Every player to have played for both Arsenal & Liverpool in the Premier League

After making light work of Chelsea on Wednesday evening, Liverpool have turned their attention to their next Premier League game, a tricky trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Sunday evening.

The Reds are currently leading the Premier League table, sitting five points above Man City, although they have played a game more than their long-time title rivals, and they’ll be hoping that victory in North London this weekend is just their next step on route to glory come May 2024.

Ahead of the big game, which has all the makings of a classic, Ladbrokes takes you through each of the players to have played for BOTH Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League era.

Every player to have played for both Arsenal & Liverpool in the Premier League

Nicolas Anelka

We kick things off with Nicolas Anelka, who has almost every single top European club on his CV, including Liverpool and Arsenal. The Frenchman kicked off his professional career at PSG, coming through the youth academy, before joining the Gunners at the age of 17, scoring 23 goals in 65 games. In 1999, after two years in North London, Anelka joined Real Madrid, but the less said about his time in the Spanish capital the better.

After just a year, Anelka was brought back to PSG, before being loaned back out to the Premier League to Liverpool in December 2001. He spent just half a season with the club, scoring four goals in 20 league games on route to helping the Reds finish in second place in the 2001/02 Premier League season.

That wasn’t the end of Anelka’s time in the Premier League, far from it in fact, as he played for Manchester City, Bolton, Chelsea and West Brom before his career was all said and done.

Kolo Toure

Cult-hero Kolo Toure is the next player on this list, he joined Arsenal in 2002, straight out of the Ivory Coast, playing over 200 times for Arsene Wenger in the Premier League across seven years, before leaving for Man City in 2009.

After a four year spell in Manchester ended, Toure moved to Merseyside for a three-year stint at Liverpool, where he was part of the side that came within inches of winning the 2013/14 Premier League title.

Kolo didn’t win a title during his time at Anfield, but his spell at Highbury was far more fruitful from that perspective. Toure won the Premier League in 2004, as well as the FA Cup that year and the year previous. He was also part of the 2006 side that finished as the runners-up to Barcelona in the Champions League final.

Yossi Benayoun

The Israeli joined Liverpool from West Ham, after impressing during his first few months in England. He was a decent player for Liverpool during his three years at the club, where he scored 18 goals in 92 Premier League games.

The winger then moved to Chelsea in 2010, where he remained for three years. Despite being at Liverpool for the same amount of time as Chelsea, he played significantly more for the Reds in the Premier League than he did for the Blues, where he was involved in only 14 domestic league games.

A lot of that is because Benayoun, during his time at Chelsea, was frequently sent out on loan, including to West Ham, and of course, Arsenal.

The Israeli played for Arsenal during the 2011/12 season, playing 19 times in England’s top flight, where he scored four goals. His time at Arsenal wasn’t made permanent, but he’s remembered fondly for what he did at the club.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The final player on this list is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who only left Liverpool ahead of the beginning of the 2023/24 season in the summer.

The Ox, as he’s affectionately known, came through Southampton’s academy, and was seen as a highly-rated prospect during his first few years in senior football, which earned him a £15 million move to Arsenal in 2011. During his six years at the club, Chamberlain played 132 domestic league games, scoring nine goals. He also won the FA Cup three times during his spell at the club, where he mainly played out on the wing.

However, it was Alex’s desire to play as a centre-midfielder that led to him joining Liverpool in a £40m move in 2017. In his first season at the club, Chamberlain established himself as one of England’s best midfielders, helping Liverpool get back into the top four and into the final of the 2018 Champions League, but injuries seriously limited what he was able to do for the club.

He played just over 100 games for Liverpool in the league, scoring 11 goals. He won every trophy available to him during his time at Liverpool, with the exception of the Europa League, which he never played in for the club. He left as a free agent following the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, now playing his football for Besiktas in Turkey as the only player on this list to still be playing professional men’s football.

Betting odds for Arsenal & Liverpool

With the game taking place at their home ground, Arsenal are going into Sunday’s fixture with odds of 13/10 to beat Liverpool. The Reds, on the other hand, have odds of 19/10 to beat the 2022/23 Premier League runner-ups.

A draw is seen, by the bookies, as the most likely outcome, with Ladbrokes giving odds of 5/2 for the score to be tied come the full-time whistle.

Regardless of the result, if the two sides’ 1-1 draw in December is anything to go by, the return fixture at Anfield on Sunday will be must-see.