Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry

Background

While they never considered each other primary rivals, as two of the biggest and most successful clubs in London there has always been strong needle between the fans dating back to the 1930s. Matches between them would often attract large attendances.

The Arsenal and Chelsea rivalry has been more recently considered an important derby, after Chelsea's rise to the top class of the Premier League in the 2000s, when the two started to compete consistently for the Premier League title.

According to an internet survey of fans in December 2003, the Arsenal fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Chelsea as their third rival, after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Those Chelsea fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Arsenal as their main rival, however Tottenham and Fulham are their more traditional rivals.

In a 2008 survey by the Football Fans Census, Arsenal fans named Chelsea as the club they disliked the most, ahead of their traditional rivals Tottenham. Chelsea fans have named Arsenal as their second-most disliked club, behind Liverpool. A 2014 Bleacher Report article ranks Arsenal as Chelsea's second-most hated rival.

History

The first league meeting between the two teams took place on 9 November 1907 at Stamford Bridge. This was the first Football League First Division game played between two London clubs and drew a crowd of 65,000. A match between the clubs at Stamford Bridge in 1935 drew a crowd of 82,905, the second highest recorded attendance for an English league match. They met in two close contested FA Cup semi-finals in the 1950s, with Arsenal winning both times. In the 1960s Chelsea dominated the tie with 14 wins, two draws and just two losses during the decade.

The two teams have met in the quarter-finals of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, with Chelsea winning 3–2 on aggregate to go through to the semi-finals.

In 2006, the transfer of Ashley Cole from Arsenal to Chelsea further stoked the rivalry, as Cole had been caught meeting Chelsea officials months before.

The 2007 Football League Cup final was one of the most noted incidents. The game was marred by a fracas involving Frank Lampard, Cesc Fàbregas and others that resulted in yellow cards for the two and three other players sent off, the dismissal of Emmanuel Adebayor and incidents of Chelsea fans throwing celery at Arsenal players. This led the media to dub it the "Snarling Cup final". The match ended in a 2–1 victory for Chelsea.

On 27 December 2010, Chelsea came into the Emirates having beaten Arsenal five times in a row by a goal difference of 13–2, only for Arsenal to win the match 3–1.

On 29 October 2011, Arsenal won 5–3 at Stamford Bridge after coming from behind twice, with Robin van Persie scoring two late goals and completing his hat-trick. It is widely regarded as one of the most memorable and best games between the two sides.

On 22 March 2014, in Arsène Wenger's 1,000th game in charge, Chelsea won 6–0. This marked the most goals Chelsea had scored against Arsenal, Chelsea's biggest margin of victory against Arsenal and the joint heaviest margin of defeat suffered by Wenger at Arsenal. Notable incidents in the match included Chelsea jumping out to a three-goal lead inside of 15 minutes, as well as the sending off of Kieran Gibbs by referee Andre Marriner for a handball committed by his teammate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

On 5 October 2014, Chelsea beat Arsenal 2–0, which meant Arsenal manager Wenger had not won against José Mourinho in twelve attempts. This game also featured former Arsenal captain Cesc Fàbregas playing against his former club for Chelsea for the first time, recording an assist on Diego Costa's goal. The match, however, is most notable for a touchline fracas that occurred between the managers in the technical area during the fierce match. On 2 August 2015, Wenger finally recorded a win against Mourinho, defeating Chelsea 1–0 in the 2015 FA Community Shield.

On 24 September 2016, Arsenal beat Chelsea 3–0 at the Emirates Stadium. It was the first time Arsenal scored against Chelsea since 2013, and Arsenal's first win over The Blues since 2011 in the Premier League. All three goals were scored in the first half by Alexis Sánchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Özil. It was Arsenal's biggest win over Chelsea since 1997.

The two teams have met in the 2017 FA Cup final, where Arsenal won their record 13th FA Cup trophy by defeating Chelsea 2–1. Arsenal repeated the feat in the 2017 FA Community Shield, winning 4–1 on penalties after the match ended 1–1. It was also the first time the "ABBA" penalty taking system has been used by The Football Association. On 29 May 2019, the two teams met in their first-ever European final, doing so in the Europa League, where Chelsea defeated Arsenal 4–1 to clinch their second title in the competition. The game was also the final career match of Petr Čech, who played for both teams between 2004 and 2019. The next season, Arsenal and Chelsea contested in another FA Cup final, which ended in a 2–1 victory for Arsenal with two goals by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, securing their 14th title.

In the 2020–21 Premier League, Arsenal completed their first Premier League "double" over Chelsea since 2003–04 after winning both games of the season.

Players who have played for or managed both teams

Despite being rivals on the pitch, both Arsenal and Chelsea have maintained pragmatic business relations off it with frequent player transfers, including direct moves between the two clubs. This pattern of exchange reflects a mutual willingness to engage in high-level negotiations despite competitive tensions. By contrast, dealings involving Tottenham Hotspur are rare as both clubs have generally avoided conducting major transfer business with them. As of the 2025–26 season, at least 13 direct transfers have taken place between Arsenal and Chelsea since the start of the Premier League era, highlighting the unusual nature of their transactional openness for a rivalry in contrast to other club rivalries in England.

Below are the players and managers who played for or managed both clubs.

Arsenal, then Chelsea

• SCO Sandy MacFarlane (as player: Arsenal 1896–1897; Chelsea 1913–1914)
• SCO Jimmy Sharp (as player: Arsenal 1905–1908; Chelsea 1912–1915)
• ENG Leslie Knighton (as manager: Arsenal 1919–1925; Chelsea 1933–1939)
• SCO Bob Turnbull (as player: Arsenal 1923–1924; Chelsea 1925–1928)
• ENG Ted Drake (as player: Arsenal 1934–1945; as manager: Chelsea 1952–1961)
• SCO Tommy Docherty (as player: Arsenal 1958–1961; Chelsea 1961–1962; as manager: Chelsea 1961–1967)
• ENG Allan Young (as player: Arsenal 1959–1961; Chelsea 1961–1969)
• ENG Tommy Baldwin (as player: Arsenal 1964–1966; Chelsea 1966–1974)
• ENG Graham Rix (as player: Arsenal 1975–1988; Chelsea 1995)
• ENG Clive Allen (as player: Arsenal 1980; Chelsea 1991–1992)
• WAL Peter Nicholas (as player: Arsenal 1981–1983; Chelsea 1988–1991)
• ENG David Rocastle (as player: Arsenal 1984–1992; Chelsea 1994–1998)
• FRA Emmanuel Petit (as player: Arsenal 1997–2000; Chelsea 2001–2004)
• FRA Nicolas Anelka (as player: Arsenal 1997–1999; Chelsea 2008–2012)
• ENG Ashley Cole (as player: Arsenal 1999–2006; Chelsea 2006–2014)
• ESP Cesc Fàbregas (as player: Arsenal 2003–2011; Chelsea 2014–2019)
• FRA Olivier Giroud (as player: Arsenal 2012–2018; Chelsea 2018–2021)
• GAB Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (as player: Arsenal 2018–2022; Chelsea 2022–2023)

Chelsea, then Arsenal

• ENG Tommy Lawton (as player: Chelsea 1945–1947; Arsenal 1953–1955)
• NIR Bill Dickson (as player: Chelsea 1947–1953; Arsenal 1953–1956)
• ENG John Hollins (as player: Chelsea 1963–1975 and 1983–1984; Arsenal 1979–1983; as manager: Chelsea 1985–1988)
• SCO George Graham (as player: Chelsea 1964–1966; Arsenal 1966–1972; as manager: Arsenal 1986–1995)
• SCO Stewart Houston (as player: Chelsea 1967–1972; as caretaker manager: Arsenal 1995 and 1996)
• ENG Alan Hudson (as player: Chelsea 1969–1974 and 1983–1984; Arsenal 1976–1978)
• ENG Colin Pates (as player: Chelsea 1979–1988; Arsenal 1990–1993)
• FRA William Gallas (as player: Chelsea 2001–2006; Arsenal 2006–2010)
• FRA Lassana Diarra (as player: Chelsea 2005–2007; Arsenal 2007–2008)
• ISR Yossi Benayoun (as player: Chelsea 2010–2013; Arsenal on loan 2011–2012)
• CZE Petr Čech (as player: Chelsea 2004–2015; Arsenal 2015–2019)
• BRA David Luiz (as player: Chelsea 2011–2014 and 2016–2019; Arsenal 2019–2021)
• BRA Willian (as player: Chelsea 2013–2020; Arsenal 2020–2021)
• ITA Jorginho (as player: Chelsea 2018–2023; Arsenal 2023–2025)
• GER Kai Havertz (as player: Chelsea 2020–2023; Arsenal 2023–present)
• ENG Raheem Sterling (as player: Chelsea 2022–2026; Arsenal on loan 2024–2025)
• ESP Kepa Arrizabalaga (as player: Chelsea 2018–2025; Arsenal 2025–present)
• ENG Noni Madueke (as player: Chelsea 2023–2025; Arsenal 2025–present)

Honours

;Summary

Highest attendances

• Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea: 89,472 (27 May 2017), Wembley (neutral)
• Arsenal 1–2 Chelsea: 88,103 (18 April 2009), Wembley (neutral)
• Arsenal 1–0 Chelsea: 85,437 (2 August 2015), Wembley (neutral)
• Arsenal 1–1 Chelsea: 83,325 (6 August 2017), Wembley (neutral)
• Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal: 82,905 (12 October 1935), Stamford Bridge (Chelsea home)
• Arsenal 2–0 Chelsea: 73,963 (4 May 2002), Millennium Stadium (neutral)
• Arsenal 1–2 Chelsea: 70,073 (25 February 2007), Millennium Stadium (neutral)
• Arsenal 1–1 Chelsea: 68,084 (5 April 1952), White Hart Lane (Tottenham Hotspur home)
• Chelsea 2–1 Woolwich Arsenal: 65,000 (9 November 1907), Stamford Bridge (Chelsea home)
• Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea: 62,746 (20 March 1973), Highbury (Arsenal home)

References

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