Raheem Sterling is set to make his debut for Arsenal next weekend when Mikel Arteta’s team takes on Tottenham in what is expected to be a thrilling London Derby. He is now a Gunner, but only on loan from the West London club, Chelsea. While it may seem odd for city rivals to trade players, it is not the first time it has happened, and it definitely won’t be the last time either.
Here are just some of the players that have played for both London clubs.
Emmanuel Petit
Emmanuel Petit is a former French player who spent his career in top clubs. In the summer of 1997, he joined Arsenal from Monaco where he was reunited with his former AS Monaco manager Arsène Wenger. Wenger switched Petit from a defensive midfielder to central midfield. Partnered with Patrick Vierra in central midfield, the duo were very successful.
In his three seasons at Arsenal, he scored 11 goals and provided 24 assists. With Arsenal, Petit won the Premier League and the FA Cup once, and the Community Shield twice.
Barcelona was Petit’s next destination, although things did not go as smoothly mostly thanks to injuries. After a difficult spell at Barcelona, the Frenchman moved back to London. However, this time around, it was West London. At Chelsea, he had 3 goals and 7 assists. In his three seasons as a Chelsea player though, he did not win a single title.
Lassana Diarra
The former French footballer Lassana Diarra also played for some elitist clubs in his professional career. Deemed to be ‘the next Makélélé’, Diarra joined Chelsea in 2005 from Le Havre. In his two seasons at Chelsea, he was often used as a substitute in José Mourinho’s squad rotations. Despite being a defensive midfielder, he found himself playing as a right-back due to Chelsea’s injury issues in defence during the 2006/07 season.
While at Chelsea, Diarra won the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Community Shield.
Aiming for starting minutes, the Frenchman joined Arsenal in the summer of 2007. He only spent half a season in North London, unable to get enough minutes there as well. He joined Portsmouth in January 2008. The rest of his career after Portsmouth was spent at Real Madrid, Anzhi Makhachkala, Lokomotiv Moscow, Marseille, Al Jazira and finally Paris Saint-Germain before hanging up his boots.
Ashley Cole
Born an Arsenal fan, Ashley Cole spent his youth years in Arsenal’s academy. The left-back had a successful spell at the North London club. Having being fully integrated in the first team from the 2000/01 season after Sylvinho’s injury, Ashley Cole went on to close his time as an Arsenal player with 9 goals, 22 assists, 2 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups and 2 Community Shields.
The Englishman’s last season (2005/06) was tough as he was injured for most of it. He however recovered just in time for Arsenal’s Champions League final which they lost to Barcelona.
In the summer of 2006, Ashley Cole traded Red for Blue. The year before, Cole, his agent Jonathan Barnett, José Mourinho and Chelsea were fined by the Premier League for a tapping-up meeting in January 2005. There was tension between Cole and Arsenal, which resulted in the defender eventually moving to Chelsea.
Ashley Cole went on to be even more successful at Chelsea before he left for AS Roma in the summer of 2014. With 7 goals and 32 assists, Cole added to his trophy collection. With the Blues, he won the Premier League and the Community Shield and the Carabao Cup once. He won the FA Cup four times and also conquered Europe. In Europe, Cole finally became a UEFA Champions League winner, as well as a UEFA Europa League winner.
Petr Čech
Goalkeeping legend Petr Čech was signed by Chelsea from Rennes in July 2004. Earlier that year, the French side had rejected Chelsea’s bid, but the Blues persisted in the next window. Chelsea signed Čech for £7 million, becoming their most expensive goalkeeper in history at that time.
The Czech player would prove to be worth the money.
In his debut season, Čech had 24 clean sheets, and broke records, earning himself the Golden Glove. He went on to win back-to-back Premier League titles. By the time he left Chelsea, Čech was a four-time Premier League and FA Cup champion, three-time Carabao Cup champion, and two-time Community Sheild winner. With Ashley Cole part of the defence ahead of him, Petr Čech also became a European champion, with one UCL title and one Europa League title.
No longer the first-choice keeper, Čech moved to Arsenal in 2015’s summer window. His first title win with Arsenal came in a Community Shield win against Chelsea. He won the Community Shield once more with Arsenal and won the FA Cup too. At Arsenal, Čech got his fourth Golden Glove and became the first goalkeeper with 200 clean sheets in the Premier League.
Petr Čech retired whilst at Arsenal, leaving behind a great legacy. He retired from football with 342 clean sheets to his name.
Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas joined Arsenal’s first team in July 2004 from Arsenal’s U18 team which he had joined from Barcelona’s Academy. The Spaniard scored 57 goals and provided 95 assists in his seven seasons as a Gunner. Although his integration into the first team received a lot of criticism as he ‘replaced’ Patrick Viera, the club put their faith in Fàbregas, and the Spaniard delivered.
He grew into the first team, and in the 2006/07 season, he earned himself individual honours. Fàbregas won the Golden Boy award and was named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, and the FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007. Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He was also named Arsenal’s Player of the Season, with 60% of the votes.
Arsenal’s captain moved back to Barcelona in August 2011 after a long period of uncertainty surrounding his future at the London club. In his seven seasons at Arsenal, he and the team only managed one FA Cup and one Community Shield title.
In his return to Barcelona, he became an important player in his boyhood club. His achievements at Barcelona included a first league title win. Scoring 42 goals and providing 50 assists in 151 games for Barcelona, he won the Supercopa de España twice, one La Liga title, one Copa del Rey and one FIFA Club World Cup.
In the summer of 2014, Cesc Fàbregas made a return to London. However, this time around he would settle in West London. He had a strong start to his career as a Chelsea player, becoming the first player ever in Premier League history to provide at least one assist in six successive games; four under Chelsea and two under Arsenal during the 2010–11 season.
Alongside Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, Fàbregas was part of the attack that went on to win the 2014/15 Premier League title as well as the Carabao Cup. His second season at Chelsea though, was difficult, with José Mourinho being dismissed mid-season. The following season was also somewhat difficult, with the Spaniard making fewer appearances.
However, things turned around in Fàbregas’ fourth and fifth seasons, with he and the club picking up more major titles. To his trophy collection, Fàbregas added one more FA Cup and Premier League title. He also won his first European club title when Chelsea won the 2018/19 Europa League.
In January 2019 he left Chelsea for Monaco, where he subsequently left for Como, where he retired from football.
Olivier Giroud
France’s top scorer Olivier Giroud joined Arsenal in July 2012 after winning the Ligue 1 title in France with Montpellier. In his 253 Arsenal appearances, Giroud scored 105 goals and had 37 assists. With Arsenal, the Frenchman became a three-time FA Cup and Community Shield winner. He also won the 2017 FIFA Puskás Award for a Premier League goal against Crystal Palace.
In January 2018, Giroud became yet another player to move from Arsenal to Chelsea. In his 119 appearances as a Blue, he scored 39 goals and provided 14 assists. Giroud added one more FA Cup title to his accolades and won in Europe twice. He was part of the Chelsea squad that won the Europa League in 2018, and the record-breaking squad that won the Champions League in 2021.
Shortly after becoming a European Champion, he left London for AC Milan where he went on to win the Serie A title in 2022. He is now playing in the MLS, as a Los Angeles Football Club player.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang
After playing in Italy, France and Germany for years, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang joined Arsenal in the 2018 January window. Despite joining the North London club during a difficult period, Aubameyang was a strong force. In his 163 appearances, he had 92 goals and 21 assists.
He had a good debut season, closing it out by sharing the Premier League Golden Boot title with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, with 22 goals.
In 2020 he became an FA Cup winner, and in 2021 he won the Community Shield, before being sold to Barcelona a few months later in the 2022 winter transfer window. He made 24 appearances for the La Liga club, scoring 13 goals and providing 1 assist.
In the 2022/23 season, the striker played 8 minutes for Barcelona who went on to win the La Liga title. That makes Aubameyang a La Liga title winner. That same season, he joined Chelsea in September after his one appearance for Barcelona that season.
At Chelsea, Aubameyang struggled for minutes and goals. With 21 appearances, he scored only 3 goals and provided 1 assist. He left Chelsea for French club Marseille in July 2023. However, as of July of this year, the striker is in the Saudi Pro League, playing for Al-Qadsiyah.
Other Transfers
Willian, Nicolas Anelka, David Luiz and William Gallas are among other players who have played for both Chelsea and Arsenal.
Currently at Arsenal, are three former Chelsea players. Jorginho and Kai Havertz who were both part of the Chelsea squad that beat Manchester City to the UEFA Champions League title in 2021 are now Gunners. Havertz has established himself as a starter for the North London side and has seen his goal-scoring ability improve.
Raheem Sterling is the third player. The winger is set to make his Arsenal debut in their London Derby clash against Tottenham in next weekend’s most anticipated Premier League game after the international break.