5 players who have played for both Arsenal and Juventus

Aaron Ramsey, the attacking midfielder who plays for Arsenal, is all set to join Juventus after having spent 10 seasons with the Gunners. Ramsey has scored 61 goals in 354 matches for Arsenal and been one of their most important players in the last decade.

He would now get an opportunity to play for the Italian Champions alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paolo Dybala.

Juventus are the most successful Italian club along with AC Milan and have won 2 UEFA Champions League and 28 Serie A titles till date. Meanwhile, Arsenal have won 13 English League titles and are one of the biggest clubs in England. We would now take a look at the 5 players who have played for both these legendary clubs.

#1 Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry became famous worldwide while playing for France in the 1998 World Cup. He scored three goals in the tournament and helped his nation lift the trophy. He was signed by Juventus in 1999 and played a handful of matches for them. He played as a winger for them and managed to score three goals in 19 matches.

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He was then signed by Arsenal in 1999 and got an opportunity to play under his compatriot Arsene Wenger. Henry started playing as a center-forward for Arsenal and gradually developed into a great goal-scorer. He formed a great striking pair with Dennis Bergkamp and led the Gunners to many successes.

Henry helped Arsenal win the Premier League twice in 3 years from 2001 to 2004. He was a member of “the Invincibles” squad of 2003-04 season, which won the Premier League without losing a single game. Arsenal made it to the Champions League final in 2005-06, but lost to Barcelona in the final.

Henry played for Arsenal till 2007 and scored 226 goals in 369 matches for them. He again made a brief comeback for the Gunners in 2012 and played 4 more matches for them. In all, he played 373 matches for the North Londoners whilst scoring 228 goals.

Henry remains one of the finest footballers in Premier League’s history and was selected in PFA’s team of the century in 2007. He also finished 2nd in Ballon d’Or 2003 and 3rd in 2006.

#2 Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira was yet another legendary French player of Arsenal. He was a defensive midfielder who could also play a box-to-box role. Vieira was very strong physically and a great passer too. He was Arsenal’s captain for quite a while and led by example on the pitch. He is regarded as one of the best holding midfielders in the world.

Vieira played for Arsenal from 1996 to 2005 and scored 34 goals in 406 matches for them. He also won 3 Premier League titles for the Gunners. He was also selected in Premier League’s team of the decade. He moved to Juventus in 2005 and played for them for a solitary season.

Vieira was very good for the Old Lady as well, playing alongside Alessandro Del Piero and Fabio Cannavaro for them. He played in 42 matches for the Turin-based outfit and scored 5 goals, but could not win any silverware. However, he would always be primarily remembered as an Arsenal Legend.

#3 Stephan Lichtsteiner

The 34-year-old Lichsteiner was signed by Arsenal at the beginning of the 2018-19 season as cover for Hector Bellerin. He is a full back who is capable of playing in either side of the pitch. He has struggled to find a regular place in the starting line-up of the Gunners and played in 17 matches this season so far.

Prior to being signed by Arsenal, he had played for Juventus from 2011 to 2018. He was signed by them in 2011 and went on to spend 7 seasons at Italy. He also scored 15 goals in 257 matches for them and won 7 successive Serie A titles. He was a part of the squad that finished as runner-up in the UEFA Champions League in 2014-15 and 2016-17.

Lichtsteiner is a very fast fullback, who prefers to go into overlaps often. He is also quite reliable as a defender and can play as a wing back too. It remains to be seen if the veteran manages to cement his place in the starting line-up of Arsenal.

#4 Wojciech Szczesny

Szczesny is a Polish goalkeeper who played for Arsenal from 2009 to 2017. He was signed by the Gunners in 2009 as they were then looking for a long-term replacement for Jens Lehmann.

The glove man managed to become their first-choice goalkeeper and played his role in their FA cup triumphs in 2013-14 and 2014-15. He failed to win any league title with the Gunners though. He appeared in 153 matches for Arsenal in total.

He spent a couple of seasons with Roma on loan from 2015 to 2017. The 28-year-old was signed by Juventus in 2017 and has been playing for them since. He remains their first-choice goalkeeper and has already won one Serie A title with them.

Szczesny is a brilliant shot-stopper and strong in the air too. However, he does not quite have a commanding presence inside the penalty box and remains a bit vulnerable while defending set-pieces.

#5 Nicolas Anelka

Nicolas Anelka played in a number of clubs in his 18-year-long career. He remains one of the ultimate journeymen of world football as he never really settled at one particular club. To his credit, Anelka was an opportunistic striker and could move quickly inside the opposition penalty area.

He was signed by Arsenal in 1997. He was reasonably successful with scored 28 goals in 90 matches for them. He played under compatriot Arsene Wenger and also won a Premier League title in his inaugural season. He moved to Real Madrid in 1999.

Anelka then played for a number of clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool. He also had a very brief stint at Juventus on loan and appeared in a couple of matches for them in the 2012-13 season.

The prolific striker went on to play for Shanghai Shenhua, West Bromwich Albion and Mumbai City FC, before switching to management.

Edited by Akarshak (Ishu) Roy