A good number of footballers have played for both Chelsea and Arsenal. And many of them prefer the West London part of their careers over the one in North London.
Tribuna.com takes a trip down memory lane to pay tribute to the best players who crossed the city divide—and ultimately realised that Chelsea are a superior club to Arsenal.
Willian
The big-haired Brazilian left Arsenal in the summer and everyone seemed happy that he spent only a year at the Emirates.
Willian was extremely poor in his only season for the Gunners, scoring a goal in 37 games and losing his place in the XI midway through the campaign.
Yet he spent 7 turbulent seasons at Chelsea, sometimes shining brighter than the sun and Eden Hazard, sometimes disappointing with indifference and apparent lack of football intelligence.
The best years of Willy's football career happened at the Bridge as he won 5 titles and made over 300 appearances for the Blues.
David Luiz
The Brazilian defender spent two years at Arsenal, helping the Gunners win the FA Cup.
Yet his most precious football memories are those he made with Chelsea. He lifted the Premier League and the Champions League titles with the Blues.
David Luiz spent a total of 7 years at the Bridge over two spells. His bubbly but determined personality, ball-playing skill and ability to put in a world-class defensive performance earned him a positive legacy among Chelsea fans despite his cross-London move in 2019.
William Gallas
The French defender is the only player in history to play for Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
As his time with the Blues and the Gunners was shrouded with controversy, it's difficult to say if he was ever completely happy at either club.
Yet it's during his Chelsea years he won his only Premier League medals (2005 and 2006) as he failed to lay hands on trophies during his time with Arsenal and Spurs.
Olivier Giroud
One of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated strikers in the world of football, Giroud completed a cross-city move to Chelsea in January 2018 after five and a half years at the Emirates.
It is with the Blues he won his only international trophies in club football, the Europa League and the Champions League.
The Frenchman scored, assisted and won a penalty in the Europa League final against the Gunners which Chelsea won 4-1, sarcastically thanking his former team after the game.
"It was a very special moment," Giroud reflected on the Baku showdown a year after the event.
"But it was like extra motivation for me because I wanted to show them that I still had some energy in me and some good years left in me."
Ashley Cole
The left-back moved to Chelsea from north London back in 2006. He was a part of Arsenal's incredible Invincibles XI in the 2003–04 season.
Ashley was at Chelsea for 8 years, winning everything there is to win in football and becoming a Blues legend.
"I laugh to myself," Cole said when asked what he feels when he sees Arsenal suffer.
"I had a lot of history there and I think the way I left was maybe a bit dodgy but the lack of respect they showed me as well.”
The fact that the player the Gunners faithful so resolutely hate is also their legend by being an integral part of their best-ever campaign in the Premier League adds some spice to the Chelsea and Arsenal rivalry.
Cesc Fabregas
Arsenal have one of the best academies in the world, so do Barcelona. So what happens when a player goes through both Hale End and La Masia? Cesc Fabregas.
One of the best midfielders ever to grace the Premier League, Cesc is a perfect mix of superior technical quality and an astute football brain.
And the fact that he gave his best years to Chelsea provides some beloved schadenfreude to the Blues faithful.
"In theory, it was not supposed to happen, me joining Chelsea," Fabregas said back in 2020.
"Being at Chelsea is something that I will never regret in my life; in fact completely the opposite.
"I will always talk about Chelsea and about my time at Chelsea as probably the best decision of my career."
Cesc stays respectful to his Arsenal roots, cheering for the north Londoners on social media—but many Gunners fans believe he's burned all the bridges with them with his move to Stamford Bridge.
Petr Cech
The Chelsea legend finished his career at the Emirates, moving there in 2016 after 11 fantastic years at the Bridge.
While he did a good service to the Gunners, he will forever remain in the Blues history as the key player beyond so many of our triumphs.
His instincts, positional awareness and confidence are second to no-one made him one of the best goalies in England's top flight.
He still holds several records such as the most clean sheets in the league (202) and the fewest appearances to reach 100 Prem clean sheets (180).
