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From Ashley Cole to Cesc Fabregas - Meet the players who played for both Arsenal and Chelsea

Ritabrata Banerjee
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Cesc Fabregas and Ashley Cole played for both Arsenal and Chelsea
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Goal takes a look at the players who have played for both the London rivals in their history.

The iconic North West London Derby between Arsenal and Chelsea is one of the oldest rivalries in English football dating back to 1907 when the two teams met each other for the first time.

Over the years, the rivalry has grown manifold and since Chelsea's rise in stature in the early 2000s, it has become one of the biggest ties in the Premier League.

Several star players like Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas, Petr Cech and Olivier Giroud have played for both Chelsea and Arsenal.

Here, we take a look at the players who featured for both the London clubs in their respective glorious histories.

  1. Lassana Diarra
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    Lassana Diarra

    The French midfielder played at Chelsea for two seasons from 2005-2007 where he won an FA Cup and a League Cup title. In 2007 he moved to Arsenal where he spent one season but did not win a title.

  2. Emmanuel Petit

    Emmanuel Petit

    Petit joined Arsenal in 1997 and spent three seasons at the club where he won a Premier League, an FA Cup and two Community Shields. After spending a season at Barcelona, the Frenchman returned to London in 2001 to Chelsea where he spent another three seasons but did not win a single trophy with the Blues.

  4. Yossi Benayoun - (Loan)
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    Yossi Benayoun - (Loan)

    Israeli midfielder joined Chelsea in 2010 and remained at the club until 2013. In between, he had moved to Arsenal on loan for a season in 2011. At Chelsea, he won a Europa League title but at Arsenal, he didn't win a trophy.

  5. David Rocastle
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    David Rocastle

    The English midfielder began his professional career at Arsenal in 1985 and played for seven seasons winning the English league twice, one League Cup and a Community Shield. He joined Chelsea in 1994 and was there at the club until 1998 but spent the last three seasons of his contract on loan spells.

  7. Willian
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    Willian

    The Brazilian winger played at Chelsea for seven seasons from 2013 to 2020 where he won two Premier Leagues, one FA Cup, one League Cup and a Europa League title. Since the 2020/21 season, he has been playing at Arsenal but is yet to win a title with the Gunners.

  8. Nicolas Anelka
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    Nicolas Anelka

    The French forward played at Arsenal for two seasons from 1997 to 1999 where he won a Premier League, an FA Cup and a Community Shield. In 2008, he joined Chelsea and played there for four seasons. With the Blues, he won a Premier League, two FA Cups and one Community Shield title.

  9. David Luiz

    David Luiz

    The Brazilian defender played at Chelsea in two stints from 2011 to 2014 and 2016 to 2019. With the Blues, David Luiz won a Premier League, a Champions League, two FA Cups and two Europa League titles.

    He joined Arsenal in 2019 and spent two seasons where he won an FA Cup and a Community Shield title.

  10. William Gallas

    William Gallas

    The French international defender played at Chelsea from 2001 to 2006 and then joined Arsenal where he spent four seasons from 2006 to 2010. He won two Premier Leagues, a League Cup and Community Shield at Chelsea but did not win anything with the Gunners.
  12. Olivier Giroud
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    Olivier Giroud

    Olivier Giroud joined Arsenal in 2012 where he spent six seasons before joining Chelsea in 2018. He left the Blues in the summer of 2021. At Arsenal, the French striker won three FA Cups and three Community Shield titles and with Chelsea, he won one FA Cup, one Europa League and a Champions League title.
  13. Cesc Fabregas
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    Cesc Fabregas

    The Spanish midfielder began his professional career with Arsenal in 2003 and spent eight seasons at the club where he won a Community Shield and an FA Cup title. He joined Chelsea in 2014 and played for five seasons where he won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and a League Cup title.

  14. Petr Cech
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    Petr Cech

    The legendary goalkeeper played at Chelsea from 2004 to 2015. He played 494 matches for the Blues and won four Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, a Champions League and a Europa League title.

    He joined Arsenal in 2015 and spent the last four seasons of his professional career with the Gunners winning two Community Shields and an FA Cup title.

  15. Ashley Cole
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    Ashley Cole

    The legendary English full-back began his professional career with Arsenal in 1999 and remained at the club until 2006 after which he joined Chelsea where he spent the next eight seasons.

    At Arsenal, he won two Community Shields, three FA Cups and two Premier League titles. With Chelsea, Cole won a Premier League, four FA Cups, one League Cup, one Community Shield, one Europa League and a Champions League title.

  17. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang
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    Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang

    After winning an FA Cup with Arsenal in his four year stint, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang left the club by mutual consent and moved to Barcelona in the January transfer window of 2022.

    However, the Gabonese striker could only survive seven months at the Camp Nou as Chelsea signed him on a two-year deal in September 2022.

  18. The rest - from Sandy MacFarlane to Colin Pates

    Sandy MacFarlane - Arsenal in 1896-1897 and Chelsea in 1913-1914

    Jimmy Sharp - Arsenal between 1905-1908 and Chelsea between 1912-1915

    Bob Turnbull - Arsenal in 1923-1924 and Chelsea between 1925-1928

    Tommy Docherty - Arsenal between 1958-1961 and Chelsea in 1961-1962

    Allan Young - Arsenal between 1959-1961 and Chelsea between 1961-1969

    Tommy Baldwin - Arsenal between 1964-1966 and Chelsea between 1966-1974

    Graham Rix - Arsenal between 1975-1988 and Chelsea in 1995

    Clive Allen - Arsenal in 1980 and Chelsea in 1991-1992

    Peter Nicholas - Arsenal between 1981-1983 and Chelsea between 1988-1991

    Tommy Lawton - Chelsea between 1945-1947 and Arsenal between 1953-1955

    Bill Dickson - Chelsea between 1947-1953 and Arsenal between 1953-1956

    John Hollins - Chelsea between 1963-1975 & 1983-1984 and Arsenal between 1979-1983

    George Graham - Chelsea between 1964-1966 and Arsenal between 1966-1972


    Alan Hudson - Chelsea between 1969-1974 & 1983-1984 and Arsenal between 1976-1978

    Colin Pates - Chelsea between 1979-1988 and Arsenal between 1990-1993