5 players who have represented Manchester United as well as Arsenal
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The Rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal has been one of the most age old as both the teams have been on each other’s neck competing in top tier English football. The Rivalry between these two clubs grew fiercesome during the time of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Manchester United and Arsenal players have been vying on each other always to get themselves on the top names among the English club and this was especially visible during the captaincy of Roy Keane (Man United) and Patrick Viera (Arsenal). Let’s take a look at some of the players who have played for Manchester United as well as Arsenal.
1. Frankie Stapleton
Frankie Stapleton is an Irish professional football player who has spent his team bringing glory to two major English clubs, Arsenal and Manchester United. Stapleton was rejected by Man United at the beginning as he went on to sign for Arsenal in 1972 to bring the Gunners glory. The FA Cup Final of 1979 remains as the historic moment till now as Frankie Stapleton scored a goal against Manchester United to win the finals 3-2.
Stapleton has scored 108 goals in 300 appearances for Arsenal before he left for Manchester United in 1981. Where he went on to score 78 goals in 28 appearances for the Red Devils. He has two FA Cups with Man United and a FA Charity Shield. He remains in the history of FA Cup as the first player to score goals in the finals for two different clubs (Arsenal and Manchester United).
2. Andy Cole
Andy Cole began his youth career with Arsenal but during his time with the Gunners he made only one appearance in two years after which he was sent on a loan spree with Fulham and Bristol City, later on joining Newcastle in 1993. Cole proved his excellency and was signed by Manchester United in a then record breaking deal of £7m.
The English striker went on to prove his worth as he scored a mammoth amount of 121 goals in 275 appearances for the Red Devils. He stills remains as the third highest goalscorer in the history of Premier League with 187 goals in his tally. Andy Cole is regarded as one of the players to have won all the major trophies in English football including the Champions league which he won in 1998/99 season.
3. Robin Van Persie
Robin Van Persie began his career in the youth ranks of Feyenoord from where he was signed by the Gunners in 2004 where he flourished into one of the greatest strikers under the management of Arsene Wenger. The Dutch striker has 96 goals for Arsenal in 194 appearances.
Manchester United signed Van Persie in 2012 after he spent almost 8 years with the Gunners. Van Persie went down as one of the greats wearing that number 20 with the Red Devils. He scored 48 goals in 86 appearances for Man United and even fulfilled his dream to win the Premier League in the 2012/13 season and became the highest scorer in the same campaign scoring 26 goals in 36 appearances.
4. Mikael Silvestre
Mikael Silvestre was an exceptional French defender who had a very successful stint with Manchester United from 1999-2008. The Frenchman won 9 Premier league and a Champions League with the Red Devils and has also scored 6 goals in 249 appearances.
Silvestre signed for Arsenal in 2008 and stayed in the club till 2010 where he enjoyed a good spell but was not able to deliver any trophies to the Gunners. Although Silvestre came close to winning another Champions League but was knocked out in the Semi Finals by his former club Manchester United in 2009.
5. Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez proved himself as an young prospect for the Catalan club FC Barcelona and was one of the most versatile player on the pitch and was strong defensively also. Arsenal signed Sanchez in 2014 where he scored 60 goals in 122 appearances and went on to secure to FA Cup titles for the Gunners.
Sanchez was one of the most remarkable players in the Chile National team which won the Copa America twice in 2015 and 2016. Manchester United took Sanchez in 2018 in a swap deal with Henrikh Mhikitaryan. The Chilean international was not at par with his performance with the Red Devils and was not able to deliver the performance expected of a Manchester United number 7.
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Raunak Bose
(485 Articles Published)