The best and worst Arsenal and Chelsea players as Kepa Arrizabalaga completes shock transfer

Kepa Arrizabalaga has sealed his surprise transfer from Chelsea to Arsenal, becoming the latest footballer to play for London’s two biggest clubs.

Still the most expensive goalkeeper of all-time, the Gunners have signed Kepa for just £5million after spending the last two seasons away from Stamford Bridge on loan.

While there is a fierce rivalry between the capital sides, players have happily moved between north and west London for years, with 16 doing so during the Premier League era.

Some of these moves were successful and others are best forgotten about…

The best players to play for both Arsenal and Chelsea

It’s safe to say that players moving from Arsenal to Chelsea have had more success than the other way round, with Ashley Cole the most notable player to make this transfer.

Arguably the greatest left-back in Premier League history, Cole came through Hale End and was part of the Invincibles side before being tempted away by Jose Mourinho.

‘Cashley’, as Arsenal fans labelled him, went onto win a third league title, the Champions League and play over 100 times for England.

The Gunners were devastated by the departure of captain Cesc Fabregas in 2011, who had been a key player since making his debut aged just 16, but were at least relieved that he was joining Barcelona.

That was until he returned to the capital just three years later via Chelsea. Only Ryan Giggs and Kevin De Bruyne have more Premier League assists than the superb Spaniard.

Kepa follows in the footsteps of legendary keeper Petr Cech, who, in his final game before retirement, conceded four goals as Arsenal lost the 2019 Europa League final – a bad end to an otherwise outstanding career.

Opening the scoring in that final was striker Olivier Giroud who won six major trophies and scored 144 goals for the Gunners and Blues.

Fellow midfielders Emmanuel Petit and Jorginho are well-regarded by both clubs, while Nicolas Anelka found the back of the net plenty of times.

The jury is still out on current Gunners star Kai Havertz, who will always be remembered at Chelsea for scoring the 2021 Champions League winning goal.

The worst players to play for both Arsenal and Chelsea

The list of players Kepa does not want to join is headlined by the most recent player to swap Chelsea for Arsenal: Raheem Sterling.

The England winger’s reputation fell dramatically after switching Manchester City for Stamford Bridge and has plummeted further after last season’s loan at the Emirates – 28 appearances. One goal.

David Luiz enjoyed great success over two spells at Chelsea but became a laughing stock at Arsenal, while fellow Brazilian Willian shared a similar fate, describing his year under Mikel Arteta as ‘the worst time that he had lived as a professional’.

The Gunners did however have the last laugh in regards to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored 92 goals in four years before being suddenly stripped of the captaincy and kicked out of the club by Arteta in 2022.

Six months later, Chelsea took an expensive punt on the volatile striker but he couldn’t replicate the magic – three goals in 21 games – and was out the door less than a year later.

Lassana Diarra and Yossi Benayoun both had their moments but failed to make much of an impact at either side.

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