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Chelsea are one of the financially buoyant football clubs in the English Premier League. This makes it possible for the Blues to go head-to-head with the other top clubs in the league for the signature of the best players who can lead the club to success.
However, it is not unusual to witness these big clubs sell their top players to a fellow league rival. Notable examples include Robin van Persie (Arsenal to Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Arsenal to Chelsea), Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea), and Carlos Tevez (Manchester United to Manchester City), amongst others.
These transfers happen for various reasons ranging from a bid to raise funds for other transfers, redundancy, or the player forcing the move themselves.
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Chelsea has had quite a number of top players who switched directly to rival clubs, especially to Arsenal. Since 2006, six players have transferred straight from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates.
This article will rank the six Chelsea players who moved directly to Arsenal in recent years.
#6 Wiliam Gallas
The former French international joined Chelsea in 2001 from Olympique Marseille and was a member of the squad that won consecutive league titles under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006.
Contract issues with the club led to his exit from Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2006. The versatile defender failed to return to the squad in a bid to push a transfer away from Stamford Bridge.
He was sold to Arsenal as a part of a deal that brought English left-back Ashley Cole to Chelsea. Gallas' transfer was very controversial as the club subsequently claimed that he threatened to intentionally score own goals if he wasn't allowed to leave the club, a claim which he denied.
#5 Kai Havertz
The German international is the most recent player who moved from west to north London. Kai Havertz recently completed a £65 million transfer to Arsenal three seasons after the Blues paid a staggering £71 million to Bayer Leverkusen for his services.
Although his time at Stamford Bridge was not as productive as expected, Havertz's name will remain forever in Chelsea's history book as the man who won them their second UEFA Champions League title. The silky German scored the only goal to help the London club defeat Manchester City in the 2021 final of the prestigious European competition.
He also scored the winning goal that secured the club's first-ever FIFA Club World Cup trophy. The 24-year-old made a total of 139 appearances for the Blues during his three seasons at the club, scoring 32 goals and providing 15 assists.
#4 Willian
Brazilian winger Willian is another top player who transitioned directly from Chelsea to Arsenal. He joined the West London club in 2013 from Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala and was one of their best players during his seven seasons at Stamford Bridge.
The 2016 Chelsea Player of the Year helped the club win two league titles, the UEFA Europa League, the FA Cup, and League Cup. Willian won the admiration of the fans of the club due to his beautiful and explosive style of play from the wings.
After talks on a new contract failed, he joined the Gunners on a free transfer in the summer of 2020. However, his time at the Emirates wasn't a success and he left after just a year at the club.
The 34-year-old currently plays for Fulham. He registered 63 goals and 62 assists in 339 games for the Blues.
#3 Jorginho
Italian midfielder Jorginho spent five seasons at Stamford Bridge where he made a name for himself as one of the best central midfielders in the league. Jorginho joined Chelsea from Napoli in 2018 and was an integral member of the club, leading to them to multiple successes.
His leadership qualities, composure, work rate, and football intelligence made him the fulcrum of the team and he was fully deployed by all managers during his stay at Stamford Bridge.
In 2021, he was named UEFA Player of the Year after winning the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup for the club as well as the European Championship with Italy.
Jorginho made a total of 213 appearances for the Blues, before joining Arsenal in January 2023.
#2 David Luiz
Brazilian center-back David Luiz enjoyed two successful spells at Chelsea. He first joined the London club in 2011 from Benfica and helped them win the Champions League, FA Cup, and Europa League.
He transferred to Paris Saint Germain in 2014 but returned two seasons later on the transfer day deadline in 2016. Luiz then won the Premier League, another FA Cup, and a second Europa League in his second stint at the club.
The 36-year-old signed for Arsenal in 2019. In his combined six seasons at the club, the centre-back scored 18 goals and created 12 assists in 248 games. He currently plys his trade in his home country with Flamengo.
#1 Petr Cech
Petr Cech is arguably one of the best goalkeepers to have graced the English Premier League. Cech enjoyed 11 prosperous seasons at Stamford Bridge and a decent four years at the Emirates.
At Chelsea, he won 16 major trophies which includes four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and one UEFA Champions League, and was regarded as one of the best shot-stoppers in the game. He also won a fifth FA Cup with Arsenal in 2017.
Cech won the Premier League Golden Boot on four occasions (2005, 2010, 2014, 2016). He also holds the record for most clean sheets in Premier League history (202). The ex-international made a combined 633 appearances for both London clubs, keeping 282 clean sheets in the process.
