While the two clubs are rivals in this year’s title race, we haven’t always been direct competitors.
Over the Premier League era, many players have moved from one to the other at different stages in their career.
In fact, two of our Premier League winners in recent years – Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus – are now plying their trade at Arsenal.
Ahead of Wednesday’s crunch clash in North London, we look back on all the players who have played for both.
Niall Quinn (Arsenal 1983-1990, City 1990-1996)
Irish striker Quinn joined Arsenal while still progressing through the youth ranks and it was there he began his senior career in the 1985/86 season. After 14 goals in 67 appearances, he left Arsenal for Maine Road.
The target man hit 22 goals in his first season with City and managed a total of 77 goals in 244 appearances across six years at the Club.
He earned cult hero status for one match in particular, when he wore the gloves and even saved a penalty against Derby County in 1991 after goalkeeper Tony Coton had been sent off.
David Rocastle (Arsenal 1985-1992, City 1993-1994)
“Rocky” is a legend amongst Arsenal fans and featured for City in the 1993/94 season.
He played 218 times for Arsenal between 1985 and 1992, where he won the First Division twice and featured in the PFA Team of the Year twice too.
His season at City saw him make 21 appearances but also create a connection with the fans in a similar way to that which he had with the Gunners faithful. His previous injuries took a toll on his body but his skill was clear for all to see.
Sadly, Rocastle announced he was suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February 2001 before dying in March of that year.
Paul Dickov (Arsenal 1990-1996, City 1996-2002, 2006-2008)
Scottish striker Dickov joined Arsenal’s youth ranks in 1989 before making his debut in the first team in 1990. Two loan spells followed before he left for City in 1996.
Maine Road took to his tireless performances and relentless will to win. While not prolific, his energy on the pitch was infectious. His goal in the 1999 play-off final to take City to penalties against Gillingham is one of the most iconic moments in the Club’s history.
After leaving in 2002, he played for Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers before returning to the Club in 2006 for a season.
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David Seaman (Arsenal 1990-2003, City 2003-04)
Seaman joined Arsenal in 1990 eight years after his senior debut and still managed an incredible 13 years as number one at Highbury. He played 405 times as Arsenal were champions of England on three occasions and five-time FA Cup winners.
When he left Arsenal in 2003 just a few months before his 40th birthday, Kevin Keegan offered him a one-year deal to be part of City’s first season at what we now call the Etihad Stadium.
He played 19 times before injury forced retirement in January.
Patrick Vieira (Arsenal 1996-2005, City 2010-2011)
The captain and driving force behind Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles and one of the best Premier League sides in history, Vieira played 279 times for Arsenal.
After moving to Italy to play for Juventus and Inter, he returned to England with City in 2010. In his only season at the Club, the Blues lifted the FA Cup.
He retired at the end of that season and then moved into coaching with the Club, taking charge of our Elite Development Squad between 2013 and 2015 and then moving to coach our sister side New York City.
Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal 1997-1999, City 2002-2005)
Anelka joined Arsenal in 1997 as one of the most promising young strikers in the world. He proved his talent during a two-year stay before moving to Real Madrid.
After Real, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain and then had a loan at Liverpool. He was a shock signing for the Blues in 2002, who had just returned to the top-flight.
In 103 appearances for a City side operating in the middle of the Premier League, he scored 45 times including 24 strikes in 43 games in 2003/04.
In 2005 he signed for Fenerbahce in Turkey before coming back to England to play for Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea.
WATCH: City’s best goals away at Arsenal
Kolo Toure (Arsenal 2001-2009, City 2009-2013)
An almost ever-present in Arsenal’s Invincibles season and then a regular through the years as Arsene Wenger’s side continued to challenge throughout the noughties, Toure moved to City in 2009.
He was one of several high-profile signings for the Blues that summer and was immediately appointed club captain by Mark Hughes.
He was a key figure in his first two seasons before becoming more of a squad player in 2011/12 as Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott formed a title-winning partnership in central defence.
Gael Clichy (Arsenal 2003-2011, City 2011-2017)
Understudy to Ashley Cole during Arsenal’s Invincibles season, Clichy became first choice left-back in 2006/07 and remained that way until moving to City in 2011.
His first campaign at the Etihad Stadium saw him lift the Premier League with Roberto Mancini’s side and he did so again just two years later.
In total, he played 138 times for City before leaving at the end of the 2016/17 season.
Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal 2006-2009, City 2009-2012)
After impressing at Monaco, striker Adebayor moved to Arsenal as a 22-year-old in 2006. He played 104 times and scored 46 goals for the Gunners before moving to City in 2009.
He formed an instant connection with fellow summer signing Carlos Tevez and scored 14 goals in just 26 Premier League appearances in his first season.
However, his form fell away and he joined Real Madrid on loan midway through the following season before spending 2011/12 with Tottenham Hotspur.
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal 2007-2014, City 2014-2017)
Sagna established himself as one of the best full-backs in the world while at Arsenal between 2007 and 2014.
He joined reigning Premier League champions City in 2014 and after struggling for game time in his first campaign due to the form of Pablo Zabaleta, the pair shared duties for the next two years before he left the club in 2017.
Samir Nasri (Arsenal 2008-2011, City 2011-2017)
Nasri continued the trail of promising French players moving to Arsenal early in their careers in 2008. He was a key part of Arsene Wenger’s side for three seasons before he was added to Roberto Mancini’s City team in the summer of 2011.
Combining creatively in midfield with David Silva, Yaya Toure, Nasri was a key creative force in our 2011/12 and 2013/14 title win. He featured less in the following two campaigns before moving on loan to Sevilla in 2016 and then leaving City a year later.
In total, he played 176 times for the Blues, scoring 27 times.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (City 2016-2022, Arsenal 2022-)
A surprising move from FC Ufa in 2016, Zinchenko immediately went on loan to PSV Eindhoven. Upon his return, the attacking midfielder became an option at left-back and became progressively accustomed to the position and Pep Guardiola’s demands of his full-backs.
As the seasons went on, Zinchenko became an important part of the jigsaw at City and due to his natural attacking instincts, he was often utilised when the Blues were hunting a goal. His cameo against Aston Villa on the final day of the 2021/22 season proved pivotal in overturning the two-goal deficit to seal the title.
That proved to be his final game for City before moving to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, where he has come to be seen as a leader in the dressing room.
WATCH: Thank you, Gabriel: Jesus’ City highlights
Gabriel Jesus (City 2017-2022, Arsenal 2022-)
The Brazilian forward arrived at City in 2017 immediately after winning Serie A in Brazil with his first senior club Palmeiras.
Still just 19 at that point, Jesus proved an excellent support act for Sergio Aguero in his early City career. Jesus also provided versatility, able to play anywhere in the front three.
While never prolific, he was an important figure in all four of the Premier League titles won under Pep Guardiola but in the summer of 2022, he sought a new challenge with Arsenal.
He scored 95 goals in 238 City appearances.
