Arsenal
and Manchester City have had numerous connections over the past 30
years, especially with a number of recent high-profile transfers between
the two clubs.
Bacary Sagna joined Manuel Pellegrini’s
side after his contract expired, we have picked out several Arsenal
players who left north London for Manchester City and vise versa over
the years.
Samir Nasri
France
international Samir Nasri flourished under Arsene Wenger’s guidance and
had three productive years with the club before joining City in 2011 for
£25 million. He played 125 times for Arsene Wenger’s side and was
nominated for both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Young
Player of the Year award after his breakthrough season in 2010/11.
Gael Clichy
France
international Gael Clichy had to wait four years before finally winning
a regular starting berth at Arsenal where Ashley Cole had previously
blocked his path into the senior side. Clichy then became first choice
left-back for the next four seasons before joining Manchester City in
2011 having made 264 appearances for the Gunners.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Emmanuel
Adebayor had a love/hate relationship with the Arsenal fans for whom he
played in front of for three years. He scored 62 goals for the Gunners
before moving to City in 2009 and controversially celebrated in front of
the Arsenal fans after scoring against his old club. He stayed with
City for three years, but was loaned out to Real Madrid and Spurs during
that period.
Kolo Toure
A member of
Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ team, Toure spent seven seasons with the Gunners
and made more than 300 appearances during his time at the club. Toure
was also one of the defenders who helped the Arsenal team reach the 2006
UEFA Champions League final after keeping 10 consecutive clean sheets.
The Ivory Coast international joined City in 2009 for £14 million.
Patrick Vieira
World
Cup winner Patrick Vieira finished his playing career with City before
becoming the Blues’ Football Development Executive – but it is with
Arsenal that he is perhaps best remembered as a player having chalked up
406 appearances during a nine-year period. He was an integral part of
the Gunners’ numerous domestic and European successes in that period.
David Seaman
Former
England No.1 David Seaman was goalkeeper at Arsenal for 13 years,
playing 656 games for the Gunners during an illustrious career. He
joined City in 2003, playing 26 times for the Blues before a shoulder
injury forced his retirement from football.
Tommy Caton
Former
City youth skipper Tommy Caton broke into the Blues’ first team aged 16
and went to play 198 times for the Club between 1979 and 1983. He then
joined Arsenal for a fee of £500,000 and went on to play almost 100
games during his three years at Highbury before later playing for
Charlton and Oxford.
David Rocastle
David
Rocastle – ‘Rocky’ – was a firm favourite during his time with Arsenal
and City, though it was with the Gunners that he enjoyed his best
period. Rocastle spent eight years at Highbury, playing more than 300
games before moving to Leeds United. He was swapped with David White in
1993 and spent one season with City before joining Chelsea.
Joe Mercer
Like
Alan Ball in later years, Joe Mercer played for Arsenal and then
managed City. With World War 2 interrupting his Everton career, he moved
to Highbury in 1946, spent nine years with the club and made 275
appearances. A decade later, having moved into management with Sheffield
United and Aston Villa, he was appointed as manager of the Blues and
oversaw the most successful period in the Club’s history.
Paul Dickov
The
former Scotland international joined the youth ranks of Arsenal in 1989
but found first team chances hard to come by with the likes of Ian
Wright at the club. After loan spells at both Luton and Brighton, he
left Arsenal in 1996 having made 26 appearances and scoring seven goals.
The reported fee was rumoured to be in the region of £750,000 and £1
million.
Niall Quinn
Quinn was
promoted to the Arsenal first team after scoring 18 goals in 18 games
for the reserve team in the 1985/86 season. The signing of Alan Smith in
the 1987 close season meant that Quinn found opportunities hard to come
by and he subsequently submitted a written transfer request at the
start of the 1989-90 season. City signed Quinn for £800,000 in March
1990.
Other connections include Nicolas Anelka, Brian
Kidd, Sylvinho, Brian Marwood, Alan Ball, David Platt and ... the list
is endless!
Tweet