Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Top 5 players to have starred for both clubs

4. Nicolas Anelka

Nicolas Anelka starred for Arsenal and Chelsea during a career full of moves

French striker Nicolas Anelka burst onto the scene at Arsenal after joining them from Paris St. Germain as a 17-year old in early 1997. Expected to be a star of the future, Anelka instead broke into the Gunners first team in 1997-98 when Ian Wright picked up a long-term injury, and subsequently scored 6 goals in 26 games to help the Gunners win an unexpected Premier League title and FA Cup double.

1998-99 saw his form improve even further, and he finished the season as Arsenal’s top scorer with 17 Premier League goals in 35 games, but he also earned the ire of Gunners fans after pushing for a move away from the club, becoming known as ‘Le Sulk’ in the process. In the summer of 1999, he joined Real Madrid for a fee of £22m.

From there, the French striker became somewhat of a journeyman, having spells at Paris St. Germain, Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce and Bolton Wanderers, but it was with Chelsea that he finally showed his best form.

Anelka spent 4 and a half seasons at Stamford Bridge, and although he missed the key penalty in their 2007-08 Champions League final loss to Manchester United, he also scored a total of 59 goals for the club and was their top scorer in 2008-09. Along the way he won another Premier League title and two more FA Cups, before departing for the Chinese Super League in 2012.