Players to have played for both Arsenal and Real Madrid

Two titans of European football, it's fascinating that Arsenal and Real Madrid have only met twice before in the UEFA Champions League.

Rewind back to 2005/06 and after holding the Spanish giants to a goalless draw at Highbury, Arsenal conquered Los Blancos courtesy of a sublime solo goal from Thierry Henry at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Incidentally, the two-legged tie was in the same season that Arsenal advanced all the way to the final in Paris, only to suffer heartache at the hands of Real Madrid's arch-rivals, Barcelona.

The Gunners have failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals in their previous nine appearances in the UEFA Champions League since and in that time, Real Madrid have been victorious on six occasions.

Ahead of their last-eight clash in the competition, we've compiled a list of the players who have represented both clubs through the years.

Nicolas Anelka

Arsenal (1997-1999)
Real Madrid (1999-2000)

An extremely complex character, Nicolas Anelka was lured to Arsenal at the age of 17 by Arsene Wenger for a £500k fee from Paris Saint-Germain.

Opportunities were sparse in his debut season but the forward soon embedded himself into the Gunners' frontline, playing a key role in the club's Premier League and FA Cup Double in 1998.

His form continued into the 1998/99 campaign and although Arsenal failed to live up to expectations across all fronts, Anelka netted 17 times in the Premier League as he clamed PFA Young Player of the Year, even if his relationship with the club has soured in the latter stages of the season.

Real Madrid swooped in during the subsequent transfer window and splashed £22.3m on the Frenchman. However, Anelka endured a contentious stint in the Spanish capital, which ultimately resulted in him departing after one season.

On the upside, he did score two vital goals to ensure Real Madrid's progression to the UEFA Champions League final and Anelka emerged with a winners medal after featuring in the final success over Valencia.

Davor Suker

Real Madrid (1996-1999)
Arsenal (1999-2000)

Regarded as one of the greatest Croatian footballers of all time, a prolific spell with Sevilla resulted in Davor Suker earning a switch to Real Madrid ahead of the 1996/97 campaign.

The striker was potent in his debut season, netting 24 goals as the Galacticos reclaimed La Liga honours and Sukor's goalscoring currency was at the forefront of Real Madrid's successful capture of the 1998 UEFA Champions League in the following term.

Despite a strong 1998 World Cup in which he scored six goals as Croatia reached the semi-finals, Suker was relegated to a reserve role back at Real Madrid and decided to leave the club at the end of the 1999 season.

Arsenal swooped in and despite high hopes for the forward, Suker underwhelmed at Highbury with his Gunners stint lasting just a single campaign.

Jose Antonio Reyes

Arsenal (2004-2007)
Real Madrid (2006-2007)

Jose Antonio Reyes was one of the hottest properties in European football when Arsenal acquired him from Sevilla in the midst of their Invincibles season.

Despite the wealth of attacking options at Wenger's disposal, Reyes still made good on the opportunities presented to him and the tenacious winger salvaged Arsenal's unbeaten season with the equalising goal against Portsmouth in their penultimate match.

Following reports of homesickness, Reyes failed to reach the heights anticipated in the 2004/05 campaign, but in the following year he was an influential figure in Arsenal's path to the UEFA Champions League final.

Links to Real Madrid had persisted through most of Reyes' time at Arsenal and a move to the Bernabeu eventually came to pass in 2006, with the Spaniard switching to Fabio Capello's men on a season-long loan.

After winning La Liga with Real, Reyes remained in Spain but on a permanent basis as he controversially headed to the other side of Madrid to join Atletico.

Julio Baptista

Real Madrid (2005-2008)
Arsenal (2006-2007)

After spending two summers attempting to lure Julio Baptista from Sevilla, Arsene Wenger was left to scorn Real Madrid as they acquired the Brazilian's services in the summer of 2006.

However, the Frenchman didn't have to wait too long to get his man. An unhappy first season at the Bernabeu resulted in the two clubs sanctioning a loan swap between Baptista and Jose Antonio Reyes, with Wenger happy to oblige.

Despite his immense size and power, "The Beast" struggled to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League and only found the net three times in 24 league appearances, although he did find form in the League Cup as the Gunners finished runners-up to Chelsea.

The arrival of Bernd Schuster as Real Madrid's new head coach resulted in Baptista staying in the Spanish capital upon the expiry of his loan deal at Arsenal and the forward flourished as Los Blancos won La Liga.

He departed Real Madrid at the end of 2007/08 campaign to join Roma in a €9m deal.

Lassana Diarra

Arsenal (2007-2008)
Real Madrid (2009-2012)

Very few Arsenal supporters would have envisioned Lassana Diarra playing for Real Madrid when he decided to quit the Gunners for Portsmouth in 2008.

Diarra had only been at Arsenal for five months following a switch from Chelsea when he decided to join Harry Redknapp's outfit for £5.5m in January 2008, with the defensive midfielder citing a lack of game time as the reason behind his transfer.

The Frenchman's stint at Fratton Park proved a fruitful one and within a year he was the subject of a €20m bid from Real Madrid in December 2008.

Diarra won over the Madridistas with his supreme work ethic and helped the club to the 2011/12 La Liga title before venturing to Russia in 2012 with Anzhi Makhachkala.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Arsenal (2006-2009)
Real Madrid (2011)

In many cases, a player who netted 30 goals in a season would be revered by supporters of the club they represented and yet for Emmanuel Adebayor, his name is met with great disdain from Arsenal fans for one outrageous celebration.

The Togelese international joined the Gunners from Monaco in 2006 and came into his own during the 2007/08 campaign, shouldering the burden of Arsenal's depleted attack by netting a fantastic 30 goals in 40 starts.

Adebayor committed his future to Arsenal amid links to Milan and Barcelona but in the following year, the striker had packed his bags to Manchester City in a £25m deal.

We all know what happened when Adebayor reacquainted himself with Wenger's side in September 2009...

As the Citizens continued to invest millions in their pursuit of glory, Adebayor slipped down the pecking order in Manchester and in January 2011, he was signed by Real Madrid on a loan deal until the end of the season.

He claimed a Copa del Rey winners medal during his brief affair in the Spanish capital before heading to Arsenal's nemesis Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.

Mesut Özil

Real Madrid (2010-2013)
Arsenal (2013-2021)

Breaking through at his local club Schalke 04 before venturing to Werder Bremen, Mesut Özil outlined his outrageous talent at the 2010 World Cup to leave all of Europe's elite clubs salivating at the thought of his acquisition.

As is often the case, what Real Madrid wants, Real Madrid gets and the Spanish club picked up the creative midfielder for a bargain €15m.

Özil was sensational in his debut term with 25 assists and he sustained his staggering productivity for a further two seasons, finishing top of the assists pile in La Liga for three straight campaigns.

So you can imagine the hysteria when reports of Özil's switch to Arsenal accelerated in September 2013. His £42.4m arrival was heralded as a landmark moment as the club aimed to return to former glories.

However, despite blessing the Premier League with his gracious skill and phenomenal vision, Özil failed to elevate Arsenal beyond their pretenders tag and the German playmaker was a polarising figure at the club.

He did win four FA Cups during his eight-year stint at the Emirates, but there's always a regrettable sense that it should have been so much more.

Dani Ceballos

Real Madrid (2017-Present)
Arsenal (2019-2021)

Hailing from Andalusia, Dani Ceballos rose through the academy ranks at Real Betis and was signed by Real Madrid in July 2017 for a fee of €18m.

Contending for a starting berth against Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, Ceballos found starting opportunities at a premium and that paved open a path for Arsenal to secure his loan signature in 2019.

The versatile midfielder proved so influential that Mikel Arteta pushed to re-sign him on loan for another season and Ceballos enjoyed another fruitful campaign at the Emirates Stadium before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.

A series of injury issues restricted his playing time but the 28-year-old has established himself as a dependable figure in Carlo Ancelotti's ranks, helping the club to two La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles.

Martin Odegaard

Real Madrid (2014-2020)
Arsenal (2020-Present)

Holding aloft a Real Madrid shirt with an awkward smile at the age of 15, he was hailed as the latest Galactico.

Los Blancos had fought off competition from over 30 clubs to secure Martin Odegaard's signature. However, five-and-a-half years later after the fanfare of his blockbuster move, he departed the Bernabeu having appeared in just 11 first-team matches.

During his unfulfilling period in the Spanish capital, Odegaard enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Real Sociedad which showcased the Norwegian's potential and prised the door open for his £30m switch to Arsenal.

It's an investment that's paid dividends for the Gunners. Taking on the prestigious position of being Arsenal captain, Odegaard has developed into one of the world's best creative midfielders under Mikel Arteta's supervision and helped to reestablish the club in the upper echelons of the Premier League.

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