Arsenal look set to kick off their summer spending with the signing of forward Kai Havertz from London rivals Chelsea.
The Gunners, runners-up to Manchester City in the 2022/23 Premier League, are 7/1 to win the title in 2023/24 while Chelsea are 12/1 shots.
Germany international Havertz would not be the first player to feature for both Arsenal and Chelsea during the Premier League era and we've taken a look at some of the big names who have represented the Gunners and the Blues.
What | 2023/24 Premier League |
Where | England |
When | Saturday 12th August 2023 - Sunday 19th May 2024 |
How to watch | Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime |
Odds (outright) | Man City 4/6, Arsenal 7/1, Liverpool 8/1, Man Utd 8/1, Chelsea 12/1 |
Two key players in the early years of Arsene Wenger's French revolution at Arsenal ended up playing for Chelsea.
Emmanuel Petit and Nicolas Anelka both won the double with the Gunners in 1997/98 before moving to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
World Cup-winning midfielder Petit returned to English football in 2001, spending three seasons at Stamford Bridge.
Striker Anelka had an excellent four-year spell at Chelsea, winning a league title and two FA Cups, although he also missed a penalty in the Blues' shootout defeat to Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League final.
The most famous, or infamous, transfer deal between the London rivals saw Ashley Cole leave Arsenal for Chelsea in 2006 with France defender William Gallas moving in the opposite direction.
England left-back Cole came through the youth system at Arsenal and was part of the Invincibles team, unbeaten Premier League champions in 2003/04, so his exit was a cruel blow for Gunners fans.
Cole swiftly established himself as a Chelsea favourite, helping the club win a domestic cup double in his first season.
Three more FA Cups and a league title in 2009/10 followed and the defender crowned his career at Stamford Bridge with Champions League and Europa League triumphs in 2012 and 2013.
Gallas, twice a league champion at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, never quite hit those heights at Arsenal although he did captain the Gunners before a contentious transfer to north London rivals Tottenham in 2010.
Cesc Fabregas became Arsenal's youngest ever first-team player when he made his debut against Rotherham in the League Cup as a 16-year-old.
By the age of 17, the Spanish midfielder was a first-team regular, whose passing range and technical ability had marked him out as one of the world's most exciting young players.
He won the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2005, reached the Champions League final in 2006 and was named captain in 2008.
After 212 league appearances for the Gunners, Fabregas returned to his boyhood club Barcelona in 2011 but in 2014 he was back in England at Chelsea, winning the league title in 2014/15 and 2016/17.
Fabregas's first season at Stamford Bridge was goalkeeper Petr Cech's last campaign at the west-London club before he joined Arsenal in the summer of 2015.
The Czech keeper played a crucial role in the Blues' success at the start of the 21st century and his 11 years at the club yielded four league titles, four FA Cups and three League Cups as well as Champions League and Europa League victories.
He made more than 100 league appearances for Arsenal between 2015 and 2019, although Colombia's David Ospina was in goal when the Gunners beat Chelsea 2-1 in the 2017 FA Cup final.
Olivier Giroud is fondly remembered by Arsenal and Chelsea supporters after his successful spells for both clubs.
The striker, who surpassed Thierry Henry as France's record international goalscorer in December 2022, was little known when he arrived at Arsenal in 2012.
However, he racked up a century of goals in all competitions in his six seasons in north London, winning three FA Cups and scoring some memorable strikes, including a stunning scorpion kick against Crystal Palace in 2017.
Giroud moved to Chelsea on deadline day in January 2018 so Arsenal could bring in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – who later played for Chelsea – and the Frenchman scored the opening goal in the Blues' 4-1 rout of the Gunners in the 2019 Europa League final.
In 2021 Giroud was an unused substitute in Chelsea's 1-0 Champions League final victory over Manchester City when the decisive goal was scored by Havertz.
Brazil internationals David Luiz and Willian were also part of the Chelsea squad who beat Arsenal in the Europa League final in 2019.
Luiz, a hugely talented if occasionally erratic ball-playing centre-back, had two spells at Stamford Bridge before moving to Arsenal for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons while winger Willian won two league titles at Chelsea but failed to settle at the Emirates Stadium.
Lassana Diarra and Yossi Benayoun are among the other Premier League players to wear the red of Arsenal and the blue of Chelsea and the latest, before Havertz, to make the move was Italy's Euro 2020-winning midfielder Jorginho.
A Chelsea stalwart after arriving from Napoli in 2014, he won the Europa League and Champions League with the Blues and played in three successive FA Cup final defeats.
Jorginho made a surprise move to Arsenal in January 2023, adding experience to a young Gunners side who ended up finishing second to Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
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