Man City v Arsenal: Eight superb players who transferred between Premier League title rivals

Gabriel Jesus, Emmanuel Adebayor and Oleksandr Zinchenko

Jesus, Adebayor and Zinchenko are just three of the players to move between Arsenal and City

As the potentially title-deciding fixture between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Etihad approaches, we look at the players who’ve transferred between the two clubs over the years. 

Gabriel Jesus – Manchester City to Arsenal in 2022 for €52.2m

Gabriel Jesus is one of the most recent players to have moved between the two sides and was so influential for both.

During his time at Man City, he was a part of several title-winning teams. Jesus won four Premier Leagues, one FA Cup, four League Cups and two Community Shields.

Throughout his time at Etihad, he played 236 games, scoring 95 goals and getting 46 assists in the process.

The Brazilian’s style of play allowed Man City to press from the front and his ability to take on opposition defenders was invaluable for Pep Guardiola.

Since he joining Arsenal, Jesus has struggled with injuries but whenever he’s played he’s been electric.

The Brazilian is a problem for most defenders in the league due to his physicality, hold up play, pressing and insane dribbling ability. If he features on Sunday then he’ll certainly play with a point to prove.

Emmanuel Adebayor – Arsenal to Manchester City in 2009 for €29m

Probably the most controversial transfer on this list was when Emmanuel Adebayor moved from Arsenal to Man City in 2009.

At the time, Adebayor said that he was ‘forced’ to leave the North London club and that he didn’t want to join the Cityzens.

But then when his move was reported in the media it was claimed that he had only done it for the money – rumours that were fuelled by Arsene Wenger.

Of course, when such an important player joins a rival club, the unfortunate response from some fans is to hurl abuse at the player.

During a match between Man City and Arsenal in 2009, Adebayor scored against the Gunners. What followed would be a moment that has gone down in Premier League history.

Adebayor ran the full length of the pitch, then did a knee slide and celebrated right in front of the Arsenal fans, embracing the abuse thrown at him. The striker was subsequently fined £25,000 and suspended for two games.

Adebayor has asked for Arsenal fans to forget what happened. He stated that ‘any human’ wouldn’t accept the ‘abuse and insults aimed at their family like he received.’

It was a sad end to a successful spell at Arsenal, but one that people definitely won’t forget.

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Samir Nasri – Arsenal to Manchester City in 2011 for €27.5m

Wenger signed Samir Nasri from Marseille in 2008 and he quickly became one a vital figure for the Gunners.

Nasri was a silky player who represented the type of football Wenger wanted to play – a team full of technicians able dribble past players with excellent short passing so the team could combine together to score amazing team goals.

The likes of Fabregas, Hleb, Rosicky, Diaby, Nasri, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil are all other great examples of these style of players.

However, later, Nasri would be one of many to move over from Arsenal to Man City in the early days of the Cityzen’s big-money takeover.

The move was another that created great controversy and this time, this was down to comments he made towards Arsenal.

Nasri went to City and won the Premier League title and stated “I don’t regret leaving Arsenal. I won the league while Arsenal have difficulty finishing forth.”

This undoubtedly ruined whatever was left of his legacy at Arsenal. He would go on to win another Premier League title, a League cup and a Community Shield with Man City.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – Manchester City to Arsenal in 2022 for €35m

Oleksandr Zinchenko is the latest player to switch between the two clubs and has made a big impact under Mikel Arteta.

The Ukraine captain wasn’t really a key player at the Etihad but always displayed fantastic ability on the ball.

Man City signed Zinchenko from FK Ufa in 2016, where he played as an attacking midfielder. Guardiola later moved Zinchenko to the left-back position which is where he’s flourished ever since.

Zinchenko notably put in an excellent performance in the final game of the 2022/23 season to help Man City lift the Premier League title – which was ultimately his last for the club.

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He came on as a sub at half time in a game against Aston Villa, where Man City needed to win to beat Liverpool to the trophy.

Guardiola’s side found themselves losing 1-0 and later in the second half would go 2-0 down. Zinchenko then got the assist for Rodri’s goal to take the game to 2-2.

Ilkay Gundogan later went on to score the winner in the 81st minute to clinch the title for Man City.

Since his move to Arsenal, Zinchenko has been a key figure in changing the way Arsenal play.

His role playing as an inverted left-back has allowed him to create and play progressive passes from deep positions to those in more advanced areas.

His leadership is also big part of what has enabled Arsenal to instil the belief that they can win the title and other big trophies.

Kolo Toure – Arsenal to Manchester City in 2009 for €18.7m

Out of every player on this list, Toure is probably the one who had the most success with the two clubs and is still loved and appreciated by both.

Toure formed a formidable partnership at the heart of the defence for Arsenal with Sol Campbell to win the Premier League title without losing a single game in 2003/04, which later became known as ‘The Invincibles’ season.

Toure also managed to win two FA Cups and two Community Shields during his time with the Gunners.

The Ivory Coast 2015 AFCON winner amassed 326 games for Arsenal, even getting 14 goals and 14 assists as a centre back and right back.

He went on to join Man City, where he made 102 appearances and won his second Premier League title 2011/12, as well as the FA Cup.

Toure often played alongside his brother Yaya, leading to the chant about the two brothers becoming so popular.

Gael Clichy – Arsenal to Manchester City in 2011 for €7.75m

French left back Gael Clichy was another former Arsenal Invincible who would go on to join Man City.

Clichy was one of those players who was ultra-reliable for both clubs – not a world class player but never really put a foot wrong.

He was one of many French or French-speaking players at Arsenal that Arsene Wenger signed from all over.

At Man City, he would go on to win more trophies than he did with the Gunners as he moved at the time when the power shift between the two clubs happened.

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David Seaman – Arsenal to Manchester City in 2003 on a free transfer

Arsenal signed David Seaman for €2m from QPR back in 1990.

The English keeper would then go on to be an immovable player in the Arsenal starting XI for over 10 years. To this day, he remains an Arsenal legend thanks to his fantastic performances for the club.

Seaman was a key part of a dominant Arsenal side that won three Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, one League cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Throughout his time at Arsenal he made a total of 541 appearances and has gone down in history as the greatest keeper in the club’s history.

Towards the end of his career, Seaman joined Man City on a free transfer in search of more game time, where he made 26 appearances before retiring.

Bacary Sagna – Arsenal to Manchester City in 2014 on a free transfer

Sagna was the last player to move from Arsenal to Man City in post-takeover era that saw so many make the same move.

Sagna remain at Arsenal while many of his teammates left and in fact, became one of the most consistent performers for them at right-back.

Towards the end of his time with the Gunners, he would even fill in at centre-back.

Sagna was a complete full back who was strong, quick, defensively solid, read the game well and had good passing ability (particularly his crossing).

Sanga won the FA Cup in 2013/14 for Arsenal in his best season at the club. This would be Arsenal’s first trophy in nine years since their FA Cup win in 2004/05.

The 13/14 FA Cup final would be Sagna’s last game for Arsenal as he then moved to Man City that summer and would go on to win a League Cup with them in 2015/16.

Roscastle, Vieira, Anelka…

There are others who played for both teams including the likes of Arsenal legend David Rocastle, Arsenal Invincible captain Patrick Vieira, unforgettable journeyman Nicolas Anelka, former Barcelona defender Sylvinho reserve goalkeeper Richard Wright who all played for both clubs but didn’t transfer directly between them.

Of course, Arteta was at Man City as an assistant to Guardiola and was an influential figure, working alongside Pep to turn them into a dominant force in English football.

Now, Arteta is the man trying to end that dominance.

There’s a real battle between these two clubs and since Arteta has joined, each year the levels between them have got closer and closer.

Now Man City and Arsenal are arguably the closest they’ve ever been in terms of quality and they’re up against each other this Sunday. But who will come out on top?

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