Arsenal and Chelsea have spent £175m buying players from each other in the Premier League era, and one team comes out on top.
Arsenal’s recent habit of signing players from Chelsea came to a stop this summer, with no one moving from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates for the first time in three years. Mikel Arteta’s team spent nearly £200 million on players like Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis, Piero Hincapie, and Ezri Konsa. Meanwhile, Chelsea ended the transfer window with a £67.3 million profit, making £409.7 million from player sales.
The biggest signing was Morgan Rogers for £117 million, while the biggest departure was Enzo Fernandez, who joined Manchester City on deadline day for a British-record fee of £125 million. Arsenal reportedly turned down a late Chelsea bid for Martin Zubimendi, so no deals happened between the two clubs this time, a year after Noni Madueke and Kepa swapped sides.
The two teams will face each other this Sunday, with Arsenal hosting Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea, which made us think about the player moves between these two big English clubs. Arsenal leads by a long shot—they’ve spent £154 million on Chelsea players over the years, with the top signings being Kai Havertz (£65m), Noni Madueke (£48.5m plus add-ons), and Jorginho (£12m).
On the other hand, Chelsea have spent only £23 million on Arsenal players, with Olivier Giroud being the priciest at £18 million, while Ashley Cole joined in a swap deal worth £5 million plus William Gallas.
It’s a tough call on who got the better deals. You could say Ashley Cole was great value at £5 million plus Gallas. After playing a key role for Arsenal in the early 2000s, he went on to win a Premier League title, four FA Cups, the Champions League, and a Europa League with Chelsea. Petr Cech’s 2015 move to Arsenal for £10 million was another bargain; he won the Golden Glove in his first season and played 139 games for the club.
Olivier Giroud, who moved in January 2018 for £18 million, also turned out to be a good signing. He even scored against Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League final. Overall, Arsenal have been more active in transfers between the two clubs, but Chelsea arguably got more from those deals. Players like Giroud, Cole, and Gallas made big impacts at Chelsea, while some signings at Arsenal, like Raheem Sterling and Jorginho, didn’t quite hit their best form.
Here’s a full list of transfers between the clubs, including youth players like Michael Olise, Eddie Nketiah, and Brooke Norton-Cuffy:
**From Chelsea to Arsenal:**
– Noni Madueke (2025) — £48.5m + £3.5m add-ons (up to £52m)
– Kepa Arrizabalaga (2025) — £5m
– Raheem Sterling (2024) — Loan
– Kai Havertz (2023) — £65m
– Jorginho (2023) — £12m
– Willian (2020) — Free
– David Luiz (2019) — £8m
– Petr Cech (2015) — £10m
– Yossi Benayoun (2011) — Loan
– Lassana Diarra (2007) — £2m
*Total spent: £154m (including add-ons)*
**From Arsenal to Chelsea:**
– Marcell Washington (2025) — Free
– Joshua Tahou (2023) — Fee unknown
– Amani Richards (2021) — Fee unknown
– Kamarni Ryan (2020) — Fee unknown
– Jason Sraha (2019) — Fee unknown
– Alexéi Rojas (2019) — Free
– Zech Medley (2016) — Free
– Brooke Norton-Cuffy (2016) — Fee unknown
– Eddie Nketiah (2015) — Free
– Malcolm Ebiowei (2015) — Free
– Renny Smith (2013) — Free
– Rugare Musendo (2012) — Free
– Michael Obafemi (2012) — Free
– Ian Poveda (2010) — Free
– Olivier Giroud (2018) – £18m
– Ashley Cole (2006) – £5m + William Gallas in exchange
– William Gallas – Swap (no separate fee)
*Total spent: £23 million*
Other youth signings like Omari Hutchinson (2022) and Michael Olise (2009) also reflect the ongoing moves between the clubs.