Footballers who played for Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League | OneFootball

Highlights

The beauty of the Premier League is that there are so many big clubs, and there are consequently some great fixtures nearly every week. Teams will have their local derbies, but they will also have rivalries built up organically over the years due to the competitive nature of the competition.

For example, Arsenal and Liverpool are not geographically close, but whenever the two teams go head-to-head there tends to be sparks. This is because they've played out some absolute classics over the years, which have had major consequences on English football.

Most famously, the Gunners travelled to Anfield in 1989 and beat the Reds 2-0 to pip their opponents to the First Division title on goal difference thanks to a last-gasp Michael Thomas goal. And in the Premier League over the past three decades or so, there have been countless other classics.

As both clubs have a huge global presence and tend to regularly be on the hunt for more silverware, many players from across the world aspire to one day represent either side. And over the years, a select few have had the privilege of playing for both Arsenal and Liverpool.

With that being the case, GIVEMESPORT has decided to rank the five players who have done so in the Premier League era. To decide our list, we have taken into account matters such as games played and trophies won while at both clubs, while also considering the quality of their career elsewhere.

​​​​​​Arsenal paid £2m for Jermaine Pennant when he was still 15 – a record transfer fee for a trainee at the time – and he broke into the team at just 16. He then bagged a hat-trick on his full league debut for the Gunners but these proved to be his only goals for the club.

After a few loan spells, he ended up at Birmingham City before moving to Liverpool in 2006. With the Reds, he showed glimpses of the player he looked capable of becoming as a youngster but struggled for consistency. He was loaned out to Portsmouth towards the end of his time at Anfield and then left in 2009 when his contract expired. It's fair to say he never quite lived up to his potential for either club.

4 Yossi Benayoun

Liverpool to Arsenal via Chelsea

Yossi Benayoun impressed initially in England with West Ham United where his performances secured him a £5m move to Liverpool. He was a pretty reliable player for the Merseyside club and actually bagged a brace for the Reds against Arsenal in what was arguably the greatest Premier League match between the two teams.

He was sold to Chelsea in 2010 for a small profit and then joined the Gunners on loan for the duration of the 2011/12 season. Under Arsene Wenger, Benayoun proved himself to be a good squad option and even captained his new team during one Champions League outing. He didn't make a huge impression on the club, however, spending the following campaign loaned out to West Ham instead.

3 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal to Liverpool

Like Pennant, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived in north London for a notable transfer fee with a burgeoning reputation. He was still 17 when he penned that first contract and was a regular in the team as a teenager, winning three FA Cups with the club before joining Liverpool in 2017. Some fans would have been sad to see him go but a £35m transfer offer was too good to turn down.

Jurgen Klopp evidently had a plan for the Englishman at that price and that fell into place when he dropped Oxlade-Chamberlain into the middle of the park, having mostly played as a winger for Arsenal. In his new role, the centre-mid delivered some fine displays and helped the Anfield outfit win a number of trophies. Sadly, though, injury problems at both clubs held him back from quite reaching his full potential.

Arsenal to Liverpool via Manchester City

It's funny to think that Kolo Touré played a number of different roles for Arsenal before finally settling down as a centre-back. He even played as a striker or attacking midfielder at times in his early career but settled alongside Sol Campbell to play a vital role in the Gunners' Invincible season of 2003/04.

He moved to Manchester City in 2009, winning the Premier League once before joining Liverpool on a free transfer in 2013. He enjoyed a reasonable spell at the Reds but was certainly past his peak as a player at this stage of his career (with his best years coming in north London) and was released in 2016.

1 Nicolas Anelka

Arsenal to Liverpool via Real Madrid and Paris-Saint Germain

Nicolas Anelka joined Arsenal when he was still 17 and broke into the first team during his second season with the club, scoring in the FA Cup final at the end of that campaign. He was the club's top scorer the following term and was named the PFA Young Player of the Year before sealing an ill-fated transfer to Real Madrid.

The French striker ended up at Paris-Saint Germain and was then loaned out to Liverpool in December 2001. He only spent half a season at Anfield but looked bright for the Reds, helping them finish second in the Premier League with four goals and two assists. Anelka just about tops our list as he was such a talented footballer, and achieved plenty elsewhere in his career with the likes of Chelsea and France.