Manchester City v Arsenal: Best XI who have played for both teams

The trophy is technically in both teams' hands - if either club wins all their remaining games they will be crowned champions come the end of May.

While more history will be written on Wednesday night, here Flashscore take a look back to the past.

A number of fantastic players have turned out for City and Arsenal respectively, but only a handful have played for both.

Here, we take a look at a starting XI - albeit quite an unbalanced one - of players who have been on the books of both teams.

All appearance stats taken from Transfermarkt.

GK - David Seaman

Despite being best remembered for the 13 years he spent at Arsenal, David Seaman actually finished his career at Manchester City - joining for one season during 2003/04 before announcing his retirement.

Seaman produced many memorable moments during his career and is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of the 1990s - making a total of 629 appearances in all competitions.

DEF - Bacary Sagna

Bacary Sagna is one of a number of players that would make the switch from the Emirates to the Etihad during the 2010s.

The defender joined City in 2014 after seven successful years in London which culminated with the Gunners winning the FA Cup - the final game of Sagna's Arsenal career.

He would enjoy three more years in England, winning the League Cup with City in 2016 before eventually leaving for Italy a year later.

Sagna retired from football in 2020.

DEF - Kolo Toure

A cult hero and fan favourite at so many clubs, Kolo Toure has always been well-liked in the footballing world.

He first made a name for himself at Arsenal following his arrival in 2002, before moving on to City in 2009.

The defender made 327 appearances for the Gunners and 102 for the Cityzens before moving on to Liverpool and then Celtic.

Toure was most recently manager of Championship club Wigan Athletic but lasted barely two months in charge before being sacked with the team bottom of the league.

DEF - Gael Clichy

Another defender who made the move from London to Manchester, Gael Clichy arrived at Highbury in 2003 before leaving eight years and 264 games later.

Relatively successful at Arsenal after winning the league and FA Cup, Clichy would add further to his trophy cabinet (a common theme in this 11) after arriving at City - going on to win another two Premier League titles and two League Cups.

He currently plays for Swiss side Servette.

MID - Samir Nasri

Moving on to the midfield now with Samir Nasri, yet another player who decided to make the switch to Manchester during the 2010s and add more silverware to his collection.

The winger showed plenty of promise during his three years at Arsenal between 2008 and 2011 before joining City and going on to win two Premier League titles.

Unfortunately for Nasri the latter years of his career took a bit of a turn for the worse, being banned in 2018 for a doping violation before playing out his remaining years at West Ham and Anderlecht.

Nasri retired in September 2021.

MID - Patrick Vieira

Probably the most accomplished player in our side, Patrick Vieira is one of the few inclusions to have had more of their success in red rather than sky blue.

The Frenchman arrived at Highbury in 1996 and would make 400 appearances before moving to Italy with Juventus.

While he was in London, he won three Premier League's - including playing a leading role in the 'Invincibles' season - as well as four FA Cups.

He arrived in Manchester during the latter stages of his career, where he was part of another FA Cup-winning side in 2011 before retiring.

Vieira's managerial career has been less successful, most recently being sacked by Crystal Palace.

MID - Oleksandr Zinchenko

One of two players we have selected that is still actively playing in the Premier League, Oleksandr Zinchenko made his move to the Emirates in the summer of 2022 after a fantastic five years with City.

The Ukrainian won everything available to him in domestic English football - including four league titles from a possible five.

He is now one of the leading figures in Arsenal's title charge this campaign.

MID - Gabriel Jesus

Another who is still active in the Premier League, Gabriel Jesus also arrived at Arsenal in the summer of 2022.

Just like Zinchenko, he also had a wildly successful time at Manchester City and won every English trophy available.

Jesus even scored the goal that saw City reach 100 points in 2017/18 - the most ever recorded in the Premier League.

For all his accolades, the Brazilian is now on the other side of things and finds himself fighting to keep Arsenal in the hunt for the title.

FWD - Nicolas Anelka

Nicolas Anelka has played for a plethora of top teams, so it's no surprise to see him included in this side.

The Frenchman first arrived in England when he joined Arsenal in 1997 - going on to play for PSG, Real Madrid and Liverpool before eventually joining City.

He would only spend a single season in Manchester before making the switch to Fenerbahce before signing for Bolton and then Chelsea where he found his best form, winning the Premier League golden boot.

FWD - Paul Dickov

Paul Dickov started his career at Arsenal, coming through the academy in 1990 and spending six seasons in London where he was loaned out twice before joining City permanently in 1996.

Dickov would spend six years in Manchester before he was moved on to Leicester. A stint at Blackburn followed until the striker returned to City 10 years on from his initial arrival.

The forward would go on to become a manager and has so far taken charge of Oldham Athletic and Doncaster Rovers.

FWD - Emmanuel Adebayor

The final player in our squad is Emmanuel Adebayor, the man responsible for one of the most iconic celebrations in Premier League history after scoring for City against his former club Arsenal.

Despite the celebration attracting so much attention, it shouldn't be forgotten that Adebayor was an excellent player.

The striker hit 207 goals during his career and turned out for the likes of Real Madrid and AS Monaco.