Ranking every player Arsenal have signed from Chelsea | OneFootball

Despite their intense rivalry on the pitch, London duo Arsenal and Chelsea appear to have a good relationship off it, with several players swapping Stamford Bridge for the Emirates in the Premier League era.

According to The Athletic, Chelsea winger Noni Madueke looks set to be the next player to make the move, having already agreed to personal terms with Mikel Arteta’s side, although talks between the two clubs over a fee are yet to start.

Here we rank every player Arsenal have signed from Chelsea since the Premier League began.

10. Kepa Arrizabalaga (2025)

There isn’t really anywhere else we can put Kepa, considering the goalkeeper only joined a few days ago. He’s yet to make an appearance for the Gunners, and it’s unlikely he’ll get too many chances with current number one David Raya ahead of him.

Still, he proved last season at Bournemouth that he can be a reliable Premier League goalkeeper. Arsenal only paid £5 million to secure his services, this could be a shrewd piece of business, he just needs to play for them first.

9. Raheem Sterling (2024)

He joined on loan on transfer deadline day, and this one was disappointing. Sterling remains one of the best Premier League wingers over the past 10 years, even if his spell at Chelsea, and now Arsenal, have proven to be a big let down.

The thought process was sound. Arsenal would get an England international to help fill a problem position on the left wing and Chelsea would get a player they wanted out off their books, at least temporarily.

In the end, he played just 1143 minutes across all competitions for Arsenal, scoring once and providing five assists. Now he’s back at Chelsea, and no one knows what’s going to happen.

8. Willian (2020)

Willian was a fan favourite at Chelsea, playing his supporting role with Eden Hazard as their main man perfectly. In 2020, his time came, and he was waved away with an immense amount of gratitude before making his way to the Emirates.

After impressing in his first game, bagging two assists in the 3-0 win over Fulham, his form fell off a cliff. It was almost like his heart wasn’t in it, and he would end his one and only season at the club with one goal and seven assists to his name.

7. Lassana Diarra (2007)

The little French midfielder was criminally underrated throughout his career, but when he first moved to England, joining Chelsea from Le Havre in 2005, he found it hard to adapt. After two years in West London, he joined Arsenal.

Diarra joined the club at the same time countryman Mathieu Flamini was starting to make a name for himself, and minutes were hard to come by. He left after just one year, having made just seven Premier League appearances.

6. Yossi Benayoun (2011)

Benayoun wasn’t offered many chances at Chelsea, so he was shipped out on loan to Arsenal, where he enjoyed some of his best football in England. He ended the 2011-12 season scoring six goals and providing three assists in 25 appearances across all competitions.

He even captained them in the 1-0 League Cup defeat to Man City, but most notably scored a goal that helped Arsenal finish in third, ahead of North London rivals Tottenham.

5. William Gallas (2006)

Arsenal fans may not be too happy to see Gallas so high on this list, but before his infamous on-field protest, he was a decent player for the Gunners. He was even named club captain ahead of the 2007/08 season.

Of course, he was later stripped of that captaincy for revealing tension between players and digging out a few of his younger teammates in an interview. Gallas then left to join Tottenham in 2010, fully destroying any goodwill he may have had with the supporters.

4. David Luiz (2019)

With David Luiz, what you see is what you get. Yes, there will be a number of high-profile mistakes, but he will largely be a consistent ball-playing defender who is almost always well-liked by his teammates and coaching staff.

He joined from Chelsea for a reported fee of £8 million, when, like Willian, the writing was on the wall at Stamford Bridge, and went on to play a key role in their FA Cup win.

Luiz would stay with Arsenal for one more season, but due to several injury issues, he was released and returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo.

3. Jorginho (2023)

During his time at Chelsea, the Italian was undeniably one of the best central midfielders on the planet, no matter what all those pundits have to say. He was one of the main reasons the Blues won their second Champions League title in 2020-21.

At the time of his signing, Mikel Arteta wanted Moises Caicedo from Brighton, but they were obviously unable to get a deal done. Jorginho joined for a fee of £12 million and proved to be a valuable squad option, adding a different type of dynamic to the more defensively-minded players in his position.

2. Petr Cech (2015)

A bonafide Chelsea legend, Cech was part of their greatest ever squad before leaving with the best will possible in 2015. At the time, Thibaut Courtois was on the come-up up but Cech knew he could still do it at the elite level, and so he did.

He was fantastic in his debut season, winning the Premier League Golden Glove award after keeping 16 clean sheets to help Arsenal finish second behind unlikely title-winners Leicester City.

Cech would meet his former side in the 2018-19 Europa League final, but was powerless to resist the quality of an in-form Hazard. Still, he kept 54 clean sheets in 139 appearances for the Gunners.

1. Kai Havertz (2023)

The biggest deal of them all is our number one. After failing to live up to the hype at Chelsea, despite the Champions League winning goal, he joined Arsenal for a reported fee of £65 million, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Last season was his most prolific season in front of goal for the Gunners, scoring 15 goals in his 36 games across all competitions, while playing anywhere from central midfielder to the number nine. Once he finally gets his hands on a trophy, he’ll have fully cemented his place.

Get Football | Alex Roberts