The Brazilian midfielder won all the major domestic trophies during seven years with Chelsea after moving to England for £30million in 2013.
He picked up two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup and was part of the Chelsea team which beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final in 2019, while he was named the club’s player of the year in 2016.
His time in north London was much less productive and he managed just one goal before returning to Brazil after only one season with Arsenal, although he has since returned to the capital with Fulham.
Emmanuel Petit
Petit played as a defender under Wenger at Monaco but converted into a defensive midfielder when he followed his fellow Frenchman to Arsenal in 1997.
Along with countryman Patrick Vieira, Petit formed a superb midfield partnership as Arsenal won the double, while he was part of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup on home soil.
Petit left the Gunners for Barcelona in 2000 before opting to join their London rivals Chelsea when he returned to England in 2001, but his three seasons there did not bring a trophy.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang was regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe when he became Arsenal’s record signing at £56million after joining from German side Borussia Dortmund in January 2018.
In his first full season with the Gunners, he shared the Premier League golden boot with Liverpool duo Mo Salah and Sadio Mane on 22 goals apiece and helped the team reach the Europa League final, which they lost to Chelsea.
He took over from Granit Xhaka as club captain in November 2019 and became the first African to win the FA Cup as captain when Arsenal beat Chelsea in the 2020 final, with the Gabon international scoring the only goal from the penalty spot.
Disciplinary issues saw him stripped of the captaincy and leave for Barcelona during the January transfer window in 2022 but he was soon back in the Premier League with Chelsea.
He only managed one league goal in the 2022-23 season though, as the Blues finished in the bottom half.
Cesc Fabregas
The last name on our list of players to have played for both Arsenal and Chelsea enjoyed a distinguished career with both.
The Spaniard came through Barcelona’s famous Masia youth academy but joined Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2003 and broke through into the first team during the 2004-5 season.
He was part of the team that beat Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup final but that was the only trophy the Gunners won while Fabregas was at the club, although he had the honour of being made club captain in 2008 and made over 300 first-team appearances.
Fabregas returned to Barcelona in 2011 but the World Cup winner was back in London with Chelsea in 2014 and added to his trophy collection with two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup.
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