Best XI stars to play for both Arsenal and Chelsea including Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas and Willian

IN the 2020 summer window, Willian became the latest star to officially play for both Arsenal and Chelsea.

The Brazilian, 31, swapped the blue for red as he joined an ever-growing list of player to move across London.

The best XI of players to have starred for both Arsenal and Chelsea

From Petr Cech and Ashley Cole to Nicolas Anelka and Olivier Giroud, those players could form a handy team of their own.

Check our combined best XI of players to have starred in both the red of Arsenal and blue of Chelsea… with Willian just about making the cut.

PETR CECH

CECH spent over a decade at Chelsea between 2004 and 2015, winning four Premier League titles, the Champions League in 2011-12 as well as nine other trophies.

But Cech, now 39, moved north to the Emirates – where he spent the final four years of his career – winning the FA Cup and two Community Shields.

He’s now back at Chelsea as technical director – and last season even made the 25-man Premier League playing squad to provide back up to Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga.

LASSANA DIARRA

DIARRA joined Chelsea from Le Havre in 2005 – where he made just 13 Premier League appearances.

Diarra, 37, joined Arsenal two years later, where he last just one season, playing seven times before moving to Portsmouth… and then, bizarrely, Real Madrid.

He then played for several Russian sides and Marseille before ending his career at Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.

DAVID LUIZ

BEFORE Willian, Luiz was the most-recent mover when the Brazilian was a surprise deadline day arrival for Arsenal in an £8m deal last summer.

The Brazilian, 34, spent six years at Stamford Bridge across two spells at the club – but left after being told he would not be an automatic starter.

He left Arsenal last summer after his contract expired and now plays back home for Flamengo.

WILLIAM GALLAS

ANOTHER to move straight from Chelsea to Arsenal, Gallas earned cult hero status at the Blues between 2001 and 2006 – having first joined before Roman Abramovich’s cash injection.

The Frenchman, 44, played 159 league games for the Blues and featured over 100 times for the Gunners too.

But his London tour didn’t stop there, with Gallas then spending three years at Tottenham before retiring in 2014.

ASHLEY COLE

ARGUABLY the most controversial Arsenal to Chelsea mover, Cole spent a decade at Highbury having worked his way through their youth ranks.

After 159 games at Arsenal, Cole, 41, went on to have success at Chelsea, playing 229 Premier League matches – winning one title, to go with his two from the Gunners.

Cole is looked at fondly by Blues supporters, but less so by Arsenal who never got over his betrayal.

Cole is now a first-team coach under Frank Lampard at Everton.

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DAVID ROCASTLE

THE Lewisham-born star spent ten years at Arsenal, having worked his way through their youth ranks.

After leaving, Rocastle played for Leeds and Manchester City, before heading to Chelsea where he spent a further four years towards the end of his career.

Rocastle sadly passed away at the age of 33 in March 2001, just a month after revealing he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

EMMANUEL PETIT

SPENDING three years apiece at the two clubs, either side of a season at Barcelona, Petit became a cult icon at both teams.

The 1998 World Cup winner, 51, won a Premier League crown with Arsenal – as well as an FA Cup and two Charity Shields – as it was then known.

Petit retired in 2005 and is now a pundit.

CESC FABREGAS

SIMILARLY to Petit, Fabregas left Arsenal for Barcelona, before heading to Chelsea – much to Gooners’ annoyance.

Fab, 34, spent eight years at the Gunners, racking up over 200 league appearances, before returning to England three years later, where he spent five seasons at Chelsea, playing 138 Prem games.

He’s now enjoying a late-career resurgence at Monaco.

WILLIAN

THE Brazilian originally joined Chelsea from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013 and would go on to score 63 times in 339 games, winning two Premier League titles in that time.

But Willian, 33, moved to Arsenal in 2020 after the Blues failed to offer him a long-term contract.

Despite being a freebie, the Gunners paid Willian a staggering £220,000 a week, with the winger drawing huge criticism from pundits for his atrocious career in North London.

Willian was then released just one year later and now plays for Brazilian side Corinthians.

In spite of his disappointing spell at Arsenal, his strong seven years at Stamford Bridge see him edge out Yossi Benayoun in this XI.

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NICOLAS ANELKA

HAVING played for so many clubs, it’s hardly a surprise Anelka played for both Arsenal and Chelsea.

The Gunners were the French talent’s first English club, where he scored 23 goals in 65 games, before moving to Chelsea over a decade later, scoring 38 times in 125 matches across four seasons.

The 44-year-old also played for Man City, Liverpool, Bolton and West Brom.

Anelka is now a youth manager with Ligue 1 champions Lille.

OLIVIER GIROUD

ARSENAL fans were disappointed when Giroud left them after six years and 73 Premier League goals.

The striker, 35, enjoyed ups and downs at Stamford Bridge, but left the Premier League for a new adventure in Serie A with AC Milan last summer.

Giroud has scored 11 goals so far for the Italians, and they are currently top of the table with just five games remaining.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk